North Snohomish County LPA - Limited English Proficient (LEP) Family Success Story
Binti
Binti, Salat and their 3 children arrived in the United States as refugees in 2004. They were part of the Somali, Bantu population who came to the US from refugee camps in Africa. Salat and Binti were illiterate in their own language, never having had the opportunity to attend school in their own country, so you can imagine the challenge of learning the English language in addition to the culture shock of moving from rural life in Africa to urban life in America.
Salat and Binti originally settled in Atlanta, Georgia in 2004. Salat obtained a job as a janitor for Goodwill Industries in Georgia, but the couple did not have the opportunity to attend English classes. Binti gave birth to two additional children in 2005 and 2006. She stayed home to care for their five children. In April, 2007 the couple decided to move to Everett to be closer to family. They moved to a very small 2 bedroom apartment with some relatives and applied for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) through the Limited English Proficiency Unit (LEP) in the Everett Community Service Office (CSO). The Everett CSO has a specialized unit that delivers services to the Limited English Proficiency population. The unit is closely connected to agencies and resources in the area with services available to the LEP population.
The WorkFirst Case Manager at the Everett CSO connected the family with Refugee and Immigrant Services Northwest (RISNW) for language level testing and an employability assessment. The family had many barriers to participation including housing, child care, language and transportation needs. Their caseworker at RISNW assisted the family to secure housing, enroll the children in school, and connect them to resources in Snohomish County. Both Binti and Salat enrolled in English as a Second Language (ESL) classes through Everett Community College and are highly motivated. Binti was enrolled in a pilot Immersion ESL class in addition to traditional ESL classes at the college. The Immersion ESL project was developed in partnership with Everett CSO, RISNW and Everett Community College to accelerate achievement of language level gains based on an alternative style of teaching piloted by New York City’s Mayoral Task Force on Bilingual Education in 2001. The plan introduced an innovative new instructional approach that greatly improved conversation and reading skills in a short period of time. The class focused on interactive exercises, total class participation and role playing. Binti began the class as pre-literate and finished in June with a CASAS score of 175 (level 1). Salat obtained a job doing production work with a local employer (Aerotek) who works with TANF participants. Salat is currently working 32 hours/week at $8.50/hour and is attending evening ESL classes. In June, Binti obtained a housekeeping job 20 hours/week at 7.93/ hour and attends ESL classes in the evening. Binti’s favorite part of ESL is the computer lab—she “loves” computers and is also planning to take driver’s education classes, so she can get her driver’s license.
Through the partnership and collaboration of the Everett CSO, Refugee and Immigrant Services Northwest and Everett Community College, Salat and Binti have been able to stabilize their life, develop their English, and go to work. Another powerful example of how WorkFirst is helping families build better lives!
Binti’s comments
“My case manager (CSO), Tina is very helpful. She gives me all the assistance I need. My ESL teacher Jane is a very good teacher, after 2 weeks I am already learning English. I’m happy with my bi-lingual counselor from Refugee and Immigrant Services Northwest. I meet with Vahida every week on Tuesday for assistance. I want to learn more English and I will come to school (again starting) on Monday 08/27/07 at 8 AM.”
