Orange County Partnership for Young Children Report on Orange

Orange County Partnership for Young Children Report on Orange County Agencies Serving Spanish-Speaking Clients Prepared by: Lois Kinzie January 2005 Overview The Orange County Partnership for Young Children was interested in understanding the current capacity of community agencies in serving Latino families with young children. In the fall of 2004, staff from the Partnership assessed the capacity of Orange County agencies to serve Spanish-speaking families with children birth to age five using a written survey instrument (Appendix A). Surveys were sent to 60 Orange County agencies or divisions within a larger agency (See Table 7). Thirty-two responses were received. Every respondent did not answer each item and some items allowed for more than one answer. In 2004, agencies are increasingly serving Spanish-speaking clients. The agencies were asked the percentage of Spanish speaking clients they serve in 2004 and the percentage served fiveyears ago. While 45% reported that they have continued to serve 0-25% Spanish speaking clients over the 5 years, 18% stated that 76-100% of their clients in 2004 are Spanish speaking (See Table 3). Five years ago only .06% reported that rate of service. This change reflects the greater capacity of agencies/divisions to serve Spanish speaking clients as well as the emergence of new programs. One of the new programs, El Centro Latino, has been serving 100% Spanish speaking families since 1999. Table 1: Agencies/Programs Serving 76-100% Spanish Speaking Clients in 2004 Piedmont Health Bilingual Children’s Resource Coordination (has served 100% Spanish speaking families since 1997-98) Carrboro Community Health Center Clinics Chapel Hill Carrboro Schools PreK/Head Start ESL Cooperative Extension Early Feeding and Nutrition Education Program El Centro Latino OC Schools English Language Learner’s Resource Center Major Findings ! Capacity to Offer Services According to the responses received, the reporting agencies/divisions have increased their capacity to serve Spanish-speaking families by adding certain services. Some services that have been added still need to be improved, while others still need to be developed. 1 Table 2.A at the right shows that slightly more than half of the agencies/divisions reported they are adequately providing interpretation services within their agencies and provide a phone greeting in Spanish. Almost half provide services using Spanish speaking /bilingual staff. However, only one-third report that their staff have received cultural diversity training or have been trained to speak Spanish. One quarter of the agencies reported adequate signage or information available in Spanish. Table 2.A Service Provided Accurate interpretation (speaking) services within agency. Provide telephone greeting in Spanish Services provided by Spanish speaking/bilingual staff Accurate translation (writing) services within agency Provide Spanish language training for staff Staff trained on Latino cultural perspectives Conduct ongoing outreach to Spanish speaking clients. All client materials, signage and instructions are translated into Spanish Adequate 58% 52% 46% 39% 35% 31% 28% 25% In Table 2.B at the right, the three quarters of reporting agencies/divisions feel that they need to improve or develop services for the accurate translation into Spanish of their client materials and signage. More than two-thirds indicate the need to improve or develop outreach to Spanish speaking clients, train staff on Latino cultural perspectives, provide staff with Spanish language training. More than half report the need to provide accurate translation services within the agency. Table 2.B Needs to be improved or developed. All client materials, signage 75% and instructions are translated into Spanish Conduct ongoing outreach 72% to Spanish speaking clients. Staff trained on Latino 69% cultural perspectives Provide Spanish language 65% training for staff Accurate translation 61% (writing) services within agency Service Provided ! Challenges and/or Barriers To Services Table 3 below shows data from the 32 agencies/divisions regarding those issues that present challenges and/or barriers that keep Spanish speaking families from accessing services. Slightly more than half reported that there is a lack of knowledge about the services among the Spanish-speaking population. Client beliefs about their acculturation into the new culture/society were also seen as a barrier/challenge that kept families from accessing services. Nearly half reported that lack of transportation to some agencies, lack of bilingual/bicultural staff for the number of clients requesting services and the social/economic circumstances of the families all presented a challenge or barrier that kept the families from accessing their services. 