BDHHS Sign Language Interpreters and CART Captioning in Reading

The booking is normally made by the place that needs the interpreter, such as a doctor's office, a school, a court, an agency or an employer. The FAQ speaks to businesses and non-profit agencies that serve the public and are required by the Americans with Disabilities Act to make their facilities accessible to all people, regardless of disability. Interpreters work in business and corporate, educational and academic, legal, medical, mental health and personal settings, including employment interviews, meetings and trainings, social, personal and family events, government and state agencies, and K-12 schools, colleges and universities. Past interpreting work includes Berks County Court of Common Pleas, Chester County Courthouse, Montgomery County Courts, Hamburg Area School District, Hazleton School District, PA Colleg of Art and Design, Delaware Valley College, RACC, East Penn Mfg., Teleflex Mfg. and UGI Utilities Inc. Past CART work includes Berks County Intermediate Unit, Chester County Intermediate Unit, County of Berks Court of Common Pleas and Kutztown University.

All BDHHS interpreters are personally evaluated and must be RID Nationally Certified through the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, and they are registered with the Office for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Some hold added certifications such as SC:L for legal work, NIC, Ed:K-12 for schools and CDI as a Certified Deaf Interpreter. Languages include English and Spanish.

CART captioning is the other option. A captioner uses a steno-graph machine to turn the spoken word into text on a computer screen almost at the same moment the words are said, so the person reading can follow and take part. Onsite CART puts the captioner in the same room; Remote CART keeps the captioner at another location and sends the audio and the captioned text over telephone lines or the internet. A verbatim printout is available, so there is no need to take notes, several people can use the same captions at once, and participants can sit anywhere in the room.

Rates start at $49.00 per hour for an on-site interpreter, and the cost depends on the situation. Video Interpretation is also available. Contact BDHHS for more information and a rate sheet. The office is at 2045 Centre Avenue, Reading, PA 19605, open Mon, Tue, Thu 8 AM to 4 PM, Wed 8 AM to 7 PM and Fri 8 AM to 1 PM. The Contact Us page lists Voice 610-685-4523, VP 484-388-4086 and Interpreting 610-685-4523; the home page lists a separate interpreting number, (610)-685-4520. Either number is worth trying if the first does not reach the interpreting office. There is also a Schedule an Interpreter form at sites.psu.edu/bdhhs/contact-us that asks for your name, email, phone number, age and a message.

A few rules apply once you book. There is a minimum of two hours on all assignments. Two interpreters work as a team for complex assignments or those exceeding two hours, and a Deaf interpreter and a hearing interpreter work together in all legal and most mental health assignments; which team is needed is confirmed when the request is made. It is the customer's job to tell BDHHS if either side cancels. For a one-day assignment, if BDHHS is not notified within 48 hours the customer is billed for the full length of the assignment plus travel time and mileage; if the interpreter is cancelled within 48 hours but in time for BDHHS to cancel the interpreter, the customer is billed for the length of the assignment minus travel time and mileage. Multi-day assignments not cancelled within 72 hours are billed for the days of service. Bad weather does not change this: BDHHS will not listen to news media cancellation reports and must be told of any cancellation or postponement by the customer. If the client does not show, the interpreter waits at least 20 minutes on assignments lasting up to two hours, and on longer ones checks with the customer about how long to wait; a customer who wants the interpreter to work whether the client is present or not should say so when making the request.

For businesses paying for access, Section 44 of the IRS Code allows a tax credit for small businesses and Section 190 allows a tax deduction for all businesses. The credit is available to businesses with total revenues of $1,000,000 or less in the previous tax year or 30 or fewer full-time employees, and covers 50% of eligible access expenditures in a year up to $10,250, a maximum credit of $5000, including the cost of making a sign language interpreter available. The deduction is available to all businesses with a maximum of $15,000 per year. For details, the DOJ ADA Information Line is 800-514-0301 (voice).

Source: sites.psu.edu/bdhhs/interpreting-services, read September 18, 2026.

The details

In Berks Deaf & Hard of Hearing Services’s words

Elizabeth Setley, is our Director of Interpreting & CART Services. She schedules our nationally certified interpreters to facilitate the best communication possible between our medical, educational, government and business partners for their Deaf, Deaf-Blind and Hard of Hearing consumers. Sign Language Interpreters make the communication connection between the deaf/hard of hearing and hearing world. All BDHHS/LCDHH interpreters are personally evaluated and must be RID Nationally Certified.

All help in Berks County →