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

(1) To be enrolled in the Health Care Interpreter (HCI) central registry, an individual must: (a) Be at least 18 years of age. (b) Reside in the United States. (c) 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 who received education outside the United States 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. (d) Not be on the Medicaid Exclusion list. (e) Agree to 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. (f) Submit the required forms and documentation to become a certified or qualified health care interpreter as defined by OAR 950, division 50. (g) Agree to provide their full name (to include first and last name), their OHA central registry number, and the language they are interpreting for each interpreting session to health care providers, interpreting service companies, and Coordinated Care Organizations. (2) Applicants seeking to become a qualified health care interpreter for a spoken language or languages and enrolled in the central registry must: (a) Complete an application on a form prescribed by the Authority and meet 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, but no more than two years, 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 the training. Documentation shall include a letter of proof, on letterhead from the supervisor or the client. If the training was completed more than two years prior to the application date, the applicant must retake the full 60-hour training before applying; or (C) Educators and trainers of health care 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) Complete an application prescribed by the Authority and meet 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) Complete an application prescribed by the Authority; (b) Provide the information and comply with the requirements set out in section (1) and (2) of this rule; and (c) Pass a certification test at an Oregon Health Authority approved 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: (a) Complete an application prescribed by the Authority; and (b) Provide the information and comply with the requirements set out in sections (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 Oregon Health Authority may accept formal training from entities in the United States and its territories that demonstrate their criteria are equal to or exceed Oregon's criteria as established by these rules.