Beyond Bilingual and Bicultural: Serving Latinos in a New-Growth Community

This study explores how human services providers in "new-growth" communities- those with rapidly growing Latino immigrant populations and limited Spanish-speaking professionals- work with newcomers who tend to be Spanish-speaking and poor. We interviewed 25 human service professionals working with Latino immigrants in one new-growth community and found that service delivery to Latinos requires not just language ability and cultural knowledge, but the convergence of four distinct skill sets: (a) language skills; (b) cultural competence; (c)empathy; and (d) the provider's will to act. We use these findings to illuminate institutional roadblocks and strategies to create a more effective service environment for providers and the Latino newcomers they serve.