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Don't Know How to Find Qualified Sign Language Interpreters Proactively building a program's capacity to provide qualified interpreters is essential, especially because the most qualified sign language interpreters book months in advance and the nature of victim services make scheduling far in advance nearly impossible. Having relationships with qualified interpreters, agreements on how to secure interpreters with short notice, and providing training to prepare interpreters to work in victim services are just a few of the best practices in victim services. However, few victim service organizations employ them. In the 2017 Language Access survey, 34 percent of respondents reported that they do not know how to find or work with sign language interpreters, and the vast majority (76 percent) do not have a contract in place with an agency that could provide sign language interpretation services.[42] Getting interpreters outside of standard 9-5 business hours poses even greater challenges for victim services organizations. For example, in the 2017 Language Access survey, only 1 in 5 victim service providers (19 percent) indicated that in a crisis situation after business hours, their organization could secure sign language interpreters for a Deaf survivor in less than an hour and almost half (45 percent) indicated that it would take four or more hours.[43] According to the Deaf advocates we engaged during this project, it is common for Deaf survivors who present at hospitals for sexual assault forensic exams to regularly wait four or more hours for interpreters to arrive before the exam and/or reporting can begin. Moreover, Deaf advocates also routinely report that emergency lifesaving interventions, such as restraining order hearings, are postponed because interpreters are not available. OF VICTIM SERVICE PROVIDERS DO NOT HAVE A CONTRACT IN PLACE FOR INTERPRETERS 4 OU 11111111F 0 5 VICTIM SERVICE PROVIDERS CANNOT IMMEDIATELY SECURE INTERPRETERS AFTER BUSINESS HOURS 21