Howard County wants to make all its agencies available to residents ? regardless of their language.
“The county has generally been responsive to the language and cultural needs of the foreign community,” said Roy Appletree, executive director of Foreign Born Information and Referral Network or FIRN. “There is a long way to go.”
From bilingual staff to translated Web pages, county agencies vary on how they serve residents with limited proficiency in English.
County Executive Jim Robey issued an executive order Thursday requiring all agencies appoint a Limited English Proficiency coordinator and start making steps to ensure access to services. Officials will work during the next six months to craft a formal policy. The County Council approved $25,000 in the current budget to cover this initiative.
This plan, which has been in the works for the past few years, will cover only government agencies. But Appletree said nonprofits that receive support from the county and provide resident services should be included.
“We would like to also see them be a leader to make sure the nonprofits have the resources and knowledge and support in providing a culturally responsive policy,” he said.
The county may make recommendations to nonprofits in the future, but this policy will be focused on government agencies, said Susan Rosenbaum, director of the Department of Citizen Services.
AT A GLANCE
By 2010, foreign-born residents will make up 14.4 percent of the county?s population, and by 2015, that could rise to 16.7 percent, according to a study conducted by the Association for the Study and Development of Community on behalf of FIRN Inc. and the county?s Department of Community Services.
