Stats and figures on some costs of translation taken from the Atlanta Journal Constitution

Critical time for translation
Metro has growing need for language interpreters
By Anna Varela
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 01/07/07

Atlanta’s Grady hospital spends about $800,000 a year on services for people who speak limited English, according to Sandra Sanchez, director of the Department of Multicultural Affairs.

Metro Atlanta has more than 300,000 people who speak English less than “very well,” according to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, up from an estimated 242,198 in 2002, the first year the census asked the question. A little more than two-thirds are native Spanish-speakers.

In 2002, the Office of Management and Budget attempted to put a price tag on such efforts nationwide. The OMB estimated the cost of interpretation for doctor and dentist appointments, hospital stays and emergency room visits at roughly $268 million a year.

The report, which did not attempt to tally the cost to all agencies, also estimated that foreign language services related to the Food Stamp program are roughly $25 million a year.

Cobb County schools spent close to $1.2 million last year on services for families who don’t speak English. That includes contracted services plus salary and benefits for 64 staff interpreters —- called “facilitators”. The bill has nearly tripled in just five years. In the 2001 budget year, the school system spent nearly $343,000 and had just eight in-house interpreters.

Gwinnett County spent nearly $539,000 in 2005 to provide interpreters in the courts. That’s more than double the amount the county spent in 2000, when it paid close to $215,400 for interpreters, who are hired as needed for specific cases.

Assistant District Attorney Stephen Fern says the need has grown “exponentially” in recent years. “We can’t get through a calendar anymore without an interpreter,” Fern said.

The state Division of Family and Children Services estimates that it spent about $346,000 in 2006 for interpretation services in the area that includes metro Atlanta.

“I get calls every day for translators,” said Annette G. Cash, Director of the Translation and Interpretation Program at Georgia State University. “The Spanish program is just flourishing because of the need.”