The Need is Immediate

Former chief of Iowa's Bureau of Refugee Services Wayne Johnson talks about changes in refugee services in Iowa over the years.

For example, medical providers…ten years ago if you would have told…or 20 years ago—if you would have told a hospital in Iowa that you better start making provisions to treat people who don't speak English, they would have probably agreed and said, “Yes, I think that is a good idea.” But was the need immediate? Well, it was there, but it was not immediate. Well, it's becoming more immediate every day. The schools…20 years ago did the schools need to have bilingual teaching aides—people who were bilingual—to come in and help teachers with kids in the classes who didn't speak English? Well, that probably was not a real immediate need. But it is becoming more and more so, and the schools have certainly done it. They have stepped up and they are doing it.