My name is Emily Haynes McGee, and I am a nationally certified interpreter who's worked in the field for ten years. I support DPOR's study of licensure for interpreters. Frequently, I am contacted by doctor's offices, hospitals, mental health agencies, or other entities who are in need of an interpreter. It's not uncommon for my interface with these entities to be their first experience working with an interpreter. I do my best to guide them through the hiring process ethically, with a mind to consumer preference and need. The level of professional autonomy I experience is wonderful, but is terrifying in its potential for abuse. 

I also support a study of licensure as I feel that it would provide a check on interpreter agencies. If an entity contacts an interpreter agency for services, that agency has latitude to send any interpreter on their roster. As interpreter agencies often have a set cost for their services, they are incentivized to subcontract their least qualified/ credentialed interpreter in order to increase their profit margins. I myself operate as a small agency, subcontracting out a handful of contracts in the Richmond area. While I make an effort to provide the best services possible, I have seldom been questioned as to the names, experience, or credentials of the interpreters I'm sending. The entities who hire me don't know what to look for, and the d/Deaf consumers may not have access to a channel of complaint. 

Licensure would provide transparency for those who hire interpreters, elevated professional status for interpreters themselves, and recourse for consumers who are paired with unqualified interpreters. As it stands, consumers of interpreting services have very little power to address unfit interpreters. This disempowerment adds a barrier to access that compounds the marginalization of d/Deaf individuals and generally provides a disservice to all Virginians.