Fairfax County’s Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court needs more volunteer interpreters to help Hispanics navigate the judicial system, according to the coordinator for the program.
The court now has 28 bilingual volunteers who offer their time to translate for Spanish-speaking clients in civil cases, said Volunteer Interpreter Program Coordinator Loida Gibbs. The volunteers complement the paid staff who handle criminal cases.
The need highlights not only Fairfax County’s growing Hispanic population, but also the presence of an obstructive language barrier that complicates access to government services.
Gibbs wants twice as many volunteers as she has now.
“The client cannot be heard if we don’t have volunteer interpreters,” Gibbs said.
The domestic courts relied on 2,396 hours of volunteer time in the past year, according to Gibbs. She said they interpreted for 673 clients during that time.
“Some of them are homemakers, some of them hold full-time jobs and they take one day of the week to come volunteer,” she said.
The courts are seeking interpreters for the Old Courthouse in Fairfax City and off-site facilities throughout the county, including the boys and girls probation houses.
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Gerald Connolly called the need for interpreters “a growing burden and responsibility of the courts.” The need is demonstrated, he said, in the recent case of a Prince William County inmate who was kept in jail two months after his release date, an error that has been blamed in part on the language barrier.
