The Use of Qualified Court Interpreters in Ohio And Their Interpreter Certification Requirements
On November 14, 2015, an article entitled, “Ohio Domestic Relations and Juvenile Forms Translated in Five Languages” was posted to this blog. In it, I discussed how recently the Ohio Supreme Court made key juvenile and domestic relations forms available in the most used languages in Ohio including: Spanish, Russian, French, Chinese and Arabic. To read the full text of that article click here.
While these documents are a huge step toward litigants being able to engage in “meaningful participation” in the proceedings in which they are involved, the fact of the matter is, the understanding and filing of these forms is only one hurdle that must be overcome for deaf and non-English speaking parties. Despite the fact that the party was able to understand the paperwork leading up to the court proceeding or hearing, the litigant must still be fully involved and be aware of what is going on at the time of the actual proceeding. As a result, the use of an interpreter is often necessary to ensure this occurs.
Ohio … Read More... “Court Interpreters in Ohio Provide Accuracy In Legal Proceedings”
The Federal Reserve Board has recently published a working paper entitled, “Credit Scores and Committed Relationships.” In it, authors Jane Dokko, Geng Li and Jessica Hayes explore the potential correlation between one’s credit score and their likelihood of being a good partner or spouse. The study’s results seem to suggest that people with higher credit scores are more likely to be in committed relationships. In addition, the authors argue that how well a couple’s credit scores match initially, may also be a good indicator of whether the relationship has staying power. To read the full study see, 
Close your eyes for a moment and think back to a day when Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Reddit, Vimeo, YouTube, and LinkedIn were not in existence. Did you feel that sense of pure freedom from Social Media or did you freak out because you don’t know what you friend had for lunch today because you can’t see his food post? Regardless, it is pretty crazy to think about our society without Social Media or Facebook at the grasp of our fingertips.
Here we are in the post-holiday pall. While the holidays are difficult for those who have experienced a loss of any kind, they are stressful to some degree for all of us. We eat too much, drink too much, spend too much and in many cases have “too much” family or possibly, too little. And while there a kind of relief to having the holidays behind us, the let-down presents its’ own challenges.
This is a cautionary New Year’s Resolution for all of you who are either active duty military or veterans. The resolution is to keep yourself informed and diligent regarding your military and veteran medical records and personal files Do you know what is actually in your service files? Do you know what might be missing? Do you know what might be fraudulent or inaccurate? Did you keep information on your buddies? Did you get lonely and marry in haste, or spend a weekend leave and be left unaware that your personal information was stolen from your wallet or other ID, like a copy of orders?
The author of the book, Vikki Stark, graphically describes her feelings and emotions as her Husband tells her “it’s over”, i.e. “the marriage is over”, after she had returned from a book tour about her most recent book, My Sister, Myself, in 2006. At the time, the author had a twenty-one (21) year marriage, which she thought was a successful one. She felt loved and blessed to have a happy and fulfilling marriage. She was shocked to learn that her Husband had been engaged in a six (6) year extra-marital relationship. He was leaving her for the “other woman”! She did not know that the “other woman” existed!
Around this time of year, it is impossible to go anywhere without hearing or seeing something reminding us to “give thanks” and to get into the “holiday” spirit. However, as the joy and excitement of the season spreads, so does the stress and anxiety that goes along with it. While it may seem strange to those of us who believe this is the “most wonderful time of the year,” for the victims of child abuse, it can actually be the worst.