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This is to announce that The State of
Connecticut Judicial Branch is now registering candidates who wish
to work for the Judicial Branch and to become certified court
interpreters for court interpreter Orientation Programs and
Qualifications Examinations.
The State of Connecticut Judicial Branch
joined the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) Court Interpreter
Consortium Program in 2001. The Consortium is a program administered
by the National Center for State Courts in Williamsburg, Virginia on
behalf of the state courts systems in the United States. It was
created as a way to develop court interpreter proficiency tests,
make them available to member states, and regulate the use of the
tests.
The Branch can use the resources and
expertise the NCSC offers to assess the qualifications of court
interpreter candidates. It has devised a set of strategies to help
courts improve court interpreter services through out Connecticut.
Among those strategies is a program to administer Written and Oral
Qualifications Examinations on an ongoing basis.
The following are the steps
to take in order to become an interpreter for the Connecticut
courts:
Certification Requirements: The
Five Components of Certification
Effective February 2007, to attain the Spanish-language interpreter
Certification in the State of
Connecticut, candidates must fulfill five criteria: (1)
complete a Written Exam on general English/English language
vocabulary; (2) complete Orientation Program in full; (3) take and
pass the ethics portion of the Written Exam and agree to adhere to
The Code of Professional Responsibility for Court Interpreters in
Connecticut; (4) complete an Oral Exam; (5) be sworn in.
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Successfully complete a Written Exam on general
English/English language vocabulary.
A multiple-choice English/English
language vocabulary test will be administered to those candidates
who register for attendance at an
Orientation Program.
This test is designed to measure basic, general English language
proficiency. Candidates will be notified of the test site and dates;
and results will be mailed via U.S. mail shortly after the exam was
administered. Candidates must score a minimum of 80% on each portion
of the Written Exam in order to be eligible to take the Oral Exam
(information on the Oral Exam is provided under requirement #4
below).
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Complete
Orientation Program as established by the Judicial Branch of the
State of Connecticut.
Currently, the Orientation Programs are conducted in English and
Spanish and are open to all Spanish-language interpreter candidates. In
the future, language-neutral Orientation Programs will be
offered for interpreter candidates for other-than-Spanish
language combinations. The primary objective of this
program is to inform prospective court interpreters about what
is expected when
working for the State of Connecticut Judicial Branch. Candidates
must complete a full
two-day Orientation Program session, which is generally held on
a weekend in a Courthouse. Candidates receive training on the role and function of
the interpreter, the specific skills needed to work effectively
in the different modes of interpreting, ethics, an overview of
the State Courts System and its court interpreting initiatives, legal terminology, and
overview of Oral Exam is also
conducted . The candidates receive instruction and
materials, including a glossary of terms to improve their
understanding of the court system and legal procedures.
The training sessions are led by
nationally known experts on court interpretation.
Candidates must attend the full
two-day session (9:00 AM - 4:00 PM each day) in order to fulfill
the training requirement component of the interpreter
Certification process. Individuals with less than full
attendance may not be credited with meeting this requirement.
Directions to each training site will be provided.
Orientations will be held on
periodic basis, with upcoming dates to be announced. Space at the Orientation Program
may be limited. All spots will be filled on a first-come,
first-served basis. Each pre-registered participant will receive a
confirmation letter in the mail prior to the requested Orientation Program; please bring this
letter and photo identification with you to the Orientation Program. If the Orientation Program should reach maximum
capacity, you will be notified and a new date will be mailed to
you. If you pre-register and do not attend you will be given only
one more opportunity to attend. Walk-ins are no longer accepted at
these sessions.
No children and/or guests of
participants will be permitted to attend for any reason. Dress is
business casual. Lunch is on your own.
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Take and
pass the ethics portion of the Written Exam and agree to adhere to
The Code of Professional Responsibility for Court Interpreters
in Connecticut.
All candidates will receive a copy
of the Code of Professional Responsibility for Court Interpreters
in Connecticut along with training materials to be distributed
at each Orientation Program session. Significant
review and discussion of The Code of Professional Responsibility
for Court Interpreters in Connecticut is a component of the
Orientation Program. Candidates who achieve Certification must sign
an agreement to adhere to The Code of Professional Responsibility
for Court Interpreters in Connecticut. At the end of the second
day of the Orientation Program, a multiple-choice Ethics Test will be administered. This
is a component of the Written Exam that candidates will be asked to
take before the Orientation Program.
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Successfully complete the Spanish-Language interpreter
Certification Oral Exam.
The Oral Examination tests
the candidate in the three modes of interpreting.
These examinations are
currently available for Spanish-language candidates only.
Examinations for other languages, like Haitian Creole and
Portuguese will be available once language-neutral Orientation
Programs are offered.
Spanish-language candidates
must demonstrate proficiency in the three modes of interpretation:
a.
sight translation of an English document into Spanish; and
b. sight translation of a Spanish
document into English.
c. consecutive interpretation,
English to Spanish and Spanish to English.
d. simultaneous interpretation from
English to Spanish.
The Oral Exam administered in
Connecticut which is an entry level exam, was developed under the auspices
of the NCSC in Williamsburg. In line with guidelines promulgated by
the State Court Interpreter Certification Consortium (of which
Connecticut, as well as 35 other states, is a member), in order to
pass the Certification examination, the minimum acceptable
score on each of four individual test sections must be at least 70%.
Therefore, the minimum total average test score must be at
least 70%.When candidates receive the results
of their Written Exam, those eligible to proceed to the Orientation
Program and Oral Exam will also receive information on how to
schedule the one-hour time slot necessary for test administration.
Additional information on taking the Oral Exam will be provided to
all eligible candidates once they have scheduled a time slot.
- Swearing in of candidates.
PROGRAM COSTS - Written Exam, Orientation Program, Oral Exam
The Written Exam,
the two-day Orientation Program, and the Oral Exams are offered at
no cost at this time.
Please Note: Court
Interpreters who are certified by the Administrative Offices of
the United States courts (the federal courts) need not take the
Qualifications Examinations. Federally certified interpreters who
attend an Orientation Program are eligible to be included on the
registry of tested interpreters.
Starting in 2007, attendance at an Orientation Program will be a
prerequisite for candidates who wish to take the Oral Examination.
To register for an upcoming Orientation Program or the
Qualifications Examinations, please send a cover letter to express
interest in the program and a current resume outlining your
qualifications to Program Manager, Interpreter and
Translator Services, at 90
Washington Street, Hartford, CT 06106, or e-mail the information to Interpreter.Employment@jud.ct.gov.
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