From The Executive Office Of The President

Executive Order 13166

Limited English Proficiency Resource Document:

Tips and Tools from the Field

September 21, 2004

Office of Management and Budget
2002 Report

Introduction: Overview of the Document and of the Federal Limited English Proficiency Initiative

Chapter 1: General Tips and Tools Common to Courts, Police, 911 Call Centers, and Domestic Violence Specialists and Service Providers

Chapter 2: Tips and Tools Specific to 911 Call Centers

Chapter 3: Tips and Tools Specific to Law Enforcement Agencies

Chapter 4: Tips and Tools Specific to Domestic Violence Service Providers and Specialists

Chapter 5: Tips and Tools Specific to Courts

Chapter 6: Tips and Tools Specific to DOJ Federally Conducted Programs and Activities

Conclusion

Introduction: Overview of the Document and of the Federal Limited English Proficiency Initiative

In June of 2002, DOJ issued guidance relating to language assistance pursuant to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. 2000d, et seq. (Title VI) and its accompanying regulations. The guidance focused on recipients of DOJ financial assistance (primarily law enforcement agencies, departments of corrections, courts, domestic violence service providers, and entities having a law enforcement or juvenile justice mission). That guidance has served as a launching point for COR's training efforts and discussions with federal, state, and other partners on the subject of language assistance. Often these interactions and trainings have become opportunities for sharing tips and tools from the field based on the experiences of recipients and communities working with LEP populations. Sharing anecdotes of community solutions that have been positively received, as well as sharing information about some of the drawbacks of certain approaches, offers entities opportunities to make great strides in developing their own solutions to language access concerns.

DOJ believes that this exchange of experiences more broadly is a useful tool for enhancing access for LEP persons. This document furthers that sharing.

What Will You Find In This Document?

To develop this document, COR reviewed information collected in informal surveys of court personnel, social service providers, police departments, 911 call centers, several DOJ components e.g. the Executive Office for United States Attorneys, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Office of Justice Programs), to determine how these organizations have responded to the call for meaningful access for LEP individuals. This document lists many of the tips, tools, and practices identified in our surveys. We highlight some agencies that have taken an innovative approach or applied a strong policy or strategy to a particular aspect of language services.

This document does not endorse or suggest that any particular program is legally required. Nor would we presume to state that this project has encompassed all of the current innovations in this area; local innovation will certainly produce additional successful practices. Moreover, variations in size, resources, mission, and populations served mean that different approaches will work for different agencies. The examples are, as described, consistent with the goal of the DOJ LEP Guidance and with Title VI and regulatory requirements, but the Department has not conducted an extensive review of the agencies providing these examples, nor has it reviewed how all of the policies and practices are being implemented in practice. While we strove to provide as comprehensive an approach as possible, you might find that certain types of interactions with LEP individuals are not fully covered by these tips. Language access coordinators and decision-makers should consult the DOJ LEP Guidance, discussed below, in conjunction with this document. More work will be done to continue to seek out additional resources and strategies for communicating effectively with LEP individuals.

For more information on the work of the Federal Coordination and Compliance Section of the Civil Rights Division, visit our website.

What Is the Legal and Policy Background?

This document is part of a broader effort by the Department to share existing language access resources, practices, and tools for recipients. It is inspired by, and reflects the work of, entities in the field that focus on 911 call response, law enforcement, courts, and domestic violence, as well as some federal program managers. The framework and grounding for choosing the tips and highlighting particular aspects of the recipient programs is Title VI, the Title VI regulations, and policy guidance issued by DOJ in this area.

Under Title VI and federal agency regulations implementing Title VI, recipients of federal financial assistance have a responsibility to take reasonable steps to provide LEP individuals with meaningful access to their programs and activities. Title VI and its accompanying regulations prohibit recipients from discriminating on the basis of race, color, or national origin. Discrimination on the basis of national origin can occur if a recipient does not provide appropriate language assistance to LEP individuals because these individuals, whose language is usually tied to their national origin, will not have access to the same benefits, services, information, or rights that the recipient provides to everyone else. Thus, in certain circumstances, failure to ensure that LEP persons can effectively participate in or benefit from federally assisted programs and activities may violate Title VI and its regulations prohibiting national origin discrimination.

Link to Executive Order 13166
Access the DOJ LEP Guidance for recipients.

Executive Order 13166, titled "Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency," required two things. First, it required federal agencies to take reasonable steps to provide meaningful access for LEP people to federally conducted programs and activities (essentially, everything the federal government does). Second, under the Executive Order, every federal agency that provides financial assistance to non-federal entities must publish guidance on how those recipients can provide meaningful access to LEP persons and thus comply with Title VI and Title VI regulations.

On December 18, 2002, the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights sent a letter to DOJ recipients of federal financial assistance and representative organizations, providing them with a copy of the DOJ LEP Guidance and asking them to spread the word about the need to provide meaningful access to LEP individuals. A copy of an article for newsletters can be found at: the COR website under newsletter article, or go to www.lep.gov.

Pursuant to Executive Order 13166, DOJ published final guidance for its own recipients on June 18, 2002. 67 Fed. Reg. 41455. DOJ's LEP Guidance assists recipients with fulfilling their legal responsibilities to provide meaningful access to LEP persons. This policy guidance provides a description of the four factors recipients should consider in fulfilling their responsibilities to LEP persons. DOJ uses these factors in evaluating whether recipients are in compliance with Title VI and its regulations. These four factors are:

1. The number or proportion of LEP persons in the eligible service population;

2. The frequency with which LEP individuals come into contact with the program;

3. The importance of the benefit, service, information, or encounter to the LEP person (including the consequences of lack of language services or inadequate interpretation/translation); and,

4. The resources available to the recipient and the costs of providing various types of language services.

The DOJ LEP Guidance should be used in conjunction with this document. Appendix A to the guidance provides additional information on how some DOJ recipients of federal financial assistance, such as law enforcement, correctional institutions, courts, and domestic violence programs, can apply the four-factor analysis. See 67 Fed. Reg. 41466-41472. The guidance also discusses the value and possible format of written language assistance plans, presents options for identifying language services and ensuring competency of interpretation and translation services, and provides DOJ's insights on when translations of certain vital documents should be considered.