2 Table 3: Challenges and/or Barriers keeping Spanish-speaking clients from accessing services Challenges/barriers Lack of knowledge of services by Spanish speaking clients Client beliefs that inhibit their acculturation into American culture/society Lack of transportation to some agencies Not enough bilingual/bicultural staff to accommodate requests for services Social/economic circumstances of client families Clients believe they may be reported to INS if they receive services Clients do not come for services because they believe their legal status will affect their ability to receive services Lack of year-round residency of some clients makes it difficult to provide continuity of services Staff lack cultural diversity training for working with Latino families Percent perceiving this as a challenge/barrier 56% 56% 49% 47% 47% 44% 38% 28% 22% ! Greatest Challenges To Families For Accessing Services Respondents were asked to give their opinion of the two greatest challenges Latino parents face in accessing services for their young children. Table 4 at the right lists the responses given with the greatest percentage for the given response listed first. Language barriers, transportation issues and a lack of knowledge about available services were the most frequently stated challenges. Agencies also indicated that financial constraints, cultural barriers and the client’s immigration status are challenges faced by some parents in accessing services. Table 4 Greatest Challenges to Latino Parents In Accessing Services (n=27) Challenge Yes Language barriers 44% Transportation 41% Lack of knowledge about services 41% Financial constraints 15% Employment issues 15% Cultural barriers 15% Fear of seeking services due to 15% immigration status Issues around accessing child care 7% Lack of eligibility due to 4% immigration status Long term negative perception of 4% staff regarding cultural practices Difficulty getting some services 4% even when children are citizens Families build trust in one 4% provider at an agency and tend to discontinue services if that person is not available. ! Greatest Unmet Needs In Table 5 below are the responses from the respondents when asked for their opinion of the two greatest unmet needs of Latino Parents in Orange County. The responses were spread 3 over a wide number of needs. Responding agencies most frequently cited child care as the greatest unmet need of Latino parents with concerns around affordability, availability, location, finding care with Spanishspeaking staff and hours of operation to fit parents’ work schedules. Health care issues, the second most frequent response, had to do with affordability and lack of insurance for non-citizens. Other unmet needs are listed in descending order of frequency. Table 5 Greatest Unmet Needs of Latino Parents (n=27) Unmet Need Child Care Issues Health Care Issues Parenting skills/Information about laws around child safety/abuse/neglect More ESL and Spanish Language Literacy Classes Health Insurance for undocumented children Mental Health services Transportation (esp. N. Orange) Employment that offers living wage. Services for children with special needs Adequate/affordable housing Single source of information for all services, including provider contact. Lack of bilingual service providers Need for advocacy with employers and landlords More cultural diversity education in general Public school preschools for all Direct outreach in rural Northern Orange Substance abuse services for women Domestic violence issues Centralized & widely advertised source for interpretation and advocacy services Yes 30% 22% 19% 19% 19% 15% 15% 15% 7% 7% 7% 4% 4% 4% 4% 4% 4% 4% 4% Types of Services Provided The chart on page seven lists the responding agency/division and indicates whether a particular service is provided directly (D) or if the client receives a referral to the appropriate source for a needed service (R). Some agencies or divisions both provide a service and refer out for that service. For example, at Carrboro Community Health Center, a physician may identify physical delays in a young child and then refer the family for further evaluation/treatment through the CDSA. 4 Plans For Expansion of Services The respondents were asked to give information about expansion plans for services targeting Latino families and their young children. The table below gives information listed by agency/division about expansion plans recently instituted and plans that will be put in place when funds become available. Twelve of the thirty-two respondents shared such plans. Table 6: Plans to Expand Services Agency/Division CCSA TA/Upgrade Recent Expansions in Place Expansion Plans When Funds Are Available Will translate Technical Assistance (TA) materials into Spanish and hire a bilingual TA to serve Spanish Immersion Center and other Spanish-speaking teachers. Reinstate the expanded Resource and Referral Services to Spanish speaking families seeking child care. Proposal to county government to expand services to the Cedar Grove Center. When funds are available, will hire bilingual staff to offer all current services to Latino families. Request has been made to Towns of Chapel Hill & Carrboro for funds to increase services to Latino children/families. CCSA Scholarships El Centro Latino Hillsborough Exchange Club Family Center OPC Early Intervention and Family Support (KidSCope) Chapel Hill Police Crisis Unit Cooperative Extension Received grant to provide Domestic Violence Outreach Worker More outreach to Hispanic Populations of Head Start, Faith Community Will