Hawaii has a shortage of American Sign Language interpreters, forcing some people who are deaf or hard of hearing to wait weeks for medical appointments or rely on out-of-state interpreters who may be unfamiliar with Hawaiian terms.

While more than 50,000 people who cannot hear or cannot hear well live in Hawaii, there are only 31 ASL interpreters currently credentialed by the Department of Health’s Disability and Communication Access Board, according to the department.

In response to the shortage, lawmakers are moving forward with a bill requiring the Disability and Communication Access Board to assemble a working group to study the state of ASL in Hawaii and make recommendations for addressing the problem.

If Senate Bill 3290 is passed, the group would be required to report back to the legislature with its findings no later than Dec. 31, 2024. 

There are no state-credentialed ASL interpreters living on Kauai, Molokai, Niihau or Lanai. Hawaii island has three interpreters. Maui has four. Oahu has 20, and there are four ASL interpreters who offer their services from out of state.

Interpretation assignments generally require two interpreters and such services are frequently needed for interactions with government services and agencies as well as for healthcare, education and workplace communication.

The state needs “somebody who can kind of get everybody together and see the issues that are going on here,” said Fanny WT Yeh, a deaf artist living on Oahu. “And how we can grow in terms of (the) number of ASL interpreters over here in Hawaii.”

Compounding matters, the ASL Interpreter Education program at Kapiolani Community College, which used to provide local entry-level interpreters to the community, has been on hiatus for almost six years because of a lack of funding.

Jan Fried, a nationally certified ASL interpreter and former teacher in the KCC program, said that she is working on getting the program reapproved by the school but until that happens she cannot apply for more funding. 

“Not having a program really hamstrings the ability for deaf and (hard-of-hearing) people to get their business done,” Fried said.

One approach that Fried favors is adding more ASL classes to the K-12 schools. 

“The Seal of Biliteracy can be awarded to a kid who’s bilingual in ASL and English,” Fried said. “So let’s provide that opportunity for them.”

Students with high school training would start college ready to jump into an interpreting program or a deaf education program, she said.

Civil Beat’s community health coverage is supported by the Swayne Family Fund of Hawaii Community Foundation, the Cooke Foundation, Atherton Family Foundation and Papa Ola Lokahi.