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l4 <br />Orange County: Capabilities and Resources <br />In order to determine Orange County's ability to serve the Latino community, 19 <br />Departments were asked to fill out a surrey and talk with the County's LEP <br />coordinator. The Departments were selected on the likelihood of their providing <br />services to immigrant communities. This report is based on the 17 departments who <br />responded to the survey. The survey was designed to assess the demand for <br />multilingual services and the resources available to meet the demand. (Attached as <br />Appendix I). The following analysis is based on those responses. (Attached as <br />Appendix II). <br />Orange County Departments use a diverse array of tools to work with the Spanish <br />speaking communities. These include contract interpreters and translators, Spanish <br />speaking employees, the AT&T language line, and translated materials. In addition, <br />Departments mention using voice mail, software programs, and volunteers. <br />Contract Interpreter and Translators <br />Contract interpreters and translators are the County's primary method of overcoming <br />language barriers with the Spanish speaking community. Six of the seventeen <br />Departments who responded use contract interpreters and translators; this does help <br />to reduce the communication barrier between the Spanish speaking community and <br />government agencies. However; use of contract interpreters and translators has <br />limitations. On occasion documents and signs have been translated literally and <br />without intention the translation has relayed misleading or inaccurate information. <br />In the past fiscal year 2004-2005, the Department of Health and Social Services <br />spent approximately $17,845.00 on contract interpreters and translators. The cost <br />of contract interpreters supplements the work of the limited but growing number of <br />Spanish-speaking staff members in most Departments. <br />12 <br />