Fairfax County plans to translate sections of its Web site into possibly four different languages, a venture that may turn the already massive online presence into a municipal Rosetta Stone.
County staff are discussing a request for bids to translate information from some departments into Spanish, Korean, Vietnamese and possibly Arabic, said Language Access Coordinator Angie Carrera.
Along with English, Carera said those are the top languages spoken in Fairfax County, which counts more than 30 percent of its residents as foreign born, said Carrera.
About half of that population, she said, has limited proficiency in English.
The county maintains data from over 40 agencies, as well as maps, trends and demographic information at www.fairfaxcounty.gov.
Carrera said departments like Tax Administration, Transportation, Family Services and the Park Authority, as well as public safety agencies, are likely candidates for the project. The county does not, however, plan to translate the entire site.
“It really is [going to] depend on what each department thinks it’s going to need to present for public reading,” she said.
Providing access to public data and services for those not proficient in English has become an increasingly apparent issue.
Coordinators for both juvenile courts and domestic abuse programs recently said they are seeking more bilingual staff or volunteers.
In 2003, the county began translating its hard documents, and is now moving to duplicate that effort online. The initiative, said county spokeswoman Merni Fitzgerald, is a “recognition that we have a very diverse county.”
Fairfax County was recently ranked as the second most digital government in the country, falling behind only Orange County, Fla.
The ranking was based on a number of IT factors, including the strength of the Web site.
There is no timeline yet for the online translation project, Carrera said, though she expects it to be under way in a matter of months.
