Musing on VRS Working from Home
13 06 2007All..
I got a private email asking me if there is any circumstance that I would support VRS working from home. Also, a few private emails that don’t I trust interpreters? Let’s think on it. The issue is about ironclad confidentiality and this must be met; it is not enough to say "I trust this person". Trust has nothing to do with that. I trust most, if not nearly all interpreters and I know they cede to code of ethics very well. Then what is the problem? It has to do with reasonable doubt. So the question begs on how to remove the reasonable doubt?
If done from home; then it would need to be a room with one door. The room would need to be soundproofed as well so family or dogs won’t react to noises by video interpreter. Perhaps a cubicle within the room. There would need to be at least two remote camera that is locked to two sites and "on" all the time; one to video interpreter so the quality assurance control can be maintained remotely if needed and one to the door to ensure no one comes in and out and can be viewed remotely by HQ.
There would need to be a software program or some kind of foolproof system set up where if need to get support from the HQ. For example, to replace video interpreter (time up or get tired or something), or to provide support. Emergency procedure needs to be well thought out to maximize the speed of processing an emergency call.
Would I go for that? My answer is only if the interpreter pool is at VERY critical point. I do not think we’ve gotten there yet, and I think there are other viable solutions that are better met - such as sharing of pool of terps by a few VRS providers, or even VRS providers working with other VRS providers in utilizing their pool of terps, etc.
Comments, anyone?
eyes open & thumbs up,
Ed
Ed, you seem to start with the assumption that privacy at the interpreter centers is just fine. I doubt this is so in real life. Privacy and confidentiality there is no doubt flawed in some way. Expecting perfection from the home interpreters but allowing the VRS centers to be less than perfect is less than fair. (And, no, I don’t have any evidence of less than perfection at the VRS centers.)
Permitting this kind of sticky situation in which an interpreter use at “home” is indeed beyond our realm of human judgment concerning confidentiality. It sets a dangerous precedence when it comes to legal circumstances such as criminal incidence (i.e., murder, violence, fraud, etc.). What does the relay interpreter have protection from the legal lawsuit? It may sound farfetched but we cannot predict what would happen.
I would not feel comfortable using a “home” interpreter under the circumstances.
Henry,
Perhaps I wasn’t clear. Safeguards/security tools are in VRS centers to minimize the “reasonable doubt”. None exists or little for home based offices. I know that VRS centers are not perfect, but the trust factor is higher at VRS center than at home. Ed
Ed,
Is it not possible to set up safeguards/security tools for the home VRS situation? I think with some work it should be possible - and you have said so yourself although I think your list of what should be done is taking it a bit too far. So I do not see this as a valid reason for a blanket ban on working from home. I work mostly from home myself, by the way and as a lawyer a lot of confidentiality is involved in my work too.
Henry,
That is an issue that the FCC will ultimately need to decide and, of course, we need to listen to what the teeming majority of deaf persons want.
By the way, lawyer and VI are not the same thing. Lawyers are either appointed or chosen by the person based on the reputation (you have a solid reputation and I would not mind hiring you and I would not care where you conduct work at as I know who you are and how trustworthy you are) whereas with VIs do not enjoy the same benefits as a lawyer. Most VIs I do not even know who they are.
Howdy Ed! Our old schoolmate died a few weeks ago… It brought me an idea whether if we could use VRS to make 911 call rather than using TTY?? You see my friend tried to use TTY to call 911 but the operator didnt answer the call as it was supposed to.. It was too late for her husband who died at home.. How can you solve this problem.. Of course our Relay Service mgr is working on this problem but just curious whether if we could use VRS?
About your subject, I am aware of some interpreters would share “confidential issues” with other interpreters which I think it ought be watched out! Some are trustful for me to talk and others I am little wary of using interpreter on VRI.. It is still “sticky” issue for me to talk about. Any comment would be welcomed! SMILE! ALOHA! ARKIE
Hi May,
I believe that Sorenson VRS has a procedure to process emergency calls. At least, SVRS has publicized that. Generally, TTY is faster, but in some places 911 are still back in prehistoric technology, so perhaps VRS is appealing. Check with ur state relay administrator to check out on emergency processing in ur state and find out which way is best.
Thanks for ur remarks about interpreters.
Ed
Hi Ed and May:
At Krown mfg they have the TTYs made to call 911 direct and will keep on saying emergency, fire, ambulance and police with your address over and over again to the operator without stopping til the deaf person answers……
that is the best way to do nowadays .. With VRS, you have to wait for the VRS to answer, then go to third party to make call to 911. It is the time and death….
