Questionable Hire for Interpreting

Arkansas state officials met with members of the deaf community today to discuss why an interpreter was given a state job with Arkansas Rehabilitation Services even though she has no national certification. Just last week, representative John Burris of Harrison questioned her qualifications at a legislative committee hearing. The unnamed woman scored seventh out of nine applicants on a written test and was not able interpret a video of someone using ASL. Six of the other candidates do have national certifications, but were passed over. The woman does have a certification - as a funeral director. She's worked at one for a decade owned by Bill Walker - the State Workforce Director who directly supervises the man who approved the hire. She was hired in January, but did not serve as an interpreter for any Arkansas Rehabilitation Service clients during her first 6 months on the job. Here's a video report from KATV which says "the chosen candidate may not have even applied for the job...or if she did it was past the deadline." KATV - Breaking News, Weather and Razorback Sports