Or. Admin. Code § 950-050-0040

Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 11, November 1, 2024

Section 950-050-0040 - Eligibility Standards for Central Registry Enrollment, Qualification and Certification

(1) Individuals enrolled in the Health Care Interpreter (HCI) central registry must:

(a) Be at least 18 years of age.

(b) Have at least a high school diploma from an accredited school in the United States of America, or pass the General Educational Development Test (GED), or have an equivalent education from another country.

(A) Individuals from other countries may apply to the Oregon Health Authority for an exception to this requirement when documentation to prove education is not available.

(B) Exceptions are at the sole discretion of the Oregon Health Authority.

(c) Not be on the Medicaid Exclusion list.

(d) Abide by a nationally recognized code of ethics and standards of practice such as the National Code of Ethics for Interpreters in Health Care, the National Standards of Practice for Interpreters in Health Care, and the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) Code of Professional Conduct, as applicable.

(e) Submit the required forms and documentation to become a certified or qualified health care interpreter as defined by OAR 950, division 50.

(2) Applicants seeking to become a qualified health care interpreter for a spoken language or languages and enrolled in the central registry must:

(a) Comply with the requirements set out in section (1) of this rule;

(b) Provide written verification of one of the following:

(A) At least 60 hours of formal training as defined in OAR 950-050-0060, with a certificate of completion dated no more than one year prior to the date of the written application to the HCI central registry; or

(B) At least 60 hours of formal training as defined in OAR 950-050-0060, with a certificate of completion dated more than one year prior to the date of the written HCI central registry application along with documentation that shows the applicant has been performing HCI work since completing. Documentation shall include a letter of proof, on letterhead from the supervisor or the client, if applicable; or

(C) Educators and trainers of health care interpreters or ASL interpreters who have worked in the field for two consecutive years within the 4 years prior to the date of application may receive credit for 40 hours of the 60 hour requirement by providing valid documentation from an established registry or institution for time spent training health care interpreters. The remaining 20 hours shall meet Oregon Health Authority-approved requirements.

(c) Demonstrate health care interpreting knowledge by passing a skill evaluation offered by an Oregon Health Authority-approved language proficiency testing center provided for in OAR 950-050-0070, or meet equivalent language proficiency requirements set by the Oregon Health Authority. Equivalent standards include having an organization or community that represents limited English proficiency members provide language proficiency testing for languages that do not have a test available.

(3) Applicants seeking to become a qualified health care interpreter for American Sign Language and enrolled in the central registry must:

(a) Comply with the requirements set out in section (1) of this rule;

(b) Provide written verification of certification in American Sign Language interpreting from the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) or other Oregon Health Authority-approved signed language certification and testing bodies; and

(c) Provide verification of passing an approved language proficiency exam, such as the American Sign Language Proficiency Interview (ASLPI); or the Sign Language Proficiency Interview (SLPI; ASL) with a minimum proficiency level of 4 or advanced.

(4) Applicants seeking to become a certified health care interpreter in a spoken language or languages and enrolled in the central registry must:

(a) Comply with the requirements set out in section (1) and (2) of this rule; and

(b) Pass an Oregon Health Authority approved certification test at an interpreter certification testing center on the list provided for in OAR 950-050-0070.

(5) Applicants seeking to become a certified health care interpreter in American Sign Language and enrolled in the central registry must comply with the requirements set out in section (1), (2)(b), and (3) of this rule.

(6) Applicants seeking to become Signed language interpreters and enrolled in the central registry must:

(a) Have a Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) certification; and

(b) Provide verification of passing an approved language proficiency exam, such as the American Sign Language Proficiency Interview (ASLPI); or the Sign Language Proficiency Interview (SLPI; ASL) with a minimum proficiency level of 4 or advanced.

(7) The following qualified and certified Signed Language health care interpreter application dates apply:

(a) All signed language health care interpreter renewing applicants with expiration dates between August 1, 2023 through July 31, 2024, will have until July 31, 2024, to comply with OAR chapter 950, division 50 upon renewal.

(b) All first-time signed language health care interpreters applicants will have until July 31, 2024, to comply with OAR chapter 950, division 50.

(c) All first-time and renewing signed language applicants must comply with OAR chapter 950, division 50 at the time of application or renewal beginning August 1, 2024.

(8) The Oregon Health Authority may accept formal training from entities outside of Oregon that demonstrate their criteria are equal to or exceed Oregon's criteria as established by these rules.

Or. Admin. Code § 950-050-0040

PH 18-2006, f. & cert. ef. 8-2-06; PH 26-2006, f. & cert. ef. 11-16-06; PH 15, 2010(Temp), f. 7-13-10, cert. ef. 7-15-10 thru 1-10-11; PH 2-2011, f. & cert. ef. 3-1-11; PH 18-2016, f. 6-9-16, cert. ef. 7/1/2016; PH 48-2022, amend filed 04/27/2022, effective 7/1/2022; PH 16-2023, renumbered from 333-002-0040, filed 04/14/2023, effective 4/14/2023; OEI 4-2023, minor correction filed 05/02/2023, effective 5/2/2023; OEI 22-2023, amend filed 07/28/2023, effective 8/1/2023

Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 413.558

Statutes/Other Implemented: 413.558 & ORS 413.556