Do You Speak English? Language Barriers in Child Protection Social Work with Minority Ethnic Families

This paper critically evaluates research and literature on child protection social work practice with minority ethnic families who speak little or no English. Though the focus is on child protection, many of the themes raised should be transferable across to other areas and disciplines. Specifically, the paper focuses on the limitations and difficulties of using professional interpreters in child protection work and covers themes like the availability of interpreters, the role of interpreters, suitability of interpreters, the interpretation of particular words and phrases, and manipulating the interpreting process. The paper then moves on to address the important but often neglected area of using children as interpreters, and ends by considering the broader issue of how language barriers can exacerbate discrimination against minority ethnic families.