All 911 answering points has a computer set up with the telephone calls where is coming from But the problem is they will keep asking you questions which will delay more time…. With Krown it will tell the operator what kind of service you want etc saves and eliminates time too….
pls look up Krown website http://www.krownmfg.com also is owned by deaf people.
thanks sid
Ed,
Another thing to consider- would phone companies allow telephone operators “Dial O for operator”, do it at home? Most certainly not.
Why is it different for the Deaf? Are we all sub-human to the point that it is okay to give us sub-par services? Just because we are Deaf, they should bend the rules? Come on.
I’m sick of double standards.
Erick
Erick,
I got an email from a deaf leader of a national organization that basically said the same thing; that is, directory assistance is not done from home, but office. Thus, shld be the same for VRS.
Two of biggest reasons for working from home are: costs lot less; and second reason: interpreters who are tied at home or live in remote areas can provide work from home that otherwise they would not be able to. I understand that and, apparently, so do a few others who actually support the concept of working from home. However, my concern is mostly because of confidentiality (reasonable doubt); and, after seeing the comments, functional equivalency, too (as ur comment shows).
So for now, thumbs down on working from home ;-] I’m trying to keep an open mind; so far I’m not convinced that working from home for VRS is ideal.
Ed
OK About the interpreter issue, it is very interested for me to think about it.. There are so many diversion how to clarify whether if it should be worked at home or office… My niece who is Hamilton Video Relay operator said that it is still “sticky issue” but in other word, if something happens to one of my 2 great nieces who are under age (6 and 8 yrs old), my niece would prefer to work at home to make sure that her daughter is doing fine but otherwise, my niece is sort of against the idea because “HOW CAN WE TRUST AN INDIVIDUAL WHO TELLS US TRUE THAT SHE/HE DOES WORKS AT HOME OR JUST BEING ALOOF (sp?)??” So my niece turned her thumb down of the idea to work at home.
Ed
I believe that having VIs work from home will be cost-, time- and energy-efficient - only if we include safeguards such as - like you mentioned - remote video cameras to ensure privacy, confidentiality and safety. No eyesdroppers and assurance of erasing written notes or numbers., to name a few examples…
It would mean that we would be able to obtain interpreters living in remote areas who couldnt commute to VRS centers or those who would be available for an hour or two per day, depending on their schedules.
In other words, shortage of interpreters would be minimized.
Sonny
In Maryland, agency named Birkuam (sp?) Interpreter Services (known as BIS) signed a contract with Hamilton Relay Services for using BIS’ interpreters as VI. BIS and Hamilton Video Relay Services make an agreement for interpreters to work as vp operator for a week and then next week this same interpreter do the interpreting assignment in the deaf community.. I surely wish other agencies who have video relay services to do what BIS and Hamilton do to make it very flexible… Any comment or suggestion would very much be welcomed.. (That’s where my niece works) :+D and thumb up!
Above interpreting services, I mean one week as an video operator and then next week as an interpreter for deaf community then next week video operator.. Not 100% as video relay operator… know what I mean?
May
Per, ADA, ALL 9-1-1 centers MUST respond ALL incoming TTY calls. Dept of Justice developed guidelines for the centers to follow in mid 1990s. To the best of my knowledge, EVERY lawsuit and complaint against these centers for not responding to TTY calls was won by deaf people. Also, as a result of the lawsuits, each city or state defendant became more aware and sensitive of our needs which became more helpful for all of us in long run.
It is strongly recommended that your friend should file a lawsuit. Please have her contact me for assistance. My email address is sonny@pobox.com.
Sonny
Hello friends,
I would reply to this sooner as our computer was acting bad, now it is good.
I know that there is an ongoing problem with trust with some interpreters as I appreciated to have VRS and trust them myself but for some other deaf friends still do not feel comfortable with use of interpreters -
I wonder if they need early training to use vrs at schools to feel comfortable to talk to their parents or siblings then when they are on their own, they will make use of the interpreters -
Maybe have some kind of workshops for awareness how to use vrs and get some feedbacks likewise -
show how 911 is used on tty, any phone, or vrs when needed with ready information for vrs - vi
Hope things will get better !
Hello, all.
As a VRS interpreter with previous experience working at two of the major players in the VRS world, I can tell you that the trust lies entirely with the interpreters. Confidentiality is always the responsibility of the interpreters. Any interpreter, at any time, can reveal your information, regardless of if they work from home or in a big VRS office. Of course, there are consequences to that if the person is caught but it still lies with the interpreters. Just because a terp works in a big fancy office does not mean they have any less of an opportunity to violate confidentiality.
The bottom line is this: Treat a home-interpreter as you would any other interpreter you would use with a VRS company or a community interpreter. Give them the benefit of the doubt. If they violate the FCC rules or the RID CPC, file a complaint and don’t stop until the person is dealt with. Otherwise, try to believe that the interpreter is ethical. Just my 2 cents.