Providing high quality and accessible services, benefits, information, and access to the justice system for LEP individuals requires resources but is often critical. Moreover, often the costs of failure to provide appropriate language access can be even higher than the costs of providing a qualified interpreter, translator, or bilingual staffer. Convictions can be overturned and defendants released for inaccurate interpretation during interrogation, evidence development, or testimony. Victims and witnesses may be unable to provide law enforcement and emergency responders with accurate information, resulting in additional human and financial costs. Poor translations may require expensive revisions and reprinting, or result in inaccurate information exchange. Thus, in addition to the legal requirement to provide meaningful linguistic access, recipients and others have many additional incentives to avoid initial non-compliance.

lep.gov is the website of the Federal Interagency Working Group on LEP. The website is intended to serve as a clearinghouse that contains useful information, guidance, demographic links, and resources for recipients, agency representatives, community members, and other stakeholders. This website is frequently updated to provide new tools that will facilitate language access.

In addition, there are many productive steps that the federal government, either collectively or as individual grant agencies, can take to help recipients reduce the costs of providing language services without sacrificing meaningful access for LEP persons. To that end, DOJ has provided and will continue to provide assistance and guidance in this important area. DOJ has established and oversees a Federal Interagency Working Group on LEP, which has developed a website, lep.gov, to assist in disseminating this information.

The Civil Rights Division is also working closely with DOJ funding components to ensure that language access measures are considered in the funding and monitoring of recipient programs and activities.

The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) of the Office for Justice Programs (OJP) is responsible for ensuring that recipients of financial assistance from OJP and the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) comply with civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of national origin, including limited English proficiency. Since the DOJ LEP Guidance was issued, OCR has provided training to representatives from hundreds of organizations funded by OJP and COPS on providing services to their LEP communities. OCR has also recognized the value of the information exchanged during these interactions and has passed along some of these tips and tools from the field to the Civil Rights Division and incorporated them into its training presentations. OCR conducted a number of compliance reviews of law enforcement agencies regarding their level of services to LEP persons. Through these reviews, OCR was able to see a number of promising approaches to providing services to LEP populations up close and gauge their effectiveness through interviews with the affected LEP communities.

For more information on the work of the Office for Civil Rights of the Office of Justice Programs, visit the OJP website.

The Civil Rights Division is committed to providing the necessary LEP training and technical assistance to all interested stakeholders. These services are provided primarily by the Division's Federal Coordination and Compliance Section (COR), which is responsible for coordination and implementation of the LEP initiative throughout the Executive branch. To date, COR has conducted over 50 LEP trainings at the federal, state, local, and community levels, and will continue to do so as the need requires. COR has also worked with the United States Department of Health and Human Services and the Food and Nutrition Service of the United States Department of Agriculture to develop a video on the application of Title VI to LEP access issues, including vignettes regarding emergency 911 services, law enforcement, foodstamps, and healthcare. To request a training session on LEP, brochures, a copy of the video, or for other technical assistance, please call COR at (202) 307-2222. TDD: (202) 307-2678.

Additional technical assistance tools include brochures which can be found on lep.gov and a LEP video, which is an excellent companion to COR’s general Title VI video. The LEP brochures and video were created in partnership with the Food and Nutrition Service of the Department of Agriculture, and the Office for Civil Rights of the United States Department of Health and Human Services.

With this background, we invite you to delve into the heart of this document - the Tips and Tools Chapters. We hope that this document will spark your creativity, provide examples you can replicate, and reaffirm what is already working for you as you endeavor to communicate effectively with all community members, regardless of language or national origin.

Chapter 1: General Tips and Tools Common to Courts, Police, 911 Call Centers, and Domestic Violence Specialists and Service Providers 

This General Tips and Tools Chapter provides Department of Justice (DOJ) recipient organizations, regardless of their primary mission, with a survey of strategies to deliver services to LEP community members. In reviewing the strategies that organizations used, we have found similarities cutting across disciplines and professions. One of the most important steps for effective communication is to set a policy and create a coherent plan for communicating with LEP individuals that includes a number of these common strategies. They are outlined in this chapter and are divided into five basic steps:

A. Determining your organization's language service needs;

B. Identifying language resources to help you meet those needs, and ensuring that personnel know how to access and effectively utilize those resources;

C. Familiarizing and training staff and managers with effective and innovative methods of communication with LEP individuals;

D. Implementing and enforcing quality control measures to ensure that you are communicating accurately and effectively with LEP community members; and

E. Conducting outreach to ensure that all community members, regardless of national origin or language, know that they can access your program, and can provide feedback to you on the language services you provide.

The five common steps are reflected in each of the chapters. You will notice some duplication of tips in order to emphasize certain practices in the context of particular types of recipients, but we have minimized this to the extent appropriate.

While this document focuses on various types of DOJ recipients, the strategies outlined in this General Chapter should be helpful to a wide variety of other organizations as well.

We hope that this General Tips and Tools Chapter will help you create, refine, and implement a plan to address a number of the LEP issues you currently face on the job. Once a plan has been established and implemented, it should be reviewed and updated as demographics, language resources, and other factors evolve.

A. Determining Your Organization's Language Needs and Devising a Plan

• Review the language needs of the communities you serve or encounter.
  
• Keep track of the languages you encounter on the job through a record-keeping method that is consistent with your agency's practice. Data should be reviewed to determine your agency's immediate language needs.
  
• There may be LEP communities that you are not reaching and that should be included in your assessment. These populations may need additional outreach in order to participate fully. Include seasonal workers, vacationers, motorists, and visitors in your assessment. (See Section E below).
  
• Other sources for demographic information include:
  
• The demographics section of http://www.lep.gov.
  
• For Spanish speakers, the 2000 Census, provides detailed information down to census tract level and below as to the English ability of persons over the age of five who speak Spanish at home. Be aware of potential under-reporting, and account for the possibility that the community you serve may be larger than estimates predict.
  
• For languages other than Spanish, the most detailed data on English ability from the 2000 Census is reported only in terms of general language groups (e.g., Asian/Pacific Islander, Indo-European, Other). In such cases, more refined predictions of potential LEP populations can be made by combining the language data that is available with other demographic data closely associated with language, such as ancestry, citizenship, foreign-born data, and prior residence. Access such data through American Factfinder, an interactive demographic mapping service maintained by the Census Bureau.
  
• Also access Census 2000 Brief: Language Use and English-Speaking Ability (October 2003).
  
• Tables and maps of the thirty most commonly-spoken languages (which include languages spoken by individuals who also speak and understand English) can be found at the Census website . The tables provide information down to the zip code level.
  
