CJ Weekly Alert
No. XXXIII
May 22, 2007
This Alert is issued by Creciendo Juntos – Growing Together. Its purpose is to help people use and participate in the CJ website, network and related activities in support of outreach to and integration of the Latino community in Charlottesville, Albemarle, and surrounding areas.
Previous Alerts are located at http://www.cj-network.org/cjintro/alerts.html
CONTENTS (May 22 - 28, 2007)
A – THIS THURSDAY: LANGUAGE BARRIERS OR LANGUAGE ACCESS? A HALF-DAY WORKSHOP ON ENSURING ACCESS TO SERVICES FOR PERSONS WITH LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY (LEP)
B – REPORTING VIOLATIONS OF LEP POLICY
C – NEW STUDY: BUENOS PRINCIPIOS: LATINO CHILDREN IN THE EARLIEST YEARS OF LIFE: NARROWING THE GROWING SCHOOL READINESS GAP BETWEEN LATINO AND OTHER CHILDREN
D - PREPARING FOR IMMIGRATION REFORM & WHAT DOCUMENTS LATINOS SHOULD BE COMPILING
E – KNOW YOUR RIGHTS EVENT: SUMMARY AND RESOURCES
F - SIGN UP FOR THE THIRD ANNUAL HELP FAIR – FERÍA DE AYUDA
G - SUBMIT A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
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A – THIS THURSDAY: LANGUAGE BARRIERS OR LANGUAGE ACCESS? A HALF-DAY WORKSHOP ON ENSURING ACCESS TO SERVICES FOR PERSONS WITH LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY (LEP)
Date/Time: Thursday, May 24, 2007 Plenary, 9 am – Noon
Location: Albemarle County Building, Room A, 5th Street Extd (Exit 120 off Interstate 64)
RSVP: 979-7772 or
Sponsors: Creciendo Juntos-Growing Together, The Legal Aid Justice Center Family Resource Clinic, and the International Rescue Committee
Federal laws stipulate that all limited English proficiency persons living in the US – regardless of immigration status – must be provided free interpreter services by government and non-profit agencies receiving federal funds. This important workshop, which includes a presentation from national LEP expert Paul Cushing of the U.S.HHS, will give your organization the information and tools it needs to meet the needs of LEP clients and patients. Mr. Cushing will give a positive talk to help agencies understand their rights and obligations, while also clarifying when his office engages in litigation against non-compliance. While the plenary will be open, it will be directed to local department and agency heads. Plan on attending and convince you boss to come as well. For a flyer, visit
http://www.cj-network.org/cjnxtmtg/2007-04-09_Workshop_Flyer_Draft_v4peter.pdf
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B – REPORTING VIOLATIONS OF LEP POLICY
When a LEP person confronts a language access barrier, CJ strongly suggests that the person or agency representing the person quickly contact the office where the discrimination occurred and ask to speak to the director or other legal representative. When doing so does not provide satisfactory results, the person has several local and federal recourses.
The Legal Aid Justice Center encourages people to report such incidences to their office and may be able to offer help:
Telephone: (434) 977-0553
Contact: Tim Freilich, Extension 111
Contact: Doug Ford, Extension 136
Persons and organizations wishing to report specific incidences of language barriers may do so anonymously. All complaints can be directed to the Regional Manager for Civil Rights, Paul Cushing, at 215-861-4441 (phone), 800-368-1019 (hotline), 215-861-4431 (fax),
, or at Paul Cushing, Health & Human Services, 150 S. Independence Mall West, Suite 372, Public Ledger Bldg, Philadelphia, PA 19106-9111
Information about filing a complaint against offices that violate Tittle VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 can be found in a Department of Justice brochure located at: http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/cor/Pubs/t6broch.htm
For other contacts and references relating to LEP policy and violations, visit http://www.cj-network.org/cjimmrights/imm-acess.html
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C - NEW STUDY: BUENOS PRINCIPIOS: LATINO CHILDREN IN THE EARLIEST YEARS OF LIFE: NARROWING THE GROWING SCHOOL READINESS GAP BETWEEN LATINO AND OTHER CHILDREN
This report, released on April 30, 2007 by the National Council of La Raza, concludes that investing in high-quality, comprehensive early childhood education programs could help narrow the growing school readiness gap between Latino and other children. The report also makes a series of recommendations for policy-makers to improve the quality of life and school readiness for Latino children in the U.S. Access the report at: http://www.nclr.org/content/publications/detail/45609/
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D - PREPARING FOR IMMIGRATION REFORM & WHAT DOCUMENTS LATINOS SHOULD BE COMPILING
The May 2007 brochure entitled “Preparing for Immigration Reform,” prepared by Eddie Summers of the Charlottesville Immigration Law Center, and available in English and Spanish, advises immigrants of documents they need to be compiling to take advantage both of Immigration Reform and services provided in the community.
