Bill Includes Competitive Grants to Train Realtime Writers and Captioners Who Can Provide Communication Access for People With Hearing Loss
VIENNA, Va., Aug. 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The National Court Reporters Association (NCRA) today thanked Rep. Kind (D-Wisconsin) for his role in the passage of the Higher Education Opportunity Act (H.R. 4137, S. 1642), better known as the Higher Education Reauthorization bill. Included in the bill is language that creates a competitive grant program to train realtime writers to provide both captioned information and communication access for the 30 million Americans who are deaf and hard-of-hearing.
NCRA President Karen Yates, CRR, CBC, CCP, says, “As a certified broadcast captioner and realtime writer who works with the deaf and hard-of-hearing community week in and week out, I laud Congress’s passage of the Higher Education Opportunity Act with the inclusion of the Training for Realtime Writers Act language. Through my daily work, I see firsthand the needs of the deaf and hard-of-hearing community and the difficulties that some in the community have in fully accessing communication. Having the opportunity to give back to the men and women in America who are hard-of-hearing has been one of my most rewarding achievements. This funding will encourage more individuals to enter the realtime writing workforce and deliver positive changes to the 30 million Americans who are deaf and hard-of-hearing. On behalf of the Officers and Board of Directors of the National Court Reporters Association, we thank Congress and our Congressional champions, particularly Rep. Kind, for moving this vital piece of legislation forward.”
NCRA Executive Director and CEO Mark J. Golden, CAE, says, “With this passage of the Higher Education Reauthorization bill, Congress, through the efforts of Rep. Kind, is keeping its promise to the 30 million deaf and hard-of-hearing Americans who have come to rely on captions as a means for communication access. This service can only be provided by qualified stenographic realtime writers. This critical funding will be truly instrumental in helping the captioning profession meet the growing demand for full access for the deaf and hard-of-hearing community.”
NCRA has worked for eight years with legislators to gain passage of this legislation. Rep. Kind, whose wife Tawni is a court reporter, has been dedicated to ensuring that this language is on the agenda each of the last four Congresses.
Rep. Kind said, “Ensuring closed captioning is available for the hearing impaired is a fairness issue as well as a safety issue. Despite requiring 100 percent closed captioning, we are educating only half the realtime writers we need to get it done. I am pleased that this long-overdue program will increase awareness and interest in careers in court reporting and realtime writing so we can preserve the integrity of the public record and make sure individuals who are deaf and hard-of-hearing can stay informed.”
In the United States, one out of three adults suffers from some amount of hearing loss, and one out of six adults has difficulty discerning speech. An ever-aging population means an increase in the number of Americans with hearing challenges.
Opportunities within the field continue to grow. According to recent data released by the U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics “Occupational Outlook Handbook 2008-2009,” court reporter employment will grow by 25 percent through 2016, because of “increasing numbers of civil and criminal cases” coupled with federal telecommunications legislation that requires television captioning and the increasing demand for realtime communication access for people who are deaf and hard-of-hearing under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
NCRA’s Golden said, “On behalf of the 23,000 members of the National Court Reporters Association, I sincerely commend Congress for keeping its promise to all Americans for full communication access.”
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Source: National Court Reporters Association