• The U.S. Department of Education and school districts maintain data on languages spoken in the local public school systems. Schools should also have knowledge of the LEP parent population. See fastfacts and education statistics.
  
• Some agencies contract with the Census Bureau to conduct special counts of census data for particular demographic characteristics. For instance, the U.S. Department of Labor maintains a demographics tool broken down by Workforce Investment Area (WIA). The data sorts the number of people who speak one of 39 different languages by WIA and by state. Some limited social demographics such as education, employment status, and income are also provided for each group. The information is in Excel worksheet format, and can be downloaded in total or by specific state or workforce area. This information, and other technical assistance products for the workforce system, will be made available through Department of Labor website in the very near future. The project is a joint endeavor of the Department of Labor, Berkeley Policy Associates, and the Census Bureau.
  
• Community, ethnic, and faith-based organizations can assist you in identifying LEP communities in your service area. Include such organizations in an "advisory committee" as part of your continuing efforts to respond to LEP issues.
  
• Similarly, check with local interpretation and translation associations to determine which languages are most frequently requested. Ask for general information on the purposes for which interpretation and translation services are sought (e.g., medical, legal, immigration, or other purposes).
  

Want more info?

• Consult Chapter 6 of this document, entitled "Tips and Tools Specific to DOJ Federally Conducted Programs and Activities," for a more detailed analysis of the use of census data and special counts.

• Contact Karin Wang, Vice President of Programs (kwang@apalc.org)or Dan Ichinose, Project Director of Demographic Research Unit (dichinose@apalc.org) at the Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC) in Los Angeles for information about effectively utilizing school district statistics and other data to determine interpreter needs.
  

B. Identifying Language Resources to Help You Meet Your Needs

• Telephonic interpretation services can ensure resources when in-house demand is high or immediate interpretation is needed.
  
• Telephonic interpretation is particularly useful for officers in the field, during 911 calls, or in other instances in which a range of languages could be encountered and swift response is necessary. Telephonic interpretation can be conducted utilizing a commercial telephonic interpretation service, professional interpreter, or trained bilingual staffer who cannot be available onsite (e.g., a police call at 3:00 a.m.).
  
• Commercial telephonic interpretation services are helpful where in-house language capacity is insufficient or unavailable. Telephone interpretation services are immediately available when crisis management is required in a range of languages. Such services can provide a per-minute rate in a broad range of languages.
  
• Monitor quality. Ensure that the provider you choose understands the context in which you operate and can accurately interpret or translate specialized terms you use, such as Miranda warnings. Other relevant information may include the connection time necessary for telephonic interpretation, and whether it is swift enough for your purposes.
  

Want more info?

• Contact Xenia Freeman, Director of Safe Horizon's (NYC) Domestic Violence, Crime Victim, Rape and Sexual Assault, and September 11 Support Hotlines at xfreeman@safehorizon.org., for more information on the utility of telephonic interpretation.
  

• Identify potential sources of language assistance through local community/ethnic organizations, university language departments, law schools, and other logical venues.
  
• Train the identified individuals to serve as part-time interpreters on an as-needed basis. Ensure their familiarity with applicable standards (e.g., ethical requirements, modes and protocols of interpretation, specialized terminology applicable to your program, etc.)
  
• On occasion, authorities have successfully used language educators and community members to interview/debrief witnesses in the absence of professional interpreters.
  
• Recognize the potential limitations of using such individuals. For example, a ish teacher may not necessarily be able to interpret accurately during a beat patrol investigation
  
• Make sure to implement other quality-control measures.

Want more info?

• The Washington, D.C.-based Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center (APALRC) has created a "Legal Interpreter Project" which focuses on training community members, law students, and others to provide quality interpretation and translation for other agencies in the area. The selection process includes recruitment, training, testing, and monitoring. Refer to their website for detailed information about this project.
  

C. Working with LEP Individuals

• Translate vital forms and documents into languages commonly spoken in your community.
  
  
• Translated Miranda warnings and other important notices, rights, and forms could provide convenience and clarity in arrest, interrogation, and booking situations involving literate LEP individuals. Translation of key documents can also assist interpreters in providing consistent interpretation of important law enforcement terminology
  
  Want more info?

The FBI has made certain translations available through its Law Enforcement Online website for use by authorized law enforcement entities. For more information, see Section B in Chapter 6, DOJ Federally Conducted Programs and Activities.

• Making full use of existing staffs' language capabilities is one element of an effective LEP plan, as long as the plan does not require staff to perform tasks beyond their language skill level.
  

• Make sure that your bilingual staffs' level of competence matches the need of the LEP persons being served, particularly when a failure to communicate could adversely impact an issue of importance to the LEP person.
  
• Encourage officers and other bilingual staff to call in professional interpreters and translators when needed.

• Form constructive working relationships with the LEP communities you serve by teaming bilingual officers with volunteers from community-based organizations.
  

Want more info?

• See the featured box on the Haitian Roving Patrol at the end of this chapter, and contact: Officer Skip Brown, Delray Beach, Florida Police Department: (561) 243-7873.

• See Section B in Chapter 1, General Tips and Tools, for more information on how to access language resources in your area.
  

C. Working with LEP Individuals

• Arm your officers and staff with effective language tools and access protocols in order for them to fulfill their duties, and to protect and be protected, in every language.
  
• Adopt a standard protocol to be used by officers and staff who are not bilingual when encountering a person who speaks little or no English.
  
• As noted in Section C of Chapter 1, General Tips and Tools, some agencies use "I Speak______" cards to identify an individual's primary language and enable the officer or staff to call for a bilingual officer or telephonic or in-person interpreter in the needed language.
  

• Contact Isabel Framer, certified interpreter and co-chair of the Ohio Model LEP Policies and Procedures Committee at isainterp@aol.com or co-chair Sheriff Alexander, Summit County, Ohio at his office; (330)-643-2181 or TTY: (330)-643-2221.

• Timeliness is an element of quality.
  
• Training (or verifying competency) is important, but evaluation and monitoring are also key components to ensuring quality.
  
• Part of ensuring quality is making sure that officers understand the languages spoken in the community. For instance, when time to wait for the proper interpreter is available, a bilingual ish-speaking officer should not attempt to interrogate in ish an LEP person who speaks a little bit of ish but whose primary language is not Spanish.
  
