The Minnesota Commission of the Deaf, DeafBlind and Hard of Hearing and the Dendros Group look forward to connecting with you!
Over the past several months, the Interpreting Forward 2030 team has connected with Deaf, DeafBlind, Hard of Hearing, Deaf interpreters, hearing interpreters and other community members. Please visit the Commission’s Interpreting Forward website, to learn more about activities to date.
Over the next few months, we want to connect more - with more of you and with more focused discussion about improving the availability and quality of signed language interpreters in Minnesota.
This message describes what to expect moving forward.
* Anonymous Survey, Open Interviews and Process Feedback
* Focus groups
* Interpreting Forward 2030 Summit
* Post Summit
Anonymous Survey, Open Interviews and Process Questions and Feedback
One way to share your thoughts is through our online Anonymous Survey. This survey will be available through the end of the Summit.
If you are willing to have your individual comments published, please contact us to participate in an Open Interview. One of the members of the Community Engagement Working Group will interview you, recording your responses to be published. You will have an opportunity to review your statements prior to being published.
If you have questions or feedback about the Interpreting Forward process, please reach out to Dendros Group by emailing InterpretingForward@dendros.com. We’d love to get your feedback and address any questions you might have.
Focus Groups
For months, we have been gathering information and working in groups with a mix of various stakeholders, including Deaf, DeafBlind, Hard of Hearing, Deaf interpreters, hearing interpreters, systems stakeholders, interpreting students, interpreter training program constituents, and interpreting referral company staff to name some roles that participants hold.
In January and February 2024, we are hosting focus groups dedicated to specific aspects of interpreting. If you are a professional in one of the areas below, consider participating in the focus groups. Reach out to InterpretingForward@dendros.com to receive an invitation. We would love to know what you are thinking!
* DeafBlind community members
* Interpreting service manager/coordinator/agency owner that operates in Minnesota
College level interpreter training program and ASL programs, as well as leads for professional development programs (such as grant centers, internship and mentorship programs for interpreters)
* Deaf interpreters
* Legal/court interpreters
As we continue to organize the focus groups, there may be additional groups established, depending on any identified needs.
Interpreting Forward 2030 Summit
The dates for the Summit are scheduled for Friday and Saturday, February 23 - 24, to be held in St. Paul, Minnesota.
During the Summit, members of the Working Groups will gather with Commission staff and Board members for a working session.
Working Groups will present the results of their work so far.
Criteria will be developed to evaluate the suggestions gathered from the community during community input sessions, surveys and interviews.
After the summit there will be more community engagement in further developing solutions to the problem of improving the quality and availability of interpreting in Minnesota.
Post Summit
After the Summit, there may be more opportunities to collect information and suggestions.
Working Group members may be asked to pursue activities to continue to fill in any gaps that were identified at the Summit.
A pool of Working Group members will be asked to work on a final set of recommendations after receiving the criteria developed at the Summit.
When the final set of recommendations are ready, they will be presented to the Commission Board as well as published to the public.
The Commission and Dendros want to thank all the members of the community who have participated in Community Input Sessions, Working Groups, interviews and surveys. Together, we can address this challenge, increasing the availability and quality of interpreting services.