By Terri Possley, LCSW, Social Services Program Manager
April 2017 | 2017 Spring Newsletter
In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) recognizes and appreciates the diverse community of Santa Clara County. Most of the case carrying social workers (72%) are bilingual. The languages IHSS social workers speak include Spanish, Vietnamese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Tagalog, Cambodian, Korean, Portuguese, Farsi, Russian, and most recently, Assyrian.
We are very excited to announce that most of Santa Clara County’s Vietnamese speaking recipients in IHSS are assigned to Vietnamese speaking social workers. We have never been able to offer this until now and it is thanks to the support of Executive Leadership at IHSS and the Social Services Agency, as well as the County Board of Supervisors who approved the hire of three brand new case-carrying social worker units over the past few years. Most of the social workers hired in these brand new positions are bilingual speaking to meet the needs of our non-English speaking recipients and community.
IHSS also has bilingual staff in supervisory and clerical positions. These bilingual IHSS staff members benefit the recipient, provider, the community, and even the IHSS staff. We hear feedback from the recipients and providers that having a staff member who understands their language, culture, and traditions helps build a rapport and trust. Staff members also enjoy serving the community in the language they speak at home, in the work place, and in the community where it is needed.