• Drive home the point with all staff that failure to communicate effectively and follow quality protocols not only impedes services to LEP victims and to the community at large, but also can present law enforcement with safety, evidentiary, and legal challenges, provide perpetrators and alleged perpetrators with reason to challenge investigations, and increase monetary and human costs.
  
• See Section D in Chapter 1, General Tips and Tools, for more information on ensuring quality control measures and checks. Also consult Appendix A of the DOJ LEP Guidance for specific information pertaining to law enforcement.

E. Conducting Outreach

• Outreach to the LEP populations you serve plays an integral role in implementation and refinement of your LEP plan. When LEP individuals are aware of the existence of your language resources, they are more likely to access them to communicate safety and other concerns, and to be able to assist law enforcement.
  
• Conduct community outreach by using bilingual officers, staff, and volunteers
  
• Extend community outreach by offering a wide variety of services important to LEP individuals (such as health or youth-related programs), hiring bilingual officers and staff, and partnering with volunteers from community- based and charitable organizations.

Want more info?

• Contact Sergeant Andres Ornelas, Statewide El Protector Coordinator, Community Outreach and Partnership Section, 2555 First Avenue, Sacramento, California 95818; (916) 657-8810; TTY: (800) 735-2929.

• Work with community and ethnic organizations to sponsor diversity training and to train officers and staff on working with LEP individuals.
  
• Partner with neighborhood schools, churches, community groups, landlord- tenant organizations, and others to provide civic education to recent immigrants. Use such partnerships to encourage participation in police and civic activities, enhance understanding of differences between laws in this country and those of the countries of origin, and encourage crime reporting and a sense of safety.
  
• Effective communication is a two-way street. In organizing outreach to LEP communities, try to solicit suggestions on how to make your plan and its implementation better.
  
• See Section E in Chapter 1, General Tips and Tools, for more ideas on how to conduct effective outreach to your community and service area.

FEATURED

Storefront in East Dallas: A Focus On Community Outreach and Inclusion

The Dallas Police Department's involvement with the Storefront project in East Dallas uses a comprehensive approach to addressing the needs of an immigrant population and promotes a recognition by police that gaining the trust of community is a major factor in effective policing. The Storefront is a community-based program that was started to assist immigrant populations adjust to their community, access municipal services, and help develop community trust of uniformed police officers. The Storefront began operation in 1985 in response to the large number of Southeast Asian immigrants and refugees arriving in the East Dallas area. Utilizing non-uniformed personnel to gain community trust, the program initially provided primarily food and clothing. Over the years, the Storefront has evolved into a multi-tiered operation serving many nationalities. It still continues to provide the much-needed assistance, but the emphasis is now on proactive crime prevention and community development, as well as reactive police responses.

Over the last five years, Sergeant Ray Ball has provided leadership by identifying grant funds that allow the Storefront to tailor its programs and services to the community. The program implements police initiatives to reduce criminal activity, work with youth at risk, improve access to healthcare, and create affordable housing in targeted areas. About 80% of the work done at the Storefront is providing or accessing services; the other 20% is responding to calls. When these new programs began, Sergeant Ball selected non-sworn, bilingual police employees and other bilingual persons from the community. Now he has both uniformed and non-uniformed staff. He also hires community persons as translators. Officers assigned to the Storefront are able to be creative and resourceful in their daily duties. The staff includes a sergeant, five sworn officers, four crime prevention specialists, and three grant-funded part-time bilingual community assistance clerks.

The Storefront is open from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, but often provides services for evening and weekend planned events. The Storefront hosts various community and police-related meetings. It offers a Walk-in-Police Assistance Program where individuals from the neighborhood can make reports and receive assistance, information, and referrals as needed. The Storefront also provides interpreter services and cultural awareness sessions, consultation, and training for detectives during investigation. Interpretation services are available in ten languages - Vietnamese, Thai, Cambodian, Laotian, Mandarin, Cantonese, Chau Chunese, French, ish, and English.

East Dallas Storefront
Dallas Police Department
4545 Bryan Street Dallas, TX 75204
(214) 670-4413

FEATURED

Haitian Citizens Police Academy/Haitian Roving Patrol in Delray Beach, Florida: A Focus on Community Involvement

Challenged by language and cultural differences coupled with alarming Haitian victimization and the existence of fear and mistrust towards authority, the Delray Beach, Florida, Police Department, community leaders, and residents joined forces to establish a community-based initiative to turn this around. In 1995, the Haitians Citizens Police Academy, believed to be the first of its kind in the nation, was formed. Community activists and residents from the Haitian community participated in a 10-week program of instruction on policing, code enforcement, city government, and other important information. The emphasis was on establishing a positive citizens/police alliance based on a strong sense of trust, respect, and partnership. The program has been an overwhelming success, and Haitian residents have embraced the philosophy of partnering and teamwork to improve their quality of life.

Since 1995, the Delray Beach Police Department has run five Haitian Citizens Police Academies with more than 200 Haitian residents attending. A volunteer Haitian Roving Patrol was started with just five members from the first class. The Haitian Roving Patrol currently consists of 14 Creole-speaking volunteers in marked police vehicles. They patrol the city's Haitian neighborhoods as well as other targeted areas, and are used during special events to supplement the regular police force. They are trained in observation and the use of mobile phones and police radios to call in suspicious activity for police follow-up. This increases the police presence in these areas, which lends a feeling of security to troubled neighborhoods. It also facilitates communication between the police and Creole-speaking LEP residents. In addition, the Haitian Roving Patrol members appear to have created a new sense of pride in the Haitian community.

According to the Delray Police Department, in 1998 the Haitian Roving Patrol was responsible for reducing robberies in the mostly Haitian Osceola Park area by 53 percent. They are credited with a 98-percent reduction in armed robberies in the Delray Square Shopping Plaza during that same year.

This unique program has received considerable notice. The Pew Charitable Trust highlighted it as one of twelve unique grassroots projects throughout the United States in a book called Local Heroes Changing America.

Contact: Officer Skip Brown
Volunteer Coordinator
Delray Beach Police Department 300 W. Atlantic Avenue
Delray Beach, FL 33444
(561) 243-7873.

