Naomi Chaplow
Mexican American Studies Final
04/27/2013
I am proposing a government granted social program to help reduce the parentification of
Mexican American children. My program will provide Spanish speaking interpreters to Mexican
American families and teachers in order to reduce the participation of their children interpreting important school related issues for them. I would like this program to provide interpretation services for individuals attending appointments and important meetings having to do curriculum and schooling for their children. My campaign will be based upon the need for Spanish speaking interpreters to be present at all schools that are rich with Mexican-American diversity here in the
Salt Lake Valley.
The issue of Parentifying Children through interpretation barriers of the adults within the
Mexican-American culture is huge. Mexican American children are especially prone to the effects of Parentification because of the language barriers here in Utah and the United States as a whole. Often times Mexican American parents will entail the help and interpretation services of their children to aid in well-being of their own lives and the lives of their siblings and extended family. The parent of a Mexican American child many times does not speak English and in order to go on about their everyday lives they will use their children to translate important life issues or situations that the child should really be no part of at their age and mental capacity. This can cause an enormous amount of stressors for the Mexican American youth, and

sometimes can lead to early drug and alcohol use, as well as mental and development issues for those children.
Parentification is defined as a type of role reversal between parents and other family members in witch children assume developmentally inappropriate levels of responsibility in the family that go unrecognized, unsupported, and unrewarded. Within the role of parentification, the overbearing role of the parentified youth can be described as that of a caregiver. These children are caring for the issues of their parents or elders at the expense of caring for themselves. There are two types of parentification models, the Instrumental Parentification model and the Emotional Parentification model. (Shin and Hecht 149-159)
 Instrumental parentification involves completing physical tasks for the family such as taking care of relatives with serious medical conditions, grocery shopping, paying bills, or ensuring that a younger sibling attends and does well in school and more recently becoming a interpreter for their parents and other non-English speaking family members.
(Shin and Hecht 149-159)
 Emotional parentification often involves a child or adolescent taking on the role and responsibilities of the co-parent, secret keeper, or emotional healer for their family members. (Shin and Hecht 149-159)
Research on Parentification suggests that children having to deal with adult responsibilities to the point that the child begins to play a parental role, places these children at risk for short and long term mental and behavioral problems. Being an adolescent and having to deal with adult situations and crisis’ such as educational matters, medical problems, authoritative

situations, government issues, legal matters, or social service issues can weigh a heavy burden on the shoulders of a child and cause an enormous amount of stress on the adolescent individual.
An adolescent with the burden of having to play a role of an adult in any of these circumstances can take away from growing up in a healthy environment and developing at a healthy rate for any child or teen. The stress and premature responsibilities that are placed upon an adolescent through Parentification can be vital to their future relationships and lifelong roles as a healthy functioning citizen and adult.
My goal through the “Let Our Children Be Children Campaign” is to tackle the effects of
Parentification issues having to do with Mexican American families. There are many situations which can cause an adolescent Mexican American child to experience Parentified situations.
One of the most concerning issues I would like to address is that of the language barriers that
Mexican American families face having to do with school related functions and social limitations placed upon parents, students and teachers because of the Spanish/English language barriers.
I have chosen to focus on the needs within the Granite School District as I know that the
Mexican-American population within the Granite District is exceptional. Approximately thirtyone percent of adolescents attending school within the Granite District are of Hispanic descent.
This has raised my concern for all of these families facing language barriers within their schools.
Upon a little research I have found some great ideas for our schools as well as raised some awareness of the fact that Mexican-American families are actually entitled to a trained interpreter during important meetings and special events regarding the well-being of their children. The neglect of staff within many schools has left parents, students and teachers to deal with a lack of attention for the welfare of our diverse student population in regards to interpretation services

that they need in order to insure that all Mexican-American children thrive and succeed in school just like any other ethnicity would.
We need readily available interpreters for Mexican American children and parents dealing with their educational needs, their school curriculum, Parent/Teacher conferences, and many other social issues or injustices that Mexican American children may be facing at school. I would like to promote readily available interpreters in all of the Salt Lake Valleys' culturally diverse schools within the Granite School District boundaries. There should be at least one full time Spanish speaking interpreter at every school and as many as 3 or 4 during Parent Teacher
Conference weeks and/or any important Parent Teacher meetings regarding the well- being of
Mexican-American students.
Spanish speaking interpreters will be available and able to be requested through The
Support Services at Granite School District. There will be one full time Spanish speaking interpreter at each culturally diverse school as needed. During SEP (parent/teacher conference) week there will be at least three available interpreters to aid in conferences for Mexican-
American families. I would introduce and propose my campaign for Spanish speaking interpretation services to the Granite School Districts' Board of Education for every predominantly Hispanic populated school within their district. The Board meeting I will attend in order to bring my idea and proposal before the board will be on May 7 th
, 2013. I have to register for an open public comment time which will allow me 5 minutes to present my idea.
David Garrett holds the chair which is in charge of all financial issues having to do with the
Granite School District, and I will especially address him with my concerns of making my proposal fit within the Granite School District budget. ("Meeting Agenda")

