The Community Services Locator is an online directory for finding community services for children and families.

Most communities have education, health, mental health, family support, parenting, child care, and other services that can help support children and families. However, locating those services or even knowing which services to look for is often difficult.

The Community Services Locator is designed to help service providers and families find available national, state, and local resources that can address child and family needs.

Service providers can use the locator with "Where to seek help": A Bright Futures referral tool for providers (2006) to help build a customized directory of community-based resources. The tool is also available in Spanish.

Source: Maternal and Child Health Library, National Center for Education in Maternal and Child Health (via Child Welfare Information Gateway).

The information below is provided by LanguageTrak, a demographic tracking service provided by Language Line Services.

The data reflects the languages most requested by emergency services, government agencies, health care facilities and businesses.

Fukienese:

Nationally, in the past year there has been a 44% increase in the need for Fukienese interpreters.

Fukienese is a dialect of Chinese spoken by nearly 45 million people worldwide with most speakers residing in China, Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore.

Areas that have seen the largest increase in interpreter demand for Fukienese:

1. Phoenix, AZ 400% increase
2. Pottsville, Scranton, Williamsport, PA 200% increase
3. Lansdale, Levittown, Philadelphia, PA 200% increase
4. Austin, Georgetown, San Marcos, TX 300% increase
5. Coral Springs, Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, FL 200% increase

Areas with the largest demand for Fukienese:

1. New York, NY
2. San Jose, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, CA
3. Phoenix, AZ
4. Austin, Georgetown, San Marcos, TX
5. Lansdale, levittown, Philadelphia, PA

Map complements of Wikipedia. Learn more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fujian

Learn more about Language LineŽ LanguageTrak here and here.

Arrests involving illegal immigrants are reaching record levels, and the need for certified court interpreters has never been more evident.

As more and more defendants continue to speak languages other than English, both state and federal courts are struggling to provide the proper language assistance.

In 2007 alone, the Administrative Offices of the U.S. Courts reported that there was a 17% increase in the number of instances interpreters were required.

Language Line Services provides certified interpreters for courts across the country.

A Language LineŽ University representative is available to discuss the importance of using properly trained and certified interpreters in a courtroom setting.

To learn more, call 877-351-6636 or email llu@languageline.com

For information about the Language LineŽ University Certified Court Interpreter test click here.

As a Language Line Services client, you have access to a variety of training tools that help you communicate with your limited English-speaking customers.

Some we've designed to train your staff on how to access and efficiently work with interpreters. Others are designed to let your limited English speaking customers know they are valued and will be served by an interpreter.

The Language Line "Quick Reference Guide" is one of the first group. And perhaps our most important (pictured above).

The Quick Reference Guide or "QRG":

• Is a "cheat sheet" to keep near your phone for quick access to an interpreter.
• Is a customized card containing all the dialing instructions you need to access an interpreter.
• Includes helpful tips to effectively work with an interpreter, saving you time and money.
• And is a convenient size (6 1/2"w x 4 1/2"h)

You'll find several more useful training and customer service tools here, including a wallet-size version of the QRG.

For more information, either contact your Language Line Services representative or...

Customer Service at 1-800-752-6096 option 4, or CustomerCare@languageline.com.

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