FEATURED

Summit County/Lorain, Ohio Committee on Interpreter Services/LEP Model Program for Law Enforcement:

A Focus on Planning

Based on data from the 2000 Census alone, Summit County, Ohio would not be high on the list of jurisdictions requiring an extensive program of language assistance. In 2000, only 5.6% of county residents over the age of five reported that they spoke a language other than English at home. Of its ish-speaking community, which comprised only 1.24% of the county's overall population, just over 15% reported that they did not speak English very well or did not speak English at all, well below the national average for ish-speakers.

Yet in 2000, the Sheriff of Summit County became aware of many instances when language barriers had impeded the county's delivery of competent, effective, and timely law enforcement services, primarily when interacting with ish-speaking LEP persons. Realizing that the demographic data did not accurately reflect the LEP situation his officers found on the street or in the county detention facilities, and believing that the LEP problems and language assistance solutions were not unique to his jurisdiction, the Sheriff worked with the Department's contract ish interpreter, and the Chief of Police for the City of Lorain, Ohio to organize a committee of law enforcement officers from several local and state jurisdictions. The purpose of that committee, known as the Summit County/Lorain Interpreter Services/LEP Model Program for Law Enforcement Committee, is to identify commonly encountered situations in which law enforcement personnel interact with LEP persons, and to develop practical language assistance procedures to ensure that language does not bar competent, effective, and timely law enforcement.

The Committee leadership also convinced a number of recognized experts in the area of language services and legal interpretation from around the nation to form an advisory board to assist the law enforcement professionals making up the committee. A company that provides telephonic interpreter services is supporting the work of the Committee by providing teleconference services for advisory board members who do not live in the north central Ohio area. In addition, the Sheriff arranged training on the LEP requirements for all his senior officers and command staff.

The Committee is in the final stages of producing draft LEP policies, practices, and protocols, including a picture-based communication booklet, flashcard communication booklet, and "I Speak___" cards for officers on the street, which serve as models for other jurisdictions. The Committee's approach in combining experts from both law enforcement, as well as the interpretation and translation fields, is now being evaluated for possible statewide and/or national application.

http://www.co.summit.oh.us/sheriff/contact.htm.

Or co-chair Isabel Framer at isainterp@aol.com

Chapter 4: Tips and Tools Specific to Domestic Violence Service Providers and Specialists

Domestic violence is a public health issue affecting the health, safety, and well-being of millions of families in the United States. Experts have described domestic violence as a broad pattern of behaviors that may involve physical, emotional, or mental abuse against victims. As a result, getting victims promptly linked to services and resources is critical to ending abusive relationships and protecting the victims. Victims who are LEP face unique barriers to reporting domestic violence. Their abusers may typically serve as their primary link to English-speakers if the abusers speak English. In addition to language barriers, LEP victims, depending on their legal status in the United States, may also worry about the immigration consequences of coming forward to report abuse. For these reasons and more, providing competent language services provided by those trained in confidentiality and ethics is critical.

This chapter provides some important tips and resources to assist entities in ensuring that victims of domestic violence and their family members have meaningful access to law enforcement, service providers, and the judicial system. These tips should be read in conjunction with the General Tips and Tools contained in Chapter 1. LEP coordinators and decision-makers should also consult the DOJ LEP Guidance, including Appendix A, which provides examples from the domestic violence context.

A. Identifying the Need

• LEP individuals in your community may need your help. Do not assume that "someone else can help them."
  
• All shelters and service providers should be aware of languages commonly spoken in the community, and develop appropriate protocols and resources, including collaborating with immigrant community-based organizations, for responding to LEP individuals needing language assistance.
  
• When possible, partner with domestic violence service providers that focus on particular ethnic or immigrant populations. Do not assume that your organization is "off the hook" on providing language services simply because some other organization does.
  

Want more info?

• For one approach, see the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence "Model Protocol on Services for Limited English Proficient Immigrant and Refugee Victims of Domestic Violence," prepared in November 2002.
  

B. Identifying Language Resources

Want more info?

• Consult the General Tips and Tools Chapter 1, Sections B(6)and D(1).
  
• Consult the Rockland Family Shelter (featured below), concerning its training programs for volunteer interpreters.
  

Want more info?

Want more info?

• Contact Refugee Women's Alliance (featured at the conclusion of this chapter) or at (206)721-0243 or visit www.rewa.org.

Want more info?

• Refer to TAPESTRI (featured at the conclusion of this chapter) at http://www.TAPESTRI.org/
  
• The New York City Community Response to Trafficking Program successfully partnered with the New York Police Department (NYPD) for trainings, resulting in the creation of an ethnically-sensitive anti-trafficking unit within the NYPD. This could be replicated for various units.
  
• Contact the Rockland Family Shelter (featured at the conclusion of this chapter), which has developed and conducted training programs for police departments concerning victims of domestic violence. (845) 634-3344; TTY: (845) 634-3119.

• Accuracy and effective communication are as critical in domestic violence situations as in any emergency situation. Do not rely on friends and family members to interpret for the LEP victim in important and sensitive interactions.
  
• It is very important to avoid using children as interpreters in domestic violence cases. Since many children accompany the client to meetings or at the shelter, police departments, and other services, it is sometimes perceived as convenient to use children to interpret. Children can suffer psychological harm from having to hear and interpret the details of abuse.
  
  
• Consider adopting a protocol for community interpreters as described in Section A above.
  
  
• Be aware of the pitfalls that can result from using untrained, untested individuals for language assistance. For example, LEP victims could have their testimony incorrectly interpreted in court. Use only trained interpreters and translators for situations with potential legal exposure. The higher the stakes, the more important the use of trained language service providers.
  

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FEATURED

FEATURED

For the past few years, TAPESTRI has provided training on immigration and refugee issues to police officers throughout the State of Georgia at the police training academy in Forsyth, Georgia. TAPESTRI has developed a course outline and training schedule that meets the needs of criminal justice/law enforcement system personnel who attend their courses. TAPESTRI has bilingual and bicultural trainers who train police officers on LEP issues.

Through its community education and outreach program, TAPESTRI educates refugees and immigrant communities about domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking. TAPESTRI conducts in-person training and publishes a biannual educational newsletter on emerging issues of concern to refugee and immigrant women. TAPESTRI has developed brochures, posters, and flyers in different languages. TAPESTRI has placed these brochures in various ethnic markets.

Contact: TAPESTRI, Inc.
P.O. Box 505
Avondale Estates, GA 30002
Phone: (404) 299-2185 or (404) 299-7775
Email: tapestri@mindspring.com

Chapter 5: Tips and Tools Specific to Courts

This chapter should be read in conjunction with Chapter 1, General Tips and Tools. Court administrators, LEP coordinators, and decision-makers should also consult the DOJ LEP Guidance.

