In celebration of 2026 Court Reporting & Captioning Week, NCRA’s Captioning Committee created “Scheduling a CART/Captioning Event: A Guide to Comprehensive Intake,” a first-of-ts-kind, two-page checklist that provides tips for on-site and remote events, open and closed captioning, platform examples, prep, setup, and more.
According to Captioning Committee Chair Kimberly Falgiani, RDR, CRR, CRC, a CART and broadcast captioner and court reporter from Warren, Ohio, when the committee first began discussing creating the form, the intent was to offer it as a resource for disability services departments within universities to make it easier on staff when a request was made by a consumer for CART services.
“As we began brainstorming what that would look like, we came to the conclusion that an intake form would be advantageous for any organization interested in providing effective communication access at their events, whatever that may look like,” Falgiani explained.
“Rather than creating an extremely large document containing detailed explanations of the platforms and logistics in order to educate the client, it was determined that the intake form would be better suited as a checklist for the captioner to use as a resource to help them ‘guide the client’ through the process of scheduling an event,” she added.
Falgiani said that many captioners find themselves educating their clients on best practices when it comes to providing equal and effective communication access to the deaf and hard-of-hearing communities.
“By answering a few of our questions, the clients need only concern themselves with the end product and not the process itself,” said Falgiani. “The checklist allows the captioner to advise the client while keeping important logistical details and alternatives in mind..”
According to Falgiani, feedback from captioners has been positive when presented with this intake form. She added that the committee believes it will make it easier for captioners to have streamlined, comprehensive conversations with clients about the communication access needs of their consumers while keeping in mind the resources available within a given venue.
In addition to Falgiani, other members serving on the NCRA Captioning Committee are:
- Anna Cillo, a CART captioner and agency owner from Pittsburgh, Pa.
- Ellen Kerr, RPR, CRC, a CART and broadcast captioner from Hornell, N.Y.
- Denise Munguia, RDR, CRR, CRC, a freelance court reporter, CART captioner, an agency owner from North Olmsted, Ohio
- Angela Sundell, RDR, CRR, CRC, a CART and broadcast captioner from Hopkins, Minn.
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