The services of the telephone multilingual referral line for individuals of limited English proficiency (LEP) has been awarded to Hennepin County by Minnesota DHS since June 2007. The most recent agreement was BAR 20-0196, amendment 1 to agreement A188937 which began on July 1, 2020 with a total award of $196,000. The current amendment seeks to extend the agreement to June 30, 2024 and increases the receivable amount by $196,000 for a new total receivable amount of $588,000.

The Human Services Department’s Office of Multicultural Services will provide telephone multilingual referral line services in fifteen languages to clients accessing information or receiving services through DHS in all 87 Minnesota counties. These services are provided by bilingual/bicultural staff who use their language and knowledge of different cultures to respond to language needs of residents. Grant funds will be used to support staffing costs. The existing 1.0 FTE grant funded position will continue to serve as a point person to respond to inquiries, complete reports, maintain databases and respond to any community or agency concerns. DHS will continue to provide toll free telephone numbers for use by the LEP populations and OMS provides telephone equipment to support toll free assistance and voicemail. Twenty-­four hour access to the interpreters is available from live staff and voicemail and approximately 4,000 households are served by the Language referral lines annually.

This funding supports the County’s disparity reduction efforts by helping to ensure limited English residents access a broad range of services and supports in domain areas such as housing, income, employment, health across all of Minnesota’s 87 counties.