Want more info?

Want more info?

Want more info?

• Consult the Oregon Judicial Department's Coordinator for Interpreter Certification Program, Lois M. Feuerle, at (503) 986-7021; TTY: (503) 986-5504; Lois.M.FEURLE@ojd.state.or.us.
  
• Consult Robert Joe Lee, Court Executive, Language Services Section, New Jersey Judiciary: RobertJoe.Lee@judiciary.state.nj.us.
  

B. Identifying Language Resources

• Contact the Oregon Judicial Department and inquire about its Telephone Interpreter Pilot Project.
  
• Contact Robert Joe Lee, Court Executive, Language Services Section, New Jersey Judiciary, RobertJoe.Lee@judiciary.state.nj.us.
  

Want more info?

• Consult the Oregon Judicial Department website, concerning a project at the Marion County Courthouse in which direct services are provided in ish to victims of domestic abuse.

C. Working with LEP Individuals and Interpreters

Want more info?

Want more info?

• Consult the Oregon Judicial Department's website, which has a Spanish language version of the cite with links to Spanish language forms used to explain and obtain protective orders and other documents related to domestic violence.
  
• The North Carolina Courts' Foreign Language Service Project created brochures in Spanish explaining how the criminal courts operate. For more details, visit their website.

D. Ensuring Quality Control

Want more info?

• New Jersey's NJ Courts Online site gives detailed information about the interpreter certification process.
  
• Currently many states, including California, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oregon, Wisconsin, and many others have certification programs for court interpreters.

Want more info?

• The Oregon Judicial Department has a process for qualifying interpreters when no certified interpreter is available, and has published the procedure in Chapter 20 of its "Judge's Benchbook." Consult Oregon's website for more information.
  
• The Washington State Administrative Office for the Courts has published a colloquy for judges to use in determining an interpreter's qualifications. Contact the Interpreter/Guardian line at 360-705-5301 or consult the website for additional links and information.
  
• The North Carolina Courts have published statewide guidelines on the use of interpreters, and utilize many state and some federally certified ish interpreters. Consult the North Carolina Courts' website.
  
• Another resource is the New Jersey Courts' site, which contains a Manual for Judges and Other Court Personnel .

Want more info?

Want more info?

Want more info?

• See the North Carolina Courts' website
  
• Check out the legal glossaries available on the New Jersey Courts' website.
  

FEATURED

The Story of Seattle's King County Superior Court Interpreter Program: A Focus on Quality and Efficiency

When you enter the Office of Interpreter Services in the King County Superior Court in Seattle, Washington, you are immediately struck by the pictures, postcards, and memorabilia from various countries that have been brought to the offices by the hundreds of interpreters who have worked there. There is a room set aside for interpreters to take breaks and for clients, interpreters, and lawyers to meet in private. These touches may seem small, but they reflect the larger reality: this office is designed to support a professional interpretation corps in order to ensure the integrity of the judicial system and effective communication for LEP persons. So far, the program has provided interpreters in 110 languages.

Martha Cohen, who helps run the program, goes to great lengths to explain that this is a "low-tech operation focused on quality, not automation." She has yet to find calendaring software that meets her needs, so the program keeps three sets of hard-copy documents up to date in more traditional fashions. First, they have a language bank notebook that reflects the experience, education, and availability of various interpreters by language. The notebook contains the Interpreter Information Record for each interpreter. Certified interpreters are used whenever possible. Court certification is available in seven languages in Washington State: Cambodian, Korean, Russian, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Lao, and ish. Information on the Washington State court interpreter program can be found at their website.

Interpreters are asked to attend orientations as well. Interpreters are expected to follow a code of conduct. New interpreters are used in non-felony cases first, whenever possible. One of the experienced interpreters on staff goes to the assignment with a new interpreter and works with the judge or commissioner to ensure that the interpretation goes smoothly. If the interpretation is in a language the experienced staff members are not familiar with, they can still focus on the mechanics of interpreting: Is the interpreter trainee using the first person? Is the length of the interpretation reflective of the length of the statement being interpreted (understanding that there may be a difference in length that is caused by the difference in language or a need to describe something for which there are no direct translations)? Is the interpreter staying focused on the hearing? Is the interpreter interpreting everything that is being said?

The program also uses 3x5 cards that track every case. Each time an interpreter or translator is used, the card is updated. Even though interpreters are bound to a code of ethics, this office goes the extra step to ensure that there is no appearance of conflicts and attempts to avoid using any particular interpreter to interpret for more than one party or side of a particular case or in more than one aspect of that case. The program staff also keep an extensive calendar of all of the interpretations being provided in their jurisdiction each day. An Interpreter Request Form can be submitted by telephone, e-mail, or walk-in requests.

King County also provides interpreters for family law facilitations, the protection order office, and LEP parents of juveniles in all juvenile justice cases.

The Office of Interpreter Services also works closely with judges and commissioners on an interpreter services advisory committee and provides orientations for new judges and commissioners regarding the interpreter program and the appropriate use of interpreters. Scheduling has been a key to efficient use of interpreter funds, and judges and commissioners are extremely responsive to the need to call cases requiring interpreters when the interpreters are available. The office also strives to ensure that experienced interpreters are assigned to cases with newer judges and commissioners.

In 1982, the New Jersey Chief Justice appointed a task force to look at how to provide equal access for all linguistic minorities. The task force took census data and interviewed judges, lawyers, and administrative staff in New Jersey. Three years later, the task force issued its final report entitled Equal Access to the Courts for Linguistic Minorities , setting forth a definitive LEP plan/road map, and also began to collect statistics on interpreted events. The most requested languages identified in the report were ish, Portuguese, Polish, Korean, American Sign Language, Haitian Creole, Arabic, Egyptian Colloquial, Mandarin Chinese, Russian, Vietnamese, Turkish, and Italian.

The New Jersey Judiciary has several procedures in place for language assistance inside and outside the courtroom. An interpreter is assigned at an LEP person's point of entry into either a court or a court support office, such as the domestic violence unit. If no staff or contract interpreter is available on site, one is identified from the registry of the Administrative Office of the Courts in another area of the state and brought in, or contacted by telephone. On February 26, 2004, interpreting standards were adopted for the New Jersey Superior Court and for the Tax Court. The standards provide for interpreter assistance for all persons, including parents of minor parties, for all stages of court proceedings, intake interviews, and direct service situations that involve court personnel. Visit their website.