My main objective through this campaign is to raise awareness for not only all Mexican-
American families but also the teachers, staff and community. I feel that many people really have no idea that the non-english speaking populations are actually entitled by any government granted program to provide accurate and professional interpretation services to the beneficiaries that need them.
There are currently nine high schools, sixteen middle schools, and sixty-three elementary schools who are all in need of interpretation services. I chose the Granite School District because their schools are located in the more culturally diverse parts of the Salt Lake Valley. I feel that in order to more accurately interpret for the Mexican-American families an interpreter should be present in person. Yet, there is an alternative method that I have found. The second choice would be to install a dual handset phone in every classroom. These new interpretation telephones are incredible. The way they work is having a trained interpreter on one end of the line and the Spanish and English speaking individuals on the other end of the line. The teacher or school staff could talk into one handset and the Spanish speaking individual could hold the other handset having the trained phone interpreter talk into their ear, interpreting everything the teacher or staff has to say. The only downfall about the dual handset interpreting is the cost per minute, which can range anywhere from $1.50 per minute to $3.00 a minute depending on the language being interpreted. The actual dual handset itself is usually covered by the company providing the interpretation services, such as Linguistica International here in the Salt Lake
Valley. Having covered the alternative method, being the dual handset interpreter I will move on to what it would take to have actual in-person interpreters present.
There are four terms during a year around school year and there should be at least three interpreters available for Mexican American families during SEP week (which is parent-teacher

conference week). This way teachers and parents can schedule times that fit for all the conferences requiring interpretation services for the Spanish speaking families. There should be at least one full time Spanish speaking interpreter available at all times for the Spanish speaking population at every school, and three on-call interpreters available for all of SEP week. We would need to hire around 88 full time interpreters for all schools, and around 90 on call interpreters during SEP weeks for all the schools within the Granite School District.
Caucasion
Hispanic
African American
Asian American
American Indian
Pacific Islander
Caucasian students: 38,038 56.2%
Hispanic students: 20,893 30.8%
African American students: 2,000 3.0%
Asian American students: 2,906 4.3%
Pacific Islander students: 2547 3.8%
American Indian students: 1056 1.6%

Other Ethnic students: 298 0.4%
("NAPCS Dashboard-Students")
As you can see the Hispanic population within the Granite School has the second highest ethnic population out of all the children. Mexican American students populate 30.8% of all schools within the district and have the highest need for interpretation services of all students. Our Spanish speaking student population keeps rising each year and we have to start
NOW in the prevention of parentification issues for these students. Research has shown that most Spanish speaking children work as interpreters and language brokers for parents and many other family members. I feel that hiring Spanish speaking interpreters for schools will greatly reduce much of the stress that weighs on the shoulders of Mexican American students when it comes to their educational needs
Granite School District would need to place approximately 88 full time Spanish speaking interpreters in place for each one of our Culturally Diverse Schools within the Granite School
District. We will also need around 50 on call Spanish Speaking interpreters for Parents and
Teachers during SEP week at each school, the on-call interpreters will be called and can travel to various schools as needed.
The Spanish Speaking interpreters would be paid a salary at the rate of $23,000 a year. The on-call interpreters would be paid $10.00 an hour during needed SEP Conference weeks 4 times a year, for about 5-7 hours per day.
I would like for each one of the school interpreters to go through an extensive three week training process to ensure that each and every one of them know exactly how to translate and interpret certain key elements to the teachers and parents of the Mexican American students. I

