Kane County offers specialized behavioral health interpreter training

The Kane County Health Department is offering two free specialized behavioral health interpreter training to strengthen communication and care for people whose English is a second language, officials announced in a news release.

The trainings will be held at the Kane County Regional Office of Education, 28 N. First St., Geneva, for two different audiences, according to the release.

Continuing education credits will be provided for both sessions.

“These trainings address a critical need in behavioral health – ensuring that language barriers never become barriers to care,” Health Department Executive Director Michael Isaacson said in the release. “By equipping both interpreters and providers with the skills they need, we are building stronger and more inclusive services in Kane County.”

The first session is a two-day, 14-hour training for bilingual interpreters from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 2, and on Wednesday, Sept. 3.

The focus will be immersive instruction in the principles and practices of interpreter communication in behavioral health settings.

The two-day session requires that participants be fluent in a language other than English, according to the release.

The training is for direct service staff, clinicians, administrative support staff, community members, contractors, consumers, case managers and others who use their bilingual skills to interpret for agencies.

For the session from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 4, a seven-hour training, the focus will be how to work effectively with interpreters in behavioral health settings. It includes exploring communication styles, cultural context and strategies to improve care for clients whose first language is not English, according to the release.

The training is for direct service staff, clinicians, administrative support staff, community members, contractors, consumers, case managers, and others who use interpreters in their agency.

Register online at docs.google.com.

Space is limited to 40 participants for each session.

The program is part of the health department’s Behavioral Health Systems Improvement Initiatives.

More information is available online at www.kanehealth.com.