For a for Spanish version visit http://www.cj-network.org/cjimmrights/doc_pamphlet_spanish.pdf
For the English version visit http://www.cj-network.org/cjimmrights/doc_pamphlet_english.pdf
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E – CONOZCAN TUS DERECHOS (KNOW YOUR RIGHTS): SUMMARY & RESOURCES
Did you miss the Know Your Rights event on May 14, sponsored by Creciendo Juntos members Legal Aid Justice Center, Church of the Incarnation, Zona Latina, and Chandler Law Group?
A Zona Latina immigration special was aired, which featured both an interview with Angela Kelley, National Immigration Forum, and a section on what to do if authorities stop an immigrant on the street or in their home. Following the Zona Latina video, bilingual lawyers from Legal Aid Justice Center and Chandler Law Group gave educational presentations and took questions from the audience on questions ranging from filing for taxes with an ITIN, renewing driver's licenses, and new legislation. After the event, the lawyers were available to be approached one-on-one to speak to individuals on the topic. Much written material was available in both Spanish and English to further educate immigrants on the subject. Nearly 200 local Latino residents attended the event.
For web resources and contact information relating to the event, visit: http://www.cj-network.org/cjinitiatives/conozcan_tus_derechos.html
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F - SIGN UP FOR THE THIRD ANNUAL HELP FAIR – FERÍA DE AYUDA
The annual CJ Help Fair offers outreach and networking opportunities to service providers working in the areas of health, housing, education, employment, and social services. The third annual Help Fair – Fería de Ayuda, to help Latinos learn about and access local resources, will be held on Sunday, October 21, from 2:30 – 5:00, in the Church of the Incarnation Parish Hall. The church is located behind Toys-R-Us on Rt. 29.
If you’re a service provider and would like to participate, a member of the Latino/Hispanic community who would like to attend, and/or are interested in donating funds, food, music, dance performances, or door prizes, please contact Bernice Ramirez at After August 25, inquiries may be directed to Rhonda Miska, who has coordinated the fairs in the past. (Rhonda will be out of town until late August.)
To read about the second Help Fair visit http://www.cj-etwork.org/cjinitiatives/cjhelpfair2006.html ; to read about the first Help Fair visit http://www.cj-network.org/cjinitiatives/cjhelpfair2005.html
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G – UPCOMING MEETINGS/EVENTS
* CJ’s Orientation Working Group will be meeting on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 at 9:00 am at Mudhouse (downtown mall). To participate in this group contact: ,
* The CJ Health Promoters Working Group’s next meeting is Monday, June 4, 2007, at 5:00 pm, at the office of SARA (1013 Little High Street, downtown). Until further notice, attendance is limited to founding members who have experience in this model. If you also have experience and think you should be involved in this group before it opens attendance to the public, contact Linda Hemby at
* Those interested in helping Latinos in Southwood should consider attending the next meeting of CJ’s Southwood Working Group on Tuesday, June 5, 11 - 12:30, at the Southwood Girls & Boys Club, 1 mile from Albemarle County’s 5th St. Extd. Building. You are welcomed to bring your lunch with you. Among meeting agenda items are a new coordinator for the group; other items can be found in the notes of the last meeting at the bottom of the Southwood web page: http://www.cj-network.org/southwood.html For more information contact Linda Hemby at
* CJ’s Community Services Working Group coordinator will be out of town for the summer. The group’s next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, August 30, 2007at 1 – 2:30 pm at United Way (downtown). For meeting notes and other information related to this group, visit http://www.cj-network.org/cjwgm/cs.html
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H – SUBMIT A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
To date, more than 150 individuals and over 70 organizations have attended a CJ meeting and many more have participated in other CJ activities. Biographical sketches of these participants are located at http://www.cj-network.org/cjintro/bios.doc If you are not listed, please submit a bio, using the guidelines found at that link, to
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This Weekly Alert was prepared by Linda Hemby of the CJ Executive Committee. Individuals and organizations wishing to maximize their use of the CJ network should submit their information/announcement/request/etc. on the Friday before the Alert is circulated to:
The Creciendo Juntos – Growing Together online clearinghouse, located at www.cj-network.org , is constantly being updated with new information and resources. If you work for or know about services available to our Latino community that are not on the site, please contact Also welcomed are articles,studies, and other resources about and for our local Latino population.
Peter W. Loach
Deputy Director of Operations
Piedmont Housing Alliance
111 Monticello Avenue, Suite 104
Charlottesville, Virginia 22902
Tel. (434) 817-2436 x116
Cel. (434) 409-2753
Fax. (434) 817-0664