The New Jersey Administrative Office of the Courts also provides headsets and telephonic interpreting equipment to each judicial district. It sets the rates of pay for telephonic interpreters, monitors quality and, if there is a problem, proceedings are interrupted and the Office performs an investigation. Newly-hired judges and staff are trained on an ad hoc basis. There are separate training manuals for judges, interpreters, and court administrative staff.

New Jersey also provides translations. Formal procedures have been established for issuing translations to ensure that all forms and informational brochures are being translated into ish for all parts of the courts, including for domestic violence matters. The procedures specify how the translation will be issued, what documents will be in ish alone, and what documents will be in a ish-English format.

The Administrative Office of the Courts is currently identifying all documents that should be translated, with each office that generates documents being asked to rank documents to be translated in order of importance. The objective is to produce official translations of those documents beginning with ish and followed by other languages to be chosen based on court statistics on interpreted events. The current documents available online in ish include: "How to Sue in Small Claims Court - Non-Auto;" "Summons and Return of Service;" and "Financial Questionnaire to Establish Indigency-Municipal Court." In addition, two professional translators focus on ensuring that translations are done efficiently and correctly.

In addition to translating court-generated documents, both staff and contract interpreters are used to sight-translate court documents into whatever language is needed. At the direction of the court, they are also available for translations of correspondence and other documents. Staff interpreters who have passed the ish legal translation test may also perform written translations of a wide range of documents written in ish or English.

The New Jersey Judiciary currently has staff court interpreters in ish, Galician, Norwegian, Portuguese, Swedish and Ukrainian. In addition, a centralized list of contract interpreters and language agencies is publicly available through a link on the New Jersey Judiciary website.

New Jersey takes quality control very seriously. A professional performance exam for court interpreting is offered in 15 languages (complete information regarding this exam is available on the website). All prospective interpreters are required to attend a seminar on the Code of Professional Conduct for Interpreters, which is offered ten times a year. Interpreters must take the test, if a test exists, in their language pair and, if no test exists for that language, the interpreter must sign an affidavit saying he or she possesses the requisite interpreting competency. Newly-appointed Superior Court judges and municipal judges must attend an orientation offered once a year, which includes information on language access issues. Municipal courts offer the orientation three times a year for new employees, and other employees may attend upon request as well. The orientation covers such topics as "Learn what the Supreme Court expects court interpreters to do;" "Obtain information on resources for developing interpreting skills;" and "Find out how the court interpreter test program is managed." By 2003, all judges or court support personnel with any probability of needing to deliver services to linguistic minorities received an initial orientation. The njcourts.online website lists information on telephonic interpreting companies as well as operational standards for telephonic interpreting.

A telephonic interpreting program was implemented in 2001 as an adjunct to the Judiciary's system of staff and contract interpreters. Operational standards call for use of telephonic interpretation under certain circumstances when no on-site interpreter is reasonably available. However, reliance on telephonic interpreter services is authorized only where (1) it is more fiscally responsible to obtain the telephonic interpreter; and (2) the quality of interpretation is not compromised.

The New Jersey Judiciary continues to work to refine its comprehensive language assistance program in the face of the changing language demographics of the state and the difficult challenges of shifting fiscal human resources. Both its underlying plan and its approach to ensuring quality control in the actual delivery of services continue to be a model for other state court systems.

website

RobertJoe.Lee@judiciary.state.nj.us

FEATURED

The Oregon Judicial Department (OJD) has a comprehensive program to ensure access to LEP individuals who require interpreting services both inside and outside of the courtroom, whether in criminal or civil proceedings. In addition, the Oregon legislature has enacted measures that require the provision of interpreting services for LEP parents (or for those who serve in loco parentis) of minors who appear in juvenile proceedings. Oregon statutes similarly mandate that LEP individuals who appear in administrative proceedings, including hearings before the Workers Compensation Board, Bureau of Labor and Industry, Board of Parole, Department of Corrections, and Hearing Officer Panels of the Oregon Youth Authority.

OJD's programs include measures to ensure the quality of interpreting and translating services, to inform LEP communities of available court services, to provide direct services in commonly encountered languages, and to assess and adjust programs to the changing needs of a diverse and dynamic LEP population.

OJD became a founding member of the National Center for State Courts Consortium (NCSC) for State Court Interpreter Certification in 1995. The Consortium was established to help state courts develop and share the costs of comprehensive interpreter certification programs. It created a readily accessible source of expertise for OJD and consortium members. Moreover, OJD's participation in the NCSC's Consortium helped defray the costs of creating its certification program and allowed it quickly to establish a methodology for assessing the qualifications of interpreters. The Court Interpreter Certification test screens applicants' language skills in both English and the foreign language, measures candidates' skills in modes of interpreting , and establishes that candidates possess the requisite substantive knowledge of interpreter ethics and professional responsibilities. OJD's court interpreter certification program includes the ish, Russian, and Vietnamese languages, as these are the LEP communities most frequently encountered in the courts of the state.

In addition to 16 staff interpreters, the OJD uses the services of approximately 80 certified interpreters, who are sent to particular districts based on the needs of the local courts. Staff interpreters are sometimes called upon to travel between counties and circuits in order to better utilize their services throughout the state. To ensure consistent quality interpreting in the state, judges are required by statute to use a certified interpreter if one is available. However, even in situations where there is no certified interpreter available locally, the OJD undertakes steps to ensure that quality is maintained by bringing in interpreters from out-of-state and even from outside the country when necessary. Certified interpreters are required to maintain and improve their skills through continued education. The OJD Interpreter Unit sponsors such events regularly. In addition, judges are provided with a colloquy that helps them assess the qualifications of an interpreter who is identified from a list prepared by the Court Interpreter Services Office. It is the policy of OJD never to use friends and family members as a source of interpreters.

Through its liaisons with community organizations like the Oregon Law Center (OLC), OJD has tapped a pool of potential interpreters and translators of indigenous languages who are being trained and tested on legal terminology, court protocols, interpreting modes, professional ethics, and language skills. The project also includes role-plays and mock trials at the courthouse, in which trainees practice interpreting and receive feed-back to improve their skills. Moreover, in a proactive effort to ensure quality interpretation and translation services for an emerging population of indigenous immigrants, OJD has also partnered with OLC to devise glossaries of legal terms in several indigenous languages. In addition, OJD has partnered with the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization to provide three sets of interpreter skills-building training modules for Russian interpreters.

