Program to be Presented in English After Complaints
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AP, May 30, 2006
A state-sponsored child-care training program will be presented in English instead of Spanish after complaints from some of the people who were planning to attend.
Mindy McClain, who had gone through the same program in English for years, said she was told after signing up this year that the program would be presented in Spanish for the first time.
If she wanted to hear it in English, she would be provided with a translating device.
“I’m like, excuse me … I don’t think so,” said McClain, the director of the Children’s Center preschool in Yuma.
She and 10 other women demanded their money back and promised not to attend.
“I feel very offended,” McClain said.
The program is funded through the Arizona Department of Economic Security.
Lourdes Encinas, who helped organize the event, said DES relented after the complaints, despite the fact that 85 percent of those attending will be Spanish-speaking caregivers.
(Posted on May 31, 2006)