Thread: N.C. aids immigrants with language issues

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/16726197.htm

Posted on Sun, Feb. 18, 2007

N.C. TO HELP COUNTIES COMPLY WITH FEDERAL LAW OVER TRANSLATION SERVICES

N.C. aids immigrants with language issues
Critics dispute changes they say will help illegal immigrants
DÁNICA COTO
dcoto@charlotteobserver.com

North Carolina is making it easier for non-English speakers to file complaints about language barriers and get quicker results, but taxpayers are questioning the move.

The push for change comes after a study found that most N.C. social service agencies and health departments -- strapped by resources -- could be violating federal law by not providing interpreters or documents in other languages.

State officials expect to contract with a telephone translation service soon and make it available to 50 counties that haven't been able to afford the program, said Carlotta Dixon, civil rights compliance coordinator for the N.C. Division of Social Services. Mecklenburg already has the service.

Requiring counties to provide translation services, especially smaller, cash-strapped ones, is a touchy subject, Dixon said.

"The first thing we'll hear," she said, "is that we're wasting taxpayers' money."

More than 363,000 people in North Carolina who speak another language at home say they don't speak English very well, a 22 percent jump from 2000 to 2005, according to the U.S. Census.

As part of the new translation services, North Carolina will also allow people to file complaints about language barriers on behalf of others. Since most complainants are undocumented immigrants seeking help for their U.S.-born children, they won't file complaints, fearing deportation, said Terry Hodges, compliance attorney with the General Counsel office at the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.

Title VI requirements

North Carolina shouldn't provide translation services to those who come here illegally, said Ron Woodard, of NC Listen, a local immigration reform group.

"I don't believe we should go out of our way to provide them with much of anything, except for emergency services," he said.

But states have to offer these services by law.

Agencies receiving federal money are bound by Title VI, which says they can't discriminate based on race, color or national origin. In 2000, then-President Clinton signed an additional order which, among other things, required federal agencies to provide services and/or materials in other languages.

In the past, if an N.C. resident didn't have access to an interpreter, they could file a complaint with federal officials, who would contact the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, who would then contact the agency in question. If the problem wasn't fixed, officials could cut off the agency's Medicaid money. In the meantime, the person needing an interpreter could wait days for one.

To avoid runarounds, North Carolina assumed responsibility in 2003 for receiving, reviewing and responding to complaints, said Hodges, the compliance attorney. The goal was to create a quicker response time. The change also came a year after federal officials surveyed 100 N.C. counties and analyzed data from five of them, noting that many agencies didn't have documents in other languages or the resources to hire interpreters. The study was done at Hodges' request.

Hundreds of oral complaints have been made since then, but the non-English-speaking population is growing and not much enforcement of the law has occurred, Hodges said.

N.C. agencies say they can't abide by the law because they don't have the money or staff to provide proper interpreter services -- the most common complaint, he said. And Hodges is supposed to enforce the law, "but one person can't go to all 100 counties and more than 300 departments," he said.

A state Title VI Advisory Committee is now being created to look at problems related to language barriers and possible solutions. Members would include nonprofit agencies representing people who don't speak English.

An in-house interpreter/translation office could open by this summer if the money comes through, Hodges said. The office would handle complaints from across the state as part of the new system.

"It's taken a long time to figure out what it means and how to exactly address it," said Debbie Crane, spokesperson for the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. But, "We are going to address this issue. It's clear that it's required by law."

N.C. to help counties comply with federal law over translation services

A state Title VI Advisory Committee is now being created to look at problems related to language barriers and possible solutions. Members would include nonprofit agencies representing people who don't speak English.

Since every county and larger cities have at one criminal alien advocacy group. Maybe they'll fight among themselves about who's on the committee.

As part of the new translation services, North Carolina will also allow people to file complaints about language barriers on behalf of others.

I can see El Pueblo and others handing out job applications now.

"The first thing we'll hear," she said, "is that we're wasting taxpayers' money."

The truth hurts doesn't it Ms. Dixon?