How might this case have been different if the agency provided a fluent Spanish-speaking worker and/or a more experienced worker?

Question

Albert Mendoza was a baccalaureate social work intern at Crime Victims Center, an agency serving crime victims. His client, Carlos Hernandez, was a Mexican immigrant who sought both financial assistance for medical care and counseling for his family after they were assaulted in their home. Carlos was unable to communicate in English, and Albert had difficulty with his limited Spanish language proficiency. Albert began to suspect that Carlos was in the country illegally. He worried that he didn’t know the law about services available to illegal immigrants, specifically the Crime Victim’s Compensation funds. The agency did not have another Spanish-speaking worker, and Albert, a new social work intern, had primary responsibility for the case.

Answer 1

An experienced social worker would be likely to know the state and local policies regarding immigration and social services. Additionally, an experienced social worker would be more prepared to deal with the complexities of the case agency policy regarding services for illegal immigrants.
Secondarily, although Albert spoke Spanish, his skills were identified in the case as being less than adequate for the client’s needs. There were really two different issues here. The first was the issue of fluency in the language. The second was knowledge of government policy. Of the two, knowledge of government policy might seem most important. However, the complexity of language in government law and policy increased the translation burden on the worker.