expand EHS home based option to Latino families as needed. Will do more outreach in N.Orange to enroll eligible EHS families and provide bilingual classrooms as needed. Adding bilingual story time & after school programs Fall, 2004 Parents will continue to be informed about the ESL Resource Center services. Out reach to area agencies about these services. Launch increased outreach to Latino residents about available transportation services. Publish route brochures in Spanish. Expanding Spanish language legal services. OC Head Start/EHS OC Library, Cedar Grove OC Schools Orange Public Transportation The Women’s Center 5 Conclusions Agencies and divisions within agencies have made efforts to increase their capacity to serve Spanish-speaking families with young children since the first survey conducted by the Orange County Partnership for Young Children in 1999. At that time, even though many were serving families, their ability to work effectively with them was constrained due to lack of Spanish speaking staff with only 53% reporting that some staff spoke Spanish, and often that was not the direct contact person. The lack of bilingual staff was reported by 80% as the main barrier to service in 1999 whereas, 47% report that as a barrier in 2004. More agencies now provide a Spanish language phone line or phone message, Spanish-speaking front line workers, and are striving to provide care providers who are bilingual. The latter is a challenge for some services due to lack of qualified professionals in certain fields. Outreach to the Latino community concerning services available was reported by 67% as a barrier to service in 1999, and was considered the largest barrier in the current survey being reported by 57% of responders. Lack of knowledge about services was also listed by 41% in the current survey as one of the greatest challenges to the Latino parents in accessing services. Outreach remains a high priority because new families are always coming into the county. 6 Table 7: Survey Participants Name of Agency/Organization Abundant Life Church (Iglesia Vida Abundante) Carrboro Health Center Chapel Hill Children’s Clinic, P.A. Chapel Hill Police Department Chapel Hill Training and Ourtreach Chapel Hill/Carrboro Schools Chapel Hill/Carrboro Schools Child Care Services Association Child Care Services Association Cooperative Extension Services Cooperative Extension Services Dispute Settlement Center El Centro Latino Family Violence Prevention Center of Orange County Hillsborough Exchange Club Family Center Inter-Faith Council OPC Mental Health OPC Mental Health Orange County DSS Orange County DSS Orange County Emergency Management OC Health Department OC Health Department OC Health Department Orange County Library Orange County Public Transportation Orange County Rape Crisis Center Orange County Schools Piedmont Health Care The Women’s Center UNC General Pediatric Clinic UNC Horizons Division or Program Early Head Start/Head Start Overall Program PreK/Head Start ESL Scholarships Technical Assistance/Upgrade Early Food and Nutrition Education Program General Family Support Programs Community Services Early Intervention and Family Support Northside Family/Child Clinic Child Protective Services Day Care Unit EMS Division Child Services Coordination Program Clinics Intensive Home Visiting Program Cedar Grove Branch ESL Resource Center Bilingual Resource Coordinator Healthy Steps 7 Agencies Types of Services Provided Foster Care/Child Support/Adoption Financial Literacy Budgeting (D=Direct, R=Referral) Domestic Violence Assistance Paying Medical Costs Parent Education & Support Housing Options Legal Assistance Developmental/ Physical Disabilities Health Services Transportation Mental Health Counseling Dental Health Abundant Life Church Carrboro Community Health Center CH Children’s Clinic CHCC Schools CH Police Crisis Unit Child Care Services Association Coop. Extension Dispute Settlement Ctr Early Head Start/ OC Head Start El Centro FVPC H’borough Exchange Club Inter-Faith Council OPC Clinic OPC KidSCope OC DSS OC EMS OCHD OC Library OC Public Transport. Rape Crisis Ctr. OC Schools Piedmont Bilingual Resource Coordinator Women’s Center UNC Gen. Pediatric Clinic UNC Horizons R R R R R R R R R R R D D R R R D D/R R R R R R R R R D R R D R R R R D R R R D D D R R R D R R R R D/R R D R R R R R R R D/ R R D D R R R D R R R D R D/R R D/R R D/R R R R R R R R R R D/R D/ R R R D/R D/R D D R R R D/R R D R R R R D/R D/R R D D R R R R R R R R R R D R D R R R R R D D/R R R R D R R R R D R R R R D D R D/R D R R R R D R R R R D R R R D R R R R R R R R R D R R R D/R R R R R R R R D D R R R R R D D R R D D D D D R R R R R D R D D/R R R R D D D D R R D R R D D R R R R R R R R D R R D R R R D D R R R D R R R R R R D/R R R D/R D R R R R D/R R R R R R D D/R D D R R D D/R D R D R R R R D R D D R D/R D R D R R R R D/R R R R R D/ R R R R R R R R R D R R R R R R R R R D R R D R R R R R R D D/R D R R R R R R R R D/ R D R R R R D R D/R R D R R R D/R R R D/ R D/R R R R D R R R D/R R D D D R R R R D Interpretation Assistance D D D/R D R R D D D D D D D D D/R D D D R D R ESL/Literacy Child Abuse/ Neglect Job Training Translation Assistance Emergency Assistance Child Care Referrals 8