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I ~3 <br />Barriers <br />In spite of these efforts, obstacles remain to effective communication between <br />government and LEP communities in Orange County. In the survey, Departments <br />were asked to identify the most prevalent barriers to their work with the Latino <br />community. The most prevalent barriers were identified as language, culture, lack of <br />community contacts, lack of resources to translate materials/information into <br />Spanish or other languages, the LEP community's lack of understanding about how <br />the system works, lack of adequate Spanish speaking staff, LEP community <br />avoidance of government, and lack of resources to find and assess employment <br />applicants who may speak Spanish. <br />Language: <br />The language barrier continues to be a major struggle between government and the <br />LEP. Orange County is continuously looking to bridge the gap between communities <br />but there is still a long way to go. Of the 17 departments, 16 considered language <br />the main barrier in the County. <br />Note: The following examples are taken from instances arising around North <br />Carolina and not specifically Orange County. <br />Example: " I was treated in some way acceptable, but because we can't speak <br />English, they don't listen to us."- Said an imrnigra nt from Mexico who was looking for <br />clinic assistance in'the County. <br />Example: "My boy is six years old now, and I just realized a few days ago that he is <br />able to apply for Medicaid. I don't speak English and that is probably why I didn't <br />realize before; nobody told me that he qualifies because we are slow-income family." <br />-Mexican immigrant. <br />16 <br />