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LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act

Learn the importance of providing language assistance for LEP individuals and complying with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. Discover strategies and methods for effective interpretation and translation.

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LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act

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  1. LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY and Title VI of theCivil Rights Act April 15, 2015 Fair Housing Training Gary Hanes

  2. Not everyone speaks English Worldwide there are 7000 languages 380 languages in the U.S. (160 are indigenous) 25 million or about 9% LEP population in the U.S. 60,000 LEP persons in ID or about 4% of the population Language other than English spoken in 10%+ of ID homes

  3. Languages in our school districts Boise 80-100 Meridian 58 Canyon County 12 Twin Falls 21 Why is this important?

  4. LINGUISTICALLY ISOLATED HOUSEHOLDS These are households where no one over age 14 speaks English very well

  5. LANGUAGE ASSISTANCENEEDS IMPROVEMENT The City of Boise’s Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing and its 2011-2015 Fair Housing Plan reported:

  6. LEGALUNDERPINNINGS • Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act Prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance • U.S. Supreme Court—Lau v. Nichols (1974) • Executive Order 13166 (2000) • Federal Agency Guidelines HUD – 2007

  7. WHAT IS LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY? Persons who do not speak English as their primary language and who have alimited ability to read, write, speak, or understand Englishcan be limited English proficient, or ‘‘LEP.’’

  8. WHAT ISLANGUAGE ASSISTANCE? Interpretation: listening to something in one language…and orally converting it into another.... Translation…replacement of written text from one language into an equivalent written text in another language. But, what about gesturing and pantomiming? Or, speaking louder and slower?

  9. FULL SPECTRUMLANGUAGE ASSISTANCE No federal $FEDERAL $ No or low impactHIGH IMPACT Low riskHIGH RISK

  10. LANGUAGE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

  11. LANGUAGE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM LANGUAGE NEEDS ASSESSMENT

  12. LANGUAGE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM LANGUAGE NEEDS ASSESSMENT LANGUAGE ACCESS PLAN

  13. YOU MUST PROVIDE INTERPRETATION When the client is: • Assessed as being LEP; and, • The communication involves the meaningful access by aperson to information or services, then: The interpretation must be competent,timelyandfree

  14. INTERPRETING CAUTIONS • Using friends and family…especially children to interpret • Different dialects/cultural competency • Machine interpretation not equal to human interpretation • There is no“safe harbor” for interpretation!

  15. WHAT DOCUMENTS SHOULD BE TRANSLATED? VITAL DOCUMENTS Those documents that are critical for ensuring meaningful access by beneficiaries or potential beneficiaries generally and LEP persons specifically. Such as…

  16. THERE IS “SAFE HARBOR” FOR TRANSLATION Are there other reasons to translate docs?

  17. WHO MUST COMPLY? • All agencies of the federal government • All programs that receive federal assistance • State and local agencies • Subrecipients • For-profit and nonprofit entities • Special districts (fire, water, sewer, etc) • Consultants?

  18. WHO MUST COMPLY? • All agencies of the federal government • All programs that receive federal assistance • State and local agencies • Subrecipients • For-profit and nonprofit entities • Special districts (fire, water, sewer, etc) • Consultants?

  19. WHO MUST COMPLY? • All agencies of the federal government • All programs that receive federal assistance • State and local agencies • Subrecipients • For-profit and nonprofit entities • Special districts (fire, water, sewer, etc) • Consultants?

  20. WHO MUST COMPLY? • All agencies of the federal government • All programs that receive federal assistance • State and local agencies • Subrecipients • For-profit and nonprofit entities • Special districts (fire, water, sewer, etc) • Consultants?

  21. WHO MUST COMPLY? • All agencies of the federal government • All programs that receive federal assistance • State and local agencies • Subrecipients • For-profit and nonprofit entities • Special districts (fire, water, sewer, etc) • Consultants?

  22. WHO MUST COMPLY? • All agencies of the federal government • All programs that receive federal assistance • State and local agencies • Subrecipients • For-profit and nonprofit entities • Special districts (fire, water, sewer, etc) • Consultants?

  23. MONITORING Feds

  24. MONITORING Feds States & Local Gov’ts

  25. MONITORING Feds States & Local Gov’ts Grantees Subrecipients

  26. MONITORING Feds States & Local Gov’ts Grantees Subrecipients ABC’s: Advocates, Beneficiaries and Citizens

  27. COVERAGE Coverage extends to a recipient’s entire program or activity, i.e., to all parts of a recipient’s operations. This is true even if only one part of the recipient receives the federal assistance. What are the implications of this?

  28. But…English is the official language! In a jurisdiction where English has been declared the official language, a HUD recipient is still subject to federal nondiscrimination requirements, including Title VI requirements as they relate to LEP persons.

  29. SOME FOCUS AREAS • Public Participation Plans • Environmental clearances – notices and public hearings • Environmental justice • Fair treatment • Meaningful involvement • Davis-Bacon wage monitoring • Section 3

  30. WHY COMPLY? • To improve community outreach • To provide good customer service • To comply with the law Ensure meaningful access by citizens Avoid disparate treatment Satisfy grant requirements • To manage risk Civil Rights complaints Avoid lawsuits • Avoid aggravation

  31. CASE STUDY 1 -- PHA A Spanish-speaking tenant failed to recertify HH income. All written and oral communication was in English from the housing provider. The tenant was terminated and did not know her appeal rights. The affordable housing provider did not have a LNA or LAP. There was bilingual staff, BUT no policy for its use.

  32. CASE STUDY 1 -- PHA (Outcome) The housing provider: • Paid the complainant $25,000 • Adopted LEP Policy and completed a LNA and LAP • Improved procedures (inc. interpretation) • Translated documents • Trained staff • Conducted outreach

  33. CASE STUDY 1 -- PHA (Outcome) cue the colorfullanguage The housing provider: • Paid the complainant $25,000 • Adopted LEP Policy and completed a LNA and LAP • Improved procedures (inc. interpretation) • Translated documents • Trained staff • Conducted outreach

  34. CASE STUDY 2 - STATE April 2014 – HUD announced that the State of Nebraska’s Department of Economic Development (DED) failed to sufficiently ensure that persons with limited English proficiency have meaningful access to HUD-funded programs (CDBG and HOME).

  35. CASE STUDY 2 – STATE (OUTCOME) Nebraska entered into a 3-year Voluntary Compliance Agreement (VCA) with HUD: • DED -- Language Assistance Program • Perform a LNA and do a LAP • Notice to subrecipients • Train subrecipients • Monitor subrecipients …and meet HUD’s schedule!

  36. THE GOLDEN RULE: Put a Language Assistance Program in place, follow it, and… • Document! • Document! • Document!

  37. RESOURCES www.lep.gov www.gehanes.com -- Offers to Interpret -- Know your rights -- In the News -- Langwij Finder -- Connect on Linked In

  38. 208-515-2185 gary@gehanes.com www.gehanes.com GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE IS WELCOME IN ANY LANGUAGE – Erik Kingston

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