The Associated Press

LOUISVILLE - As more Hispanics make their home in Kentucky's urban centers and small towns, their presence is altering the state's economic and social scene.

Immigration advocates say Hispanics are revitalizing neighborhoods and establishing businesses while providing needed labor. But others complain that undocumented immigrants lead to lowering wages and burden social services at a time when the state is strapped for cash.

Hispanics have become the nation's largest minority group. In Kentucky, they are the fastest-growing segment of the state's population. They account for 60,000 - or 1.5 percent - of the state's residents, according to the 2000 census. But estimates from local and state agencies put the number somewhere between 100,000 and 135,000.

A report by the Brookings Institution, a Washington-based think tank, listed the Louisville metropolitan area in a list of "new Latino destinations." Figures show Jefferson County has the largest Hispanic population in the state with 12,370.

Most were lured by the availability of jobs, an affordable standard of living and a growing Latino base, the report said.

"Five years ago, the Hispanic profile here would be single guys, young, and there was more of a stream of pure migrant labor," said Abdon Ibarra, the immigrant services coordinator for the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government. "The extended family is starting to come now. It's always been that pattern with immigrants."

In Shelby County, downtown bank signs proclaim, "Hablamos espanol" and businesses bear names like "Fiesta Mexicana," "Tres Amigos" and "Centro Botanero."

Some argue that whether undocumented or not, immigrants from Latin America are providing the work force they need. Many immigrants are hired for low-paying, physically demanding jobs that employers say other workers won't take. According to the state Department of Agriculture, Hispanics make up about 80 percent of Kentucky's 25,000 tobacco workers - cutting, hanging and stripping the state's $400 million-a-year crop.

"I've always wanted to say, `OK, all you undocumented workers, take the day off,' and then sit back and see what happens to our economy," said Sister Lupe Arciniega, a nun who works with Hispanics.

Kentucky does not formally monitor the effects of immigrants on services or the economy, so much of the information state and local agencies use is anecdotal.

Hampered by a budget crisis, state agencies are finding creative ways to close the language barrier.

"Something that we can do ... within our existing resources is to do more to recruit people who already have some ability in Spanish while they are still in school training to be social workers," said Mike Jennings, a spokesman for the Kentucky Cabinet for Families and Children.

Police and fire agencies across the state have started offering language courses as part of their training programs. The Lexington Police Department has a nationally recognized program that sends officers to Mexico for immersion training in Spanish, and the Kentucky State Police has a similar program.

The state's cost to provide English as a Second Language classes and bilingual teachers have risen as the number of Hispanic students enrolling in Kentucky schools doubled in five years to 6,700.

And as the nation's population ages, employers are increasingly becoming dependent on younger Hispanic immigrants to fill jobs, said Ron Crouch, a demographer and director of the State Data Center.

"In Kentucky, the median age of a Hispanic is 25. The median age of a non-Hispanic white is 39. The black median age in Kentucky is 30," Crouch said. "So you can see where the future is going."