believe that training the interpreters first will ensure that all communication is accurate and that all families get the same accurate information and care that they need and deserve.
The three week training will cost $300.00 per interpreter. The full time interpreters will have this fee paid for by Granite School District. The on-call interpreters will have to pay half or $150.00 themselves, and Granite School District will pay the other half. By the end of the three week training period the interpreters will have to pass a test in order to receive their training certification.
A realistic Government Grant for Spanish speaking interpretation services would total in the amount of $2,024,000 dollars.
88 full time Spanish speaking interpreters at $23,000 a year salary.
50 on-call Spanish speaking interpreters at $10.00 an hour for approximately 6 hrs each, 4 times a year at $12,000 dollars.
With the other avenue I mentioned, called dual hanset interpreting the schools would have the choice of installing dual handset phones in each classroom. One line is for English and the other line is for Non-English speakers. When you pick up the phone you can automatically be connected to a Spanish speaking interpreter in less than 30 seconds. The school would have to hire an Interpretation Company and it can cost anywhere from $1.50 per min all the way up to
$3.00 a min. The lines are 24/7 which is an advantage. I feel that having an interpreter there in person is better for both the student, and parents as it is more personable and accurate. This decision would be up to the school and their own budget within each school. Each school will still have to hire at least one full time Spanish speaking interpreter.

*Volunteer Spanish speaking individuals would be welcomed with open arms to help in the aid and support of the "Let Our Children Be Children" campaign.
The amount I am requesting for this Grant is not much compared to the operating budget within the Granite School Distrist of $380 million dollars a year. (Smith 233)
I believe that granting this request for readily available Spanish speaking interpreters for our children, parents, and teachers within the Granite School district will open a door for greater
Educational needs and benefits for our Mexican American population here in the Salt Lake
Valley. Hopefully it will also open the door for other school districts to get involved and raise awareness for all cultural diversity within Utah. I would ask that all volunteers, participants, and interpreters spread the word and awareness to all, so that cultural awareness and diversity within our schools can greatly contribute to our ethnic populations succeeding academically.
Students and teachers will also thrive off of cultural diversity. By becoming more open to the fact that our Mexican American population is on the rise and actually helping our young
Mexican Americans to have better lives and greater advantages, we will all succeed as a community. Students who attend a school with a great diverse population can develop awesome understandings of all the perspectives of children from different backgrounds and cultures. They will learn to function in a multicultural and multiethnic environment versus students who attend a little or non-culturally diverse school. This is so rewarding for our youth and it will ensure that they grow up with a divine understanding of cultural competence within their lives.
When coming up with this awareness campaign I thought of a couple of groups who may have opposition to it. The groups that come to mind would be The African American Population
(Somali, Burundi, Ethiopian, etc.), The Asian American Population, or even the Pacific Islander

Population. I can easily understand the need and want for interpretation services for individuals from these ethnic backgrounds and the inequalities it may pose on this program. Yet on the other hand, I believe the higher need for translation services lies with the Mexican-American population. Comparing the percentages of Hispanic students (30.8%) to the percentages of the
African (3.0), Asian (4.3), and Pacific Islander students (3.8) you will see that the Hispanic population out- weighs the others by far. So the largest need lies with the Hispanic students and families at our schools here in the Salt Lake Valley.
The other area of resistance to this campaign would be the Board of Education for
Granite School District. I know that money is tight and they do not have much room for extra
Social Programs right now in our economy. I would definately attend the Granite School District
Board meeting on May 7 th
to propose my campaign idea to the board as well as David Garrett who is in charge of all finances having to do with the districts’ budget. At this meeting I would have five minutes to explain my new program plan to the Board Members. I will present to them
“The Letter” which states that “All parents will be offered the bilingual and translation services they need in order to effectively understand notices provided to other parents and to participate effectively in all important issues for their children.” Y.S.,et. al., v. Sch. Dist. Of Pennsylvania
(October 19, 2010). I will also refresh their memories of Lyndon Johnsons’ “Great Society” plan and in that plan he included the right to have interpretation benefits for non-English speaking individuals along with his Medicare and Headstart program developments. Being able to understand important information about your childs’ life is a civil right. I want to hold Granite
School District accountable and make sure that all of their Mexican American families have the proper interpretation services that they have a right to. I will be very excited to see if there is

room for my program plan and also I would love to see what the Board members have to say about it.

