Time to knock down language bar to aid

New York Daily News ^ | November 6, 2003 | Albor Ruiz

[sarcasm]

María Armijos would love to work. That, after all, was the reason she left Ecuador 12 years ago full of hope for the future.

At the time she could not have known that in a few years, epilepsy would preclude her from holding a job and force her to seek desperately needed help.

The fact that her English is poor would prove an almost insurmountable obstacle to getting the aid she needed - and to which she had a right.

"HRA [Human Resources Administration] has discriminated against me for years," Armijos said. "I never received translation services, and the caseworker mistreated me. They rejected my application two times, and I felt a lot of anxiety because I never understood what was happening with my case. It even got to the point that I had an epileptic seizure in the welfare center."

Like Armijo, thousands of people are denied benefits because they can't speak English.

Feng Lian, a social worker at the Union Health Care Center of the garment workers union UNITE, said that she always tells Chinese-speaking union members she refers to the Human Resources Administration to make sure they bring along someone who speaks English. Otherwise, she said, their chances of getting help are slim.

Which is why Intro 38 (the Equal Access to Health and Human Services Bill) was presented to the City Council on Sept. 18 by John Liu (D-Flushing) and Gale Brewer (D-Manhattan). The bill is sponsored by 41 other Council members, including Speaker Gifford Miller and General Welfare Committee Chairman Bill DeBlasio.

Intro 38 mandates that the Human Resources Administration, the Department of Employment and the Department of Health provide free written translation and oral interpretation services.

A rather modest bill, Intro 38 is not trying to reinvent the wheel. Instead, it seeks to ensure access to city services and bring New York in compliance with the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Four years ago, the city was found in violation of federal civil rights law because of this issue.

The Justice Department and Health and Human Services have said that failure to give language help in federally funded, city-administered programs violates the act.

"This bill will ensure that nonEnglish-speaking New Yorkers have equal access to services and benefits, regardless of language barriers," DeBlasio said. "It will help, for instance, to make sure that low-income New Yorkers who may not be able to speak English can put food on their family's table and get health care for their children."

The mayor, though, came out against Intro 38 in his radio program last Friday, saying it would be too costly. Yet the Council estimated the cost at $500,000 the first year and a million the second - less than the price of three hi-tech subway cars.

Actually, in contrast to what Bloomberg said, Intro 38 makes good financial sense. By giving more people access to programs such as Food Stamps and Medicaid, it would bring into the city millions of federal dollars.

"Mayor Bloomberg is always walking around seeking the support of the immigrant community," said Barcilides Matos, a disabled Dominican-American who has been to hell and back at Human Resource Administration offices. "Yet when we need him to back us up and respond to our problems, he is nowhere to be found."

[4.1O dana super trac pak]

This guy writes the same type of column a few times a week.

Sickening.

[donmeaker]

Well, that is interesting.

You are right, I deduced that because she had not learned English in 12 years, she had the intention to return to her country of origin. It is not explicitly stated in the article.

To be clear: It is my desire that immigration should be made easier with a guest worker program. Guest workers should be taxed, fingerprinted, and issued ID cards for tracking. Guest workers should not be eligible for welfare or social services, except on an emergency basis. A fund should be developed from guest worker fees and taxes to fund emergency services for guest workers. The intent of the guest worker fees would be to pay for the costs of tracking, and the (local) costs of guest worker language classes, and emergency services. Guest workers would have 5 years to develop basic English literacy or their Guest worker permit would be revoked, and they would be returned to their country of origin.

It is also my desire that citizenship for both native born and immigrants require English literacy. Further, I would require guest workers to serve in the US military honorably for 4 years, or be married to a US citizen for 7 years to qualify for citizenship. Yes, military service is tougher duty than marriage.

[JustPiper]

We've become the welfare program for all of Mexico.

I could use some mental health care after this issue!