Bridging the language barrier

Senate Democrats reach out to Latino constituents

Latinos are the fastest-growing minority group in Washington. There are an estimated 500,000 Latinos working and living here. Although Mexicans make up the majority of Latinos in our state (80 percent), immigrants and their descendents from Central and South America, as well as the Caribbean, also reside within Washington’s borders. Franklin, Adams, Yakima and Grant counties have the highest population of Latinos.

Senate Democrats are aware of the challenges English-language learners face when learning about and integrating into a new environment. Understanding state and federal regulations can be daunting, even for those who are native English speakers. Providing critical information about laws and state services in other languages helps new citizens integrate successfully and become productive, contributing members of society.

That’s why we are excited and proud to debut our Web site in Spanish. On it you’ll find translated Web links to general legislative information as well as Senate Democratic leadership structure, committees, issues page and audio files. Every couple of weeks we highlight policy issues such as education, health care, the environment, the budget and transportation, also translated to Spanish.

The site also includes a link to Access Washington, the official government Web site, where constituents can find information on state agencies and services in other languages including Spanish. TVW, the network that offers unedited television coverage of public affairs, now offers closed-captioning and Spanish translation of many of its most popular programs.

Although, the Senate Democratic Caucus Web site is not entirely translated in Spanish, it will still lead users to pertinent legislative information. Because of the Web’s dynamic nature, we will continue adding new information and appreciate your patience in this process.