Bilingual Social Workers in New York City: A Comparative Study Exploring the Benefits Accrued from Bilingualism and the Challenges Encountered in Their Work
Abstract
There are an estimated 25.2 million individuals residing in the United States with Limited English Proficiency (LEP). LEP persons experience social exclusion, decreased healthcare, and food insecurity; however, there is a paucity of research regarding social work practice with LEP clients and the experiences of bilingual social workers who serve them. This was an exploratory comparative study that surveyed self-identified bilingual and monolingual social workers who practice with LEP clients in New York City. The overall sample (n = 152) was racially heterogeneous, and the majority were females who held MSW degrees. Bilingual social workers reported that they had more employment opportunities and felt more respected but did not feel more secure in their jobs and did not receive additional compensation. They also had more LEP clients assigned to them and felt the services they provided were more complex and time consuming.
Subject Area
Bilingual education|Social research|Social work|Sociolinguistics
Recommended Citation
Chomanczuk, Aminda Heckman, "Bilingual Social Workers in New York City: A Comparative Study Exploring the Benefits Accrued from Bilingualism and the Challenges Encountered in Their Work" (2015). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI3666695.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI3666695
