CT CT Professional Development & Career Pathways 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a 'qualified interpreter or transliterator' is best described as:
- Any bilingual individual willing to assist
- Someone with demonstrated skill to convey accurate communication, such as a CT-certified professional (Correct answer)
- A family member who knows some signs
- Only an interpreter with a graduate degree in linguistics
Correct answer: Someone with demonstrated skill to convey accurate communication, such as a CT-certified professional
The ADA defines a 'qualified interpreter' as one who can interpret effectively, accurately, and impartially—CT certification is evidence of meeting this standard.
Question 2: When CT professionals work in medical settings, HIPAA regulations require them to:
- Share patient information freely with other healthcare staff
- Maintain strict confidentiality of all protected health information encountered during assignments (Correct answer)
- Document all interpreting sessions in the patient's chart
- Report patient information to insurance providers upon request
Correct answer: Maintain strict confidentiality of all protected health information encountered during assignments
HIPAA applies to all individuals who access protected health information (PHI), including interpreters and transliterators working in healthcare settings.
Question 3: CT-certified professionals working in K-12 schools most commonly encounter which communication system?
- Cued Speech only
- Manually coded English (MCE) systems such as Signed Exact English (SEE) (Correct answer)
- American Sign Language (ASL) exclusively
- International Sign (IS)
Correct answer: Manually coded English (MCE) systems such as Signed Exact English (SEE)
MCE systems like SEE and CASE are the transliteration targets in educational settings for students whose primary communication mode follows English structure.
Question 4: Which federal mandate most directly requires schools to include appropriate interpreting or transliteration services in a student's educational plan?
- No Child Left Behind Act
- Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (Correct answer)
- Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)
- Higher Education Act (HEA)
Correct answer: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
IDEA mandates that eligible students with disabilities receive a free appropriate public education (FAPE) including related services such as transliteration.
Question 5: A CT professional who discovers mid-assignment that they lack the specialized vocabulary for a technical topic should:
- Improvise and continue without disclosing the difficulty
- Notify the consumer and relevant parties, and if necessary withdraw and refer to a more qualified colleague (Correct answer)
- Ask the consumer to simplify their language
- Refuse all future assignments in that topic area permanently
Correct answer: Notify the consumer and relevant parties, and if necessary withdraw and refer to a more qualified colleague
Transparency and referral when competency is exceeded protects the consumer and aligns with RID's ethical obligation to provide accurate communication.
Question 6: Video relay services (VRS) that employ CT-certified professionals must comply with regulations from which federal agency?
- Department of Education (DOE)
- Federal Communications Commission (FCC) (Correct answer)
- Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
- Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
Correct answer: Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
The FCC regulates VRS providers and establishes standards for service quality, including the qualifications of interpreters employed by VRS companies.
CT CT Professional Development & Career Pathways 2
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a 'qualified interpreter or transliterator' is best described as: