1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to employment training; establishing a 
  1.3             demonstration training project for spoken language 
  1.4             interpreters; appropriating money. 
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  [DEMONSTRATION PROJECT; TRAINING FOR SPOKEN 
  1.7   LANGUAGE INTERPRETERS.] 
  1.8      Subdivision 1.  [ESTABLISHMENT.] A two-year demonstration 
  1.9   project is established to train spoken language interpreters in 
  1.10  general and specialized interpreting leading to employment in 
  1.11  the health care and other industries.  In the demonstration 
  1.12  project, interpreter training must be offered cooperatively by 
  1.13  the Minneapolis community and technical college and the 
  1.14  University of Minnesota program in translation and 
  1.15  interpreting.  The demonstration project may also work 
  1.16  cooperatively with a private health care career institute to 
  1.17  offer specialized training for interpreting in health care 
  1.18  settings.  For the first two years of the program, courses must 
  1.19  be offered under an agreement or contract between the 
  1.20  Minneapolis community and technical college and the University 
  1.21  of Minnesota to provide faculty and curriculum. 
  1.22     Subd. 2.  [CURRICULUM AND ENROLLMENT.] The demonstration 
  1.23  project must, at a minimum, involve a two-semester course 
  1.24  sequence consisting of (1) introduction to interpreting; and (2) 
  1.25  consecutive interpreting.  Specialized courses on interpreting 
  2.1   for the health care industry may be added in the second year.  
  2.2   The program must focus on preparing interpreters to develop 
  2.3   professional skills, specialized vocabulary, and an 
  2.4   understanding of the core competencies and code of ethics 
  2.5   necessary to work as interpreters in community and employment 
  2.6   settings.  The program must be structured to provide training 
  2.7   that supports career advancement for participants.  The project 
  2.8   is expected to enroll approximately 20 students per semester. 
  2.9      Subd. 3.  [FUNDING.] The jobs skills partnership under 
  2.10  Minnesota Statutes, chapter 116L, may make a two-year grant to 
  2.11  the Minneapolis community and technical college for the 
  2.12  demonstration project under this section.  The grant award is 
  2.13  between $50,000 and $100,000 each year to cover the costs of 
  2.14  providing instruction for the demonstration project, instruction 
  2.15  for employers and providers on the appropriate use of 
  2.16  interpreters, outreach and marketing to bilingual students, and 
  2.17  funding to subsidize the student's costs of attending the 
  2.18  interpreter training including tuition, fees, and other costs.  
  2.19  If the demonstration project provides specialized training for 
  2.20  the health care industry, the partnership may require the award 
  2.21  to be matched by a nonprofit health care career institute. 
  2.22     Subd. 4.  [REPORT.] Participating institutions in the 
  2.23  demonstration project must report to the legislature by January 
  2.24  15, 2004, with recommendations for interpreter training, the 
  2.25  effectiveness of the training, the number of students who 
  2.26  complete the two-semester course sequence, and the number of 
  2.27  students who enroll in advanced or specialized interpreting 
  2.28  classes.  The report must include feedback from enrolled 
  2.29  students concerning how the program meets their needs, as well 
  2.30  as from participating employers on how the training has prepared 
  2.31  students for their jobs. 
  2.32     Sec. 2.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  2.33     $150,000 is appropriated from the general fund to the 
  2.34  department of trade and economic development for the purposes of 
  2.35  section 1.  This appropriation is available until June 30, 2003.