The Ministry of Community and Social Services provides funding to non-profit agencies for interpreter and intervenor services to help people who are deaf, deafened, hard of hearing or deaf blind live as independently as possible in the community.
Interpreter services
People who are deaf, deafened or hard of hearing receive interpreter services. By providing a language and cultural bridge between a deaf, deafened, or hard of hearing person and a hearing person, individuals can access essential services, such as health, legal and social services, to the fullest extent possible. Interpreter services are delivered by the Canadian Hearing Society.
Intervenor services
Individuals who are deaf blind receive intervenor services. Intervenors use a variety of communication methods to help people who are deaf-blind gain access to information. In this way, they can participate in community activities and live as independently as possible.
Interpreter and intervenor services are funded by the ministry and delivered by non-profit agencies, such as the Canadian Hearing Society (CHS), Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB), the Canadian Deaf Blind and Rubella Association (CDBRA) and DeafBlind Ontario Services.
Review of interpreter and intervenor services
In the fall of 2004, the ministry engaged the services of Cathexis Consulting to conduct a review of the interpreter and intervenor services and programs in Ontario with particular attention to services funded by the Ministry of Community and Social Services. The review was to focus on the sustainability of the system, equity of funding and the development of an efficient standardized delivery model.
The information gathered resulted from a thorough review of ministry and agency documents, interviews with provincial staff and agency representatives and focus groups with consumers and service providers. Site visits were made to Thunder Bay, Brantford, Hamilton, London and Ottawa.
The findings are summarized in the report entitled Ministry of Community and Social Services: Review of Interpreter and Intervenor Services (December 2004)
For more information
For more information on how to access interpreter and intervenor services, please contact the Ministry of Community and Social Services regional office nearest you.