APPLICATIONS ARE NO LONGER BEING ACCEPTED

Do you work as an interpreter in court and other legal settings?

Are you interested in and committed to increasing the number and skill of interpreters of color and interpreters who come from heritage signing backgrounds?

If Yes, then Project CLIMB is looking for you!

Recruitment is now open for a cohort of experienced legal interpreters.

Application Deadline
Priority will be given to applications received by April 30, 2019.

Application Materials
Before applying please have the following information ready:
Three references (name and email address, at least one Deaf person reference and one interpreter reference)

Application Review
Each application will undergo review by a team of raters using predetermined selection criteria. Applicants for this cohort will be screened based on the following minimum criteria and desirable characteristics:

Minimum criteria

• 3 or more years of experience interpreting in legal settings
• Qualified to work in court and legal settings where you live
• Able to attend the face to face session May 30th - June 2nd , 2019

Desired characteristics

• Evidence of prior legal training
• Experience in a variety of legal settings
• Knowledge and experience with teaching and/or mentoring
• Experience and comfort with online learning/distance education
• Evidence of commitment to creating inclusive and effective training opportunities for interpreters from marginalized backgrounds

Applicant Notification
Space to participate in this cohort is limited to 25. Applicants will receive notification of decision by early May, 2018.

Applicant Expectations
This project occurs in two phases beginning Summer 2018 and ending Spring 2021. Selected applicants at this phase should be prepared to carry through to and complete the second phase of the project. This is a 2.5 year commitment.

Phase one:
Those selected for phase one will participate as learners in Project CLIMB's curriculum designed for experienced legal interpreters (Summer 2018 - Spring 2019). If selected, participants will be required to:
Attend a face-to-face session with a cohort of experienced legal interpreters in Colorado, July 31-August 5, 2018.
Participate in an online Community of Practice (CoP) that offers a dynamic, bilingual, facilitator development curriculum designed for experienced legal interpreters (Summer 2018 - Spring 2019).
This curriculum focuses on legal systems foundational knowledge, interpreting in the legal system, and techniques and approaches to facilitating communities of practice.
At the conclusion of this training, phase one participants may be selected to move into phase two of the project.

Phase two:
Those selected for phase two will create a Project CLIMB CoP and will participate as CoP Facilitators using the knowledge, skills, and abilities gained during phase one of the project. If selected for phase two, participants will be required to:
Create a Project CLIMB CoP
Attend a face-to-face session in Colorado in late Spring 2019 (exact dates TBD)
Facilitate novice legal interpreters in the CoP through Project CLIMB's comprehensive legal interpreter training.
Each CoP will consist of approximately 3-5 individuals and will run from Summer 2019 to Spring 2020.
Facilitate novice legal interpreters in the CoP through a hands on legal interpreting induction experience from Summer 2020 to Spring 2021.

Cost to participate:
Expenses will be covered by the grant. Project CLIMB will cover travel to/from Colorado for the face-to-face sessions that occur during phase one and phase two of the project. The experienced legal interpreting practitioners who successfully complete phase one of Project CLIMB, and continue on to phase two will be financially compensated.

Are CEUs available?
Participants can expect to complete 70-80 hours of training and 7-8 RID CEUs

More about the project
Together experienced practitioners will work through a dynamic, interactive, and bilingual online curriculum for legal interpreters. The curriculum provides the legal foundation needed for interpreters in the legal specialty and is inclusive of a structure and approach to talking about the work and supporting colleagues in their professional growth. The curriculum is broken down into modules that cover a wide range of topics, that result in a comprehensive training for project participants.

All participants will work through the modules together, first as a community of practice made up of experienced legal interpreters and then as facilitators of a community of practice that is made up of experienced generalist practitioners who are novice interpreters in the legal specialty. All participants will go through each section and module of the training, regardless of the participants' experience and background. This is to ensure consistency in knowledge and approach to interpreting in the legal specialty.

This innovative and exciting project serves to increase the number of interpreters of color and/or interpreters of heritage signing backgrounds by creating career paths for specialization in legal interpreting for practitioners from these underrepresented communities.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

If you have questions about the application process, please see if you are able to find your answer below. We will continue adding to this page, addressing questions as they come up.

• What are the requirements to be eligible for participation in Legal Facilitator Development?

  Minimum criteria

  • 3 or more years of experience interpreting in legal settings.
  • Qualified to work in court and legal settings where you live.
  • Able to attend the face-to-face session in Colorado, July 31 - August 5, 2018.

  Desired criteria

  • Evidence of prior legal training.
  • Experience working in a variety of legal settings.
  • Knowledge and experience with teaching and/or mentoring.
  • Experience and comfort with online learning/distance education.
  • Evidence of commitment to creating inclusive and effective training and working    environments for interpreters from marginalized backgrounds.
• What is the financial cost to participate?

  Expenses will be covered by the grant. In fact, Project CLIMB will cover your travel to/from Colorado for the face-to-face sessions that occur during Phase One and Phase Two of the Project.

  
  Participants who successfully complete Phase One of the Project and go on to become Community of Practice (CoP)  facilitators during Phase Two will be compensated.