My Interview
I interviewed an individual named Rene Gomez. He is the founder and owner of Linguistica
International:
Rene Gomez Linguistica International
8819 S Redwood Rd #D West Jordan UT 84088 rgomez@linguisticainternational.com
24/7 call center (801) 262-4550
Cell phone (801) 608-8863
Fax (801) 262-4622 www.linguisticainternational.com
Linguistica International is a Nationwide interpreting and translation company offering services in over 160 different languages on-site and over the phone. Their Corporate office is located in West Jordan, Utah.
Rene Gomez and his wife Sabrina Morales began Linguistica 10 years ago. They began their company interpreting for non-profit organizations and before they realized it they had countless state and federally contracted businesses needing their help with interpretation services. Mr. Gomez revealed to me that his company interprets for Hospitals, Medicaid, Private
Doctor Offices, Workforce Services, Legal Issues, Business Issues, and many other Companies and Corporations not only in Utah but Nationwide.
I asked Mr. Gomez what the percentage rate between Spanish interpretations and other language interpretation ratio was for his company. He told me that the ratio is 80% Spanish interpretation and 20% other language interpretation. Mr. Gomez told me that on a daily basis he gets around or more than 430 Spanish speaking interpretation requests.
I explained my proposal to Mr. Gomez and let him know my plan for effectively implementing it. He let me know that I had a wonderful idea and that by law any Government granted entity must provide interpretation services to individuals who are non-English speaking or speak through American Sign Language. Mr. Gomez then told me that schools are supposed to provide interpreters to their students and parents, but most of the time they do not. He explained that schools usually do not tell the parents about this choice to have an interpreter and a lot of times will interpret through the children or grab a janitor or lunch lady to interpret. This was very alarming to me. I then asked Mr. Gomez if he would back me in my proposal and join me in presenting this issue to the Board of Granite School District? He quickly said, “YES”.
This made my heart drop and made me feel like this plan might really work.
Rene Gomez explained to me that he and his wife are huge advocates for implementing new programs, especially for the Mexican American community. He says being in this business for over 10 years, he has seen so many injustices within Salt Lake City, and many other parts of the state and country. I asked if he could please explain just one injustice that really it home for him and this is what he said… “One of the worst experiences I have ever been in was when I first started my company. I walked into a situation that I was hired to interpret for and as I was getting there a 9 yr. old boy was interpreting between a doctor and his mother. The boy had to

actually tell his mother that she had terminal cancer and she would not live very much longer.
This broke my heart and right then I knew that this was what I was supposed to be doing, not that little 9 yr. old boy.”
I then asked Mr. Gomez if he could give me any advice for this proposal what would it be? He explained that if I were to actually go through with this idea that I must make sure the schools hire and implement trained interpreters. The biggest problem that Mr. Gomez sees’ on a daily basis is an interpreter not knowing how to do his/her job. Mr. Gomez says that a lot of times an interpreter may think they know how to speak fluently and then interpret back what the
English speaking individual may be saying and it comes out all wrong, or they skip parts of the communication. He says a lot of time interpreters will be lazy and instead of speaking in the first person and making sure they capture every word, that the interpreter will skip words and whole sentences because they think that’s all that needs to be said. This was also alarming to me and absolutely assures me that training each interpreter on important matters pertaining to educational matters, curriculum, social issues, and how to accurately interpret with correct terminology is a huge key to my proposal.
I wrapped up my interview by graciously thanking Mr. Gomez for his time. He wished me good luck and to please let me know how my proposal turns out.

References
Smith, LeaAnn Weller. Insiders Guide to Salt Lake City . Fourth Edition. Guilford: The Globe
Prequot Press, 2004. 233. eBook.
<http://books.google.com/books?id=6sNA8bWH4ygC&pg=PA233&lpg=PA233&dq=How many Hispanic Children attend school in Salt Lake
Valley&source=bl&ots=YSa0srRNy5&sig=DwG_f
Shin and Hecht, Y ML. " Does parentification place Mexican-heritage youth at risk for substance use?." Identifying the intervening nature of parent-child communication about alcohol.
. 36.1
(2013): 149-159. Web. 16 Apr. 2013. <http://www.torna.do/s/Does-parentification-place-
Mexican-heritage-youth-at-risk-for-substance-use-Identifying-the-intervening-nature-of-parentchild-communication-about-alcohol/>.
The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. NAPCS .
NAPCS Dashboard-Students .
Washington DC: The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, 2013. Web.
<http://dashboard.publiccharters.org/dashboard/students/page/race/district/UT-7/year/2012>
Granite School District. Board of Education. Meeting Agenda . Salt Lake City: Merilynn
Boekweg, 2013. Web. <http://www.graniteschools.org/depart/board/Board
Agenda/boardagenda.pdf>.
Gomez, Rene. Personal Interview. 04 10 2013.