Everybody knows things are getting more costly these days, and one of those things that’s become very costly indeed for Guilford County government is providing translation services for the increasing number of non-English speakers who live in the county and use the county’s health services.
At the Thursday, May 1 meeting of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners, the board is expected to approve a one-year extension of its contract with Pacific Interpreters, which will provide over-the-phone and remote video interpreting services for the Public Health Division of the Guilford County Department of Health and Human Services.
These services help county residents with limited English proficiency access public health programs.
The demand for interpreters has risen sharply over the past few years, and with it, the county’s costs.
In fiscal year 2020-2021, for instance – the 12 months from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021 – Guilford County spent $82,558 on interpreter services for health services.
That amount more than doubled to $170,181 in fiscal 2021-2022, and climbed again to $179,972 in 2022-2023.
In fiscal 2023-2024, spending surged to $306,750.
The cost will be very high again in the current fiscal year: Through the first eight months of fiscal 2024-2025, the county had already spent $198,944 on translation services for public health.
It’s important to note that these costs are only for the translation services in public health in Guilford County. Translation services are needed in many departments across the county’s government – for instance, in social services, the Sheriff’s Office, Child Support, the Family Justice Center and many more.
The Rhino Times is not aware of the amount of the total cost for language translation services needed by Guilford County government overall.
County staff stated in a memo to the commissioners that the rate charged by Pacific Interpreters hasn’t changed. Instead, this spending increase is driven entirely by a surge in call volumes – as more residents seek to use the language assistance service.
As part of the motion to be adopted on May 1, the commissioners are being asked to authorize an additional one-year contract renewal option, which would set a two-year potential maximum at $700,000.
Right now, there are $5 and even free smartphone apps that do a very good job of translating languages and perhaps the county could move more of its translation needs to smartphones and save a lot of taxpayer money in the future – though no doubt there will remain many nuanced situations where a live person will need to do the translating.
Current census.gov estimates put the number of people in the county who use a language other than English when at home at 16 percent.
According to information provided by Guilford County Schools: “GCS serves a diverse population of students. There are more than 118 languages spoken in classrooms throughout the district. Among the top ten languages are Spanish, Vietnamese, Urdu, Arabic and French. There are more than 142 student cultural and ethnic groups represented in our district.”
The school system’s English Learners Department is there to help students acquire the necessary language skills for them to succeed in the school system as well as navigate life in the predominantly English-speaking community that is Guilford County.