• What if I don’t satisfy the minimum criteria, are there other ways to be involved?

  Project CLIMB will continue to disseminate information through webinars and via our website. You can also sign up for our email distribution list at projectclimb@unco.edu  to stay up to date with Project CLIMB activities.

• What information should I have ready in order to complete the application?

  You need to have the name, number, and email addresses for three (3) references available.

  • At least one of the references must be a Deaf individual 
  • At least one reference must be from an interpreting colleague

  You may want to have your CV or resume and any documents that state your education, certification, and legal training experiences on hand with you as you complete the application to help you prepare your responses.

• When is the application deadline?

  Priority will be given to applications received by April 30, 2018. The application may remain open after April 30, if there are still spaces to be filled.

• What is the time commitment for participants in the Legal Facilitator Development cohort?

  This is a 2.5 year commitment. Selected applicants at this phase are expected to carry through to and complete the second phase of the Project.

  Phase one: Summer 2018 - Spring 2019
  Phase two: Summer 2019 - Spring 2021

• How will participants access course content?

  Course content will be delivered through Canvas, an online learning management system. Courses are broken down into modules that address specific, but related content areas. Once selected, applicants will receive directions for how to enroll in the legal train-the-trainer curriculum.

• What is the structure for completing coursework?

  Selected applicants will access content as part of a community of practice. Each community of practice will be facilitated by an experienced legal interpreter trainer. Content is broken down into modules that address specific, but related content areas.

   Each community of practice will be facilitated by an experienced legal interpreter trainer. Courses are broken down into modules that address specific, but related content areas.

• How long will I have to complete each module?

  Modules are time limited and self-paced.

  Time limited: Each module will be open for varying amounts of time based on content. Expect to spend approximately 3-5 hours per week accessing module content and completing module related activities.Some activities, like in-court observations, may require more time. Each module will have a timeline provided in order to plan your course engagement.

  
  Self-paced: Modules are designed to take participants approximately 3 hours each to complete the content. Activities and group engagement may take more time, depending on the module. Once the module opens, you are free to move through the module to access content and activities as you wish; however, group dialogue and engagement will be expected.

  Once a module opens, it remains open giving you the option to review previous content as you desire.

• What is a community of practice?

  A community of practice (CoP) is a group of people who work together to solve a persistent problem or to improve practice in an area that is important to them and who deepen their knowledge and expertise by interacting on an ongoing basis.

   For the purpose of Project CLIMB, our CoPs will bring together interpreter colleagues from various marginalized backgrounds to improve our practice in, and deepen our knowledge and expertise of interpreting in the legal setting.

• What content will the curriculum cover?

  This legal training provides all participants a consistent and comprehensive foundation for interpreting in the legal specialty. An overview of the American judicial system, criminal law, civil law, and interpreting in a wide range of legal settings are just a few of the topics covered. Participants in this initial cohort will be given a structure and approach to discussing the process and product of interpreting work so they are prepared to facilitate a CoP during Phase 2 of the project. Emphasis is placed on developing relationships and establishing trust as an integral part of the mentoring relationship. Dialogic mentoring practices will be employed to support your colleagues through their professional growth in the legal specialty while focusing on areas of strength to build skills.

• How many individuals can participate in the Facilitator Development cohort?

  Space to participate in this cohort is limited to 25 participants.

• When will I know if my application has been accepted/declined?

  Notifications will be made by early May 2018

• What technology is needed to participate?

  You will need access to a computer, webcam, and high-speed internet access that can record and stream video without lagging.

   Canvas supports the last two versions of every browser release, but it has been our experience that Google Chrome, Firefox, and Safari work the best in Canvas. We highly recommend updating to the newest version of whatever browser you are using as well as the most up-to-date Flash plug-in.

   You may use a mobile device (cell phone, tablet, etc.) to access course content, but you will have a more user friendly experience if you access content using a desktop/laptop computer.

• Is the training eligible for CEUs?

  Yes. The University of Northern Colorado’s Department of American Sign Language and Interpreting Studies is an RID CMP Sponsor.

  We anticipate that training will take between 70-80 hours to complete making you eligible for 7-8 RID CEUs. If you would like to earn CEUs for an organization other than RID, we can provide you with a letter or documentation that you can submit verifying your participation in the Project.

• When will the training begin?

  Training begins with the first face-to-face session on July 31, 2018

• What if I’m not selected, or I am not able/interested in signing up for Project CLIMB at this time. Will the resources of the Project be made available in some other way to the general public?

  Yes. Project CLIMB, Cultivating Legal Interpreters from Minority Backgrounds, is a University of Northern Colorado, Department of American Sign Language & Interpreter Studies project that is funded by the US Department of Education, Rehabilitation Services Administration (Award #H160D160001).

  As such, all materials and resources will be made available to the public at the completion of the Project. Some resources will be disseminated to the public as they become available.

• Have a question for us that is not answered above? Please contact us.

  By Videophone: 720-216-2662

  By Phone: 970-351-3161

  By Email: projectclimb@unco.edu

  By Facebook & Twitter: @UNCProjectCLIMB