As the U.S. population continues to expand and evolve, Latinos are moving beyond the traditional border concentrations. The Latino population has grown by over 50% since 1990.ⁱ Because of poor healthcare, work in industrial and agricultural sectors that have a high risk of injury, and violence, disability is prevalent in the Latino community. According to the latest Census information, 16.5% of the total disability population is Latino.ⁱⁱ It is essential that both asset building programs and organizations that serve the disability community find effective ways to reach the Latino community. The following are strategies that strong programs offer to serve Latinos successfully.

1. Outreach: Give brief overviews of programs at English as a Second Language (ESL) and other classes. Distribute translated program brochures, especially to new clients. Feature clients at agency staff meetings to discuss ways the program helped the individual.

2. Develop Trust: Nearly all program administrators say that building trust is the most important strategy to ensure high demand. Some individuals and their families come from Latin American countries and may be weary of accessing certain services- especially concerning personal financial security and disability issues. Talk to community leaders. Consider hiring successful program graduates with multi-lingual capabilities. The more that you can alleviate the stress of transition to a new culture, the more successful their results will be in your program.

3. Publize Success: Particularly when starting a new outreach strategy, staff may face doubt from potential participants. The program may sound "too good to be true" or there may be reluctance to accept assistance from outside the family. Conducting orientations and intake interviews amidst displayed photographs of people served helps allay concerns. Take a photo album to conduct outreach offsite. Spread the word about your program in the Spanish-speaking media.

4. Partner: Collaborating is critical. Partner with other agencies that already reach the Latino community- cultural centers, ESL classes, and churches. Combine your areas of expertise and all programs will benefit.

5. Program Design: Understand cultural experiences and accommodate for them. Incorporate the entire family into the program design. Understand that discussing disability (either the client's or a family member's disability) can be a sensitive issue. Approach the issue by discussing the needs of the person and what your program can do to meet those needs, rather than discussing the particular condition or impairment.

6. Know Organization of the Community: Discover how Latino communities are organized. Age, ethnicity, religion and other common identifiers may organize cultural communities. Identify groups accordingly, talk to them, and display marketing materials where they worship, shop, eat, and seek entertainment.

7. Be flexible: Flexibility is an incredibly important accommodation for people with disabilities. Hold trainings on weekdays, nights, and weekends. Provide childcare and transportation, if possible. Change elements of the program, "tweaking" training content, frequency, or duration so that it meets their needs.

8. Evaluate: Develop assessment tools to gauge the effectiveness of the program. Hand out surveys after classes to assess your service delivery. Conduct exit interviews to gauge improvement. Importantly, ask participants for input on the program design and if there is anything that you can provide to serve them better.

Adapted from "Reaching Cultural Markets with IDAs: 10 Strategies that Work" from Amy Shir, Institute for Social and Economic Development, which appeared in CFED's newsletter-Assets, Spring 2003.

i Shepelwich, Steven. Immigration and Cultural Markets in the United States. Assets: A Quarterly Update for Innovators. Corporation for Enterprise Development. Spring 2003, No. 1.

ii McNeil, John M. 2000, Employment, Earnings, and Disability. Prepared for the 75th Annual Conference of the Western Economic Association International, Vancouver, British Columbia. http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/disable/emperndistbl.pdf