A program at California State University, Stanislaus -- launching next month -- aims to help fill a statewide shortage of court interpreters.

The Introduction to Court Interpretation program will prepare people who are bilingual in English and Spanish for the field.

It's a career with "an abundance of opportunities" said Mike Tozzi, executive officer for the Stanislaus County Superior Court.

"There aren't enough certified interpreters to go around for the need," said Rosa Junqueiro, executive officer for the San Joaquin County Superior Court. "We find ourselves using non-certified (interpreters)."

Though Junqueiro said some non- certified interpreters are very good, in general they are not considered to be as qualified.

Stanislaus County also uses non- certified interpreters on occasion, though Raquel Nunez, interpreter coordinator for Stanislaus County, said often they are on their way to becoming certified.

State law requires courts to use certified interpreters, but if one is not available courts can use noncertified interpreters as an alternative, Junqueiro said.

San Joaquin has three certified Spanish interpreters on staff and uses less than a half-dozen independent contractors. Junqueiro said that's just not enough. At times, the shortage leads to delays in proceedings.

"We have had to continue cases, or delay a case for later in the day as soon as one becomes available," Junqueiro said.

The number of state-certified Spanish-language court interpreters fell from 1,536 in 1995 to 988 in 2000, according to the Judicial Council of California.

'Phenomenal' statewide demand

Possible reasons for the decline, cited in a 2000 report, are higher pay for interpreters working in noncourt settings, change of career and mortality. A study of the need is conducted every five years.

"I think there's always been a need for certified Spanish interpreters," said Tozzi, who will teach the first two weeks of the seven-week program.

Stanislaus County has six full-time Spanish interpreters, and, unlike San Joaquin, Tozzi said that is enough most of the time.

"About 98 percent of the time they fill the need in Stanislaus," Tozzi said. "But we have had problems with the other languages."

On a typical day in the Stanislaus court system in 2003, there were 47 to 68 hearings that require Spanish-language interpreters, according to Heather Harden, marketing specialist at University Extended Education.

While Stanislaus interpreters are able to cover most hearings most of the time, Tozzi said the need for Spanish-language interpreters statewide is "absolutely phenomenal."

According to the state Judicial Council, nearly 5.5 million Californians speak Spanish and more than 650,000 of those speak no English. Of the 32 percent of Californians who speak a language other than English, nearly one in 10 cannot speak English.

Court interpreters can earn $265 for a full day, or for anything more than four hours in a day, and $147 for four hours or less, Nunez said. Interpreters work an average of 25 to 35 hours a week, she said.