Foreign Born Population Countries of Origin 10/14/2014. Maryland s diverse population a few statistics

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1 Addressing Language Barriers and the Needs of Limited English Proficiency Clients Presenters: Fighting Hunger Conference September 29, 2014 Virginia Rosa, Attorney, Legal Aid Bureau Jean Henningsen, Deputy Director, Seedco Introduction/Context Language Access Rights & Obligations Strategies for addressing language barriers Resources Question & Answer Maryland s diverse population a few statistics Foreign Born Population Countries of Origin About 13.5% of Maryland s population or almost 775,000 thousand Marylanders are foreign born. 61% of this population is concentrated in Montgomery and Prince George s and Baltimore counties Over 117 different languages are spoken in Montgomery county alone. Approximately 340,000 Maryland residents speak English less than very well. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5 Year Estimates, Selected Social Characteristics in the United States. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey

2 Definitions: LEP: Limited English Proficiency LEP Individuals: Those persons, who cannot speak, read, write or understand English well enough to interact effectively with service agencies. Virginia G. Rosa Fanny A. Vázquez Fariah Quasem Cornelia Bright Gordon Legal Aid Bureau Revised 2009 Recipient: Government agency that receives Federal financial assistance and/or operates a "program or activity" whose conduct is subject to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act 5 6 Federal Language Access Laws Title VI of Civil Rights Act of 1964 ( Title VI ) 1 Food Stamp Act of Equal Educational Opportunities Act of Public Health Service Act U.S.C. 2000d (2004). 2 7 U.S.C.A. 2020(c) U.S.C U.S.C. 254 b(b)(1)(a)(i)(iii)(iv). Title VI Section 601 provides: No person in the United States shall, on ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal Financial Assistance U.S.C. 2000d (2004)

3 To whom does Title VI apply? The Supreme Court has held that undocumented aliens are considered "persons" under the equal protection and due process clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. Plyler v. Doe 10 ; Mathews v. Diaz 11, etc. 10 Plyler v. Doe, 457 U.S. 202 (1982). 11 Mathews v. Diaz, 426 U.S. 67 (1976). State Language Access Laws Several states have passed language access laws. In 2002, Maryland passed the Equal Access to Public Services for Individuals with Limited English Proficiency ( ). 5 5 MD Code., State Gov t, The statute provides a mandatory timetable for specific state agencies to take reasonable steps to provide equal access to LEP individuals. Equal access is defined as: to be informed of, participate in, and benefit from public services offered by a State agency at a level equal to English proficient individuals. MD Code., State Gov t, MD Code Ann., State Gov t (b)

4 Reasonable steps to provide equal access to government services include: oral language services translation of vital documents any additional methods or means necessary to achieve equal access MD Code., State Gov t, ). IMMIGRANT ELIGIBILITY at Dept. of Social Services Four Main Immigrant Groups: 1. Refugees 2. Asylees 3. Cuban/Haitian Parolees 4. Victims of Human Trafficking ***All the above are considered to be PERMANENT RESIDENTS OF THE U.S. and are ELIGIBLE for the same services at DSS as ANY U.S. CITIZEN*** 13 ELIGIBILITY Continued 2 nd Major Group: Children of Mixed-Status Households - Children are U.S. Citizens-> Eligible for ALL Services at DSS ***PARENT S SS#s ARE NOT REQUIRED, once parent states that he/she is a Non-citizen**** ELIGIBILITY Continued Refugees, Asylees, Parolees, or Victims of Human Trafficking who are within first 8 months of arrival in U.S., refer them to: Baltimore Resettlement Center 3516 Eastern Avenue Baltimore, MD ***EXCEPT Family Re-unification Cases*** 4

5 Practices continued NEVER: 1. NEVER ask an LEP client to return to the office with the own interpreter 2. NEVER ask ANY family member or friend to serve as an interpreter 3. NEVER ask CHILDREN to serve as interpreters 4. NEVER turn a client away for needing an interpreter 5. NEVER ask for SS #s of any family member that is not applying for benefits Good Practices ALWAYS: 1. Assist LEP clients with identifying that they need an interpreter by using the Point to the Language You Speak List 2. When LEP client is identified, offer phone or in-person interpretation immediately 3. Accept an application for assistance and conduct an interview with customers who do not speak English or are hearing impaired 4. Use the services of an interpreter if you cannot conduct an interview because of the customer s language or hearing difficulties 5. Interpreter= NO CHARGE! 6. Note the person s request for language assistance in the case record QUESTIONS??? CONTACT: LAKEISHA STILLS Family Investment Specialist Baltimore Resettlement Center Phone #: Fax #: Lakeisha.stills@maryland.gov 5