Web site to help Indiana cities

Many mayors of small Indiana towns face new challenges with an influx of non-English speaking immigrant workers, with special needs and problems communicating with English speakers.\nThe IU International Research Center is now developing a system to help city officials find ways to accommodate non-English speaking residents. The center was awarded the Cinergy Workforce Partnership Grant to complete a Web site allowing cities to interact with each other in solving problems caused by immigration.\n"Community efforts to aid this new population are cropping up in isolation throughout the state," said Charles Burkhart, the research center's program manager, in a press release.\nThe center is working with the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns, the Indiana Economic Development Council and the South Central Indiana Human Resources Association to create this Web site.\n"I think (the Web site) is something that's really urgently needed," said IUIRC Director Shawn Reynolds. "Growth is expanding rapidly."\nThe Web site will serve as a database of businesses, social service providers, schools, churches and other organizations that all deal with immigration issues.\nBurkhart said the program is a statewide initiative that should help the outreach effort.\nAccording to STATS Indiana, a program created by the Indiana Business Research Center at the Kelley School of Business, immigration has increased in the past five years.\nReynolds said the administration in Logansport, Ind., could have used the resource when they agreed to bring a new meat packing plan to their town, along with 2,000 hispanic and latino workers.\n"Communities need to know what resources (other) communities are taking advantage of," Reynolds said.