Editor’s note: This article has been updated to clarify that the $3.95 price per minute for interpretation services available on LanguageLine’s website is for the company’s self-service product. LanguageLine clarified that Cumberland County Department of Social Services is receiving a discounted rate.
Cumberland County is one of many counties across North Carolina with an increasing number of residents who speak languages at home other than English.
The increase is being felt at the Cumberland County Department of Social Services. The department said 891 people required an interpreter to access services in January. In February, 886 people needed an interpreter.
To better serve these residents, the department is increasing access to interpretation services. It recently deployed five rolling interpreter carts from the California-based interpretation and translation company LanguageLine Solutions. The carts provide on-demand audio interpretation for over 240 languages, including two of the most needed in the county: Spanish and Haitian Creole.
“The LanguageLine carts are more than just tools — they are about dignity, access and inclusion,” Brenda Jackson, Cumberland County Department of Social Services director, told CityView. “For many individuals who come through our doors, English is not their first language and being able to communicate clearly and respectfully can make all the difference in a moment of need.”
The LanguageLine Interpreter on Wheels Rolling Cart is an iPad on a rolling and adjustable metal stand. The iPad is enclosed in a case that LanguageLine Solutions says almost doubles the speaker volume so users can better hear the interpreter on the other end of the screen.
The iPad features the LanguageLine app, which the company’s website states connects users with 24-hour access to over 25,000 interpreters certified with LanguageLine Solutions. The website says it can connect to one of those interpreters in under 30 seconds.
Jackson said DSS’ Economic Services Department staff will be the primary users of the devices. The carts will help staff sign up residents who don’t speak English fluently for services like Food and Nutrition Services (also known as SNAP or food stamps), Medicaid, subsidized childcare assistance and more.
Adult and child services social workers will also heavily use the carts, Jackson said. However, any staff member can check one out.
The department said it paid an initial $8,593.35 for the carts. The money came from SNAP — the federal food assistance program — allocations in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. LanguageLine’s self-service product for individual buyers is $3.95 per minute for audio interpreting.
The county social services department has an annual contract for LanguageLine Solutions’ interpretation services with a two-year renewal option. The county’s contract is similar to the company’s with the state. Since 2019, North Carolina has used LanguageLine Solutions and other companies to provide translation and interpretation services for all state departments, institutions and agencies.
The LanguageLine carts are in addition to the county department’s five on-site interpreters, an increase from the two interpreters it had before Medicaid expansion took effect in December 2023. Put together, Jackson said, the expanded interpretation services will decrease wait times at the department.
“We implemented additional interpreter services to reduce barriers, improve service delivery, and make sure everyone feels heard and understood regardless of what language they speak,” she said. “It has also helped our staff feel more confident and supported when engaging with our diverse community.”
Michael Cline, a state demographer with North Carolina’s Office of State Budget and Management, found Cumberland County had about a 0.8% decrease in the number of residents five years and older who spoke English in their homes. According to U.S. Census Bureau data from 2019 to 2023, about 12% of county residents five years and older speak a language other than English at home.
These changes coincide with an eight-fold increase in foreign-born North Carolina residents from 1990 to 2024, according to Cline. Census data from 2019 to 2023 shows 6.7% of Cumberland County residents were born outside the United States.
DSS isn’t the only institution that’s had to adapt to the county’s increasing diversity. Cumberland County Schools added call-based interpretation services at the beginning of this school year, telling CityView the district wanted to ensure parents who speak languages other than English can access information.
CityView Reporter Morgan Casey is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. Morgan’s reporting focuses on health care issues in and around Cumberland County and can be supported through the News Foundation of Greater Fayetteville.