Community Engagement

We believe in building stronger connections and being involved in the delivery of language services to improve equitable access. We have actively engaged with community members to better understand their current needs. Please check our Facebook for updates!

Events

Event

PLS is excited to launch the Health Care Interpreting Standardized Screening, a vital step in strengthening communication access for Deaf, Deaf-Blind, and Hard of Hearing individuals in health care settings.

Purpose

Initiated by the PLS Deaf, Deaf-Blind, and Hard of Hearing Community Advisory Group—shaped by insights from the April 2024 Interpreter Engagement Town Hall—this initiative is part of a broader mission to:

Ensuring interpreters are properly trained and evaluated
Guiding interpreters—whether recent graduates or those shifting careers—into the health care specialty
Strengthening the pathway toward professional growth in medical interpreting

Key Initiative

Health Care Interpreting Screening
A fair and neutral screening to ensure interpreters meet the communication and cultural needs of patients.

Why It Matters

There is a critical shortage of qualified health care interpreters, including both hearing and Deaf professionals. This shortage directly affects the quality of care and communication access for Deaf, Deaf-Blind, and Hard of Hearing patients.

Dates

Start: March 27, 2025
End: June 19, 2025

Together, we’re building a more inclusive, equitable health care system.
Brought to you by PLS and the Health Care Interpreting Task Force

Past events

From 2017 to 2020, Provincial Language Services engaged with the community to review the existing service delivery model for provincial medical sign language interpreting services, known as MIS, and to elicit ideas for improvement.

The engagement had four phases:

Phase I - Communicate

In Phase I, Provincial Language Services communicated information about the community engagement project via different communication and media channels, created and distributed an ASL vlog about the project, and initiated recruitment of participants from the community for the Phase II workshops.

Phase II - Consult

Provincial Language Services organized and conducted five discussions and focus group sessions across the province with community participants as follows:

A focus group with the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community in Kelowna (February 3, 2018) with six participants
A focus group with the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community in Greater Vancouver (February 16, 2018) with 19 participants.
A focus group with the Deaf-Blind community in Greater Vancouver (February 27, 2018) with five participants
A focus group with the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community in Victoria (March 10, 2018) with 19 participants
A focus group with the Deaf, Deaf-Blind and Hard of Hearing community and hearing people (parents of deaf children, members of Northern B.C. Children and Families Hearing Society) in Prince George (May 6, 2018) with 14 participants.

In addition, an online survey with ASL translation was active from February 3 - May 6, 2018, for anyone unable to attend an in-person session.

Phase 2 Report Summary

Engagement - Summary of Input Received - Phase 2

Community Engagement Phase 2 Visual Report

Phase III - Refine

Phase III consisted of one follow-up workshop on June 20, 2018. The workshop was hosted in Vancouver, with access to participation from several communities across British Columbia via Telehealth. Provincial Language Services staff reported on what was heard in the Phase II engagements and shared a draft model proposal for future service delivery. Participants were asked to provide input into the draft proposal.

Twenty-two people participated:

Twelve Deaf and Hard of Hearing persons and three Deaf-Blind participants in Vancouver.
Two participants in Kelowna (one Deaf and one family member of a Deaf person).
Four participants in Prince George (three Deaf persons and one parent of a Deaf child).
One Deaf participant from the Greater Vancouver area followed the workshop via live stream.

Provincial Language Services also established a Telehealth connection with the location in Victoria, and a Telehealth connection was made available for Terrace, but no participants attended from those locations.

Phase III also included receiving post-workshop input into the information shared about the proposed Service Delivery Framework.

Phase 3 Report Summary

Engagement Summary of Input Received - Phase 3

Community Engagement Phase 3 Visual Report

Phase IV - Share

Phase IV focuses on reporting on the community input used in Provincial Language Services' short-term and long-term service planning.

Reporting back to the community also includes feedback on the input received that might not be practical or possible for Provincial Language Services to implement, along with why this is so.

Phase IV will also serve as a transition phase to a new Deaf-led process, establishing a community advisory group.

Announcement: Community Advisory Group

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