In an effort to improve access to justice for the approximately 40,000 members of indigenous communities from Mexico and Central America living and working in Oregon, the OLC and OJD embarked upon a pilot project. The OLC/OJD initiative included a training to prepare certified Spanish-English interpreters to work as “relay” interpreters for language minority litigants and witnesses. An example of a “relay” interpretation is when one person interprets between an indigenous language and Spanish and the second person interprets between Spanish and English.

Two subsequent trainings focused on on teaching interpretation skills to speakers of indigenous languages, including Mixteco, Triqui, Zapoteco, Nahautl, Tarasco, Akateco, Kanjobal, and others.

In addition to its interpreter training and recruitment programs, OJD uses translated documents as a means of providing access to LEP individuals. OJD has translated the Oregon Family Abuse Prevention Act materials into ish, and instructions needed to obtain Temporary Protective Orders (TPOs) into ish, Russian, Vietnamese, and Korean. These documents are available in the courthouses and on the OJD Family Law website, which currently contains the ish language version. The Russian, Vietnamese, and Korean versions will be posted in the near future. Links to these documents can be found at their website . The website also contains links to other websites that have translated legal documents, such as the Oregon Bar Association website, which has ish, Russian and Vietnamese translations of information about wills, small claims, bankruptcy, and other legal matters.

In the Marion County courts, LEP victims of domestic violence can receive direct assistance in ish to seek TPO's from an abusive domestic partner. OJD has also undertaken several pilot projects in which telephone interpreters are used in short non-evidentiary hearings, usually involving LEP persons who speak one of the less commonly encountered language. However, telephonic interpreting also has been used in the trial of a minor traffic infraction.

Finally, the OJD has established the "Access to Justice for All" Committee, whose mission it is to continually reassess OJD's program needs and to make recommendations on how to improve racial, ethnic, and gender fairness in the Oregon court system. The Access Committee implements subcommittee recommendations, monitors the progress of pilot projects, and makes its own recommendations to the OJD for the improvement of access to service for all those seeking services from Oregon Courts.

Contact:
Lois M. Feuerle,
Coordinator for Interpreter Certification Program,
Oregon Judicial Department
(503) 986-7021; TTY: (503) 986-5504
Lois.M.FEURLE@ojd.state.or.us

Julie Samples,
Coordinator of the Indigenous Farmworker Project
Oregon Law Center
230 W. Hayes, Woodburn OR 97071
Tel: (503) 981-0336 ; Fax: (503) 981-0373  

DOJ houses a wide variety of agencies, from the Federal Bureau of Prisons and Federal Bureau of Investigation, to the United States Marshals Service, Executive Office for United States Attorneys, and the Civil Rights Division. In developing the LAP for DOJ, we faced the same series of questions as many large recipients seeking to develop and implement a cost-effective plan. Is a single, comprehensive language assistance plan preferable to a composite plan developed independently by each component? Does the need for speedy implementation outweigh the potential benefits of a longer, more reflective period of assessment? Should existing fiscal resources govern the scope of the plan, or should the scope of the plan determine requests for future fiscal resources? What implementation activities should be a priority until necessary fiscal resources become available? The analytical approaches utilized, insights gained, and techniques implemented by DOJ in developing its LAP can perhaps assist other law enforcement, correctional, and judicial officials in their search for reasonable, cost-effective, and creative LEP policies and procedures.

A. Determining Your Organization's Language Needs

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For agencies with multiple components or offices, test-drive a pilot plan in select components/regions/offices.

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B. Identifying Language Resources to Help You Meet Your Needs

C. Working with LEP Individuals

D. Ensuring Quality Control

• Reinforce language access procedures with visual tools and notices that simplify the communication process, particularly for those staff who are new or less familiar with your organization's LAP.
  
• For example, you can ensure that employees have telephonic interpreter access procedures readily available. To accomplish this, DOJ's Civil Rights Division linked language assistance procedures to the opening page of its internal network, used by Division employees only. Another equally effective but decidedly non-tech approach is used by the Division's Federal Coordination and Compliance Section, which has affixed stickers with the number and access code for telephonic language assistance on the base unit of every staff member's telephone. Now, when staff members are on the telephone and wonder how to access interpretative services, the answer is staring them in the face.
  
• Be sure to supplement visual aids and other LAP-associated "reminders" with intensive periodic re-training, as emphasized in Chapter 1, General Tips and Tools. Ensure that staff do not rely exclusively on information contained in such visual aids because it is "easier to remember." Staff should be trained on all aspects of your LAP and should be prepared to anticipate situations where use of telephonic interpretation services or other expedient methods is not viable.

E. Conducting Outreach

• Meet with ethnic community leaders and post information at ethnic gathering places.
  
• LAP planning committee members can consider identifying the service providers and faith-based or other groups most closely associated with the language communities you serve. Publicize access efforts to such groups and make translated forms and brochures available to them for dissemination and posting at ethnic social gathering places.

FEATURED

The Executive Office for United States Attorneys: Piloting System-Wide LAPs and Doing it Right Locally to Get it Right Nationally

In 2001, the Executive Office for United States Attorneys (EOUSA) was tasked with the responsibility for developing an integrated language assistance plan (LAP) for all 93 U.S. Attorneys' Offices (USAOs) in the United States and its territories. EOUSA began with a language resource and language needs survey involving all 93 USAOs, with a particular focus on the language minority groups routinely encountered rather than the language minority groups that might reside within the jurisdiction served by each office.

Based in part on the survey, EOUSA selected three pilot districts to develop and evaluate LAPs, and each was asked to designate an LEP coordinator. The LEP coordinator from each pilot district was then provided in-depth LEP training and the elements of an effective local LAP. Following the training, each returned to his or her district and, under the leadership of the local U.S. Attorney, created an LEP committee to craft the USAO LAP. Over a period of three-four months, each district drafted and began implementation of its LAP. At the same time, the EOUSA drafted governing LEP policies and procedures detailing the common framework and language assistance principles for all USAO programs and activities.

After a short evaluation period, the pilot district LEP coordinators, the EOUSA, and the Civil Rights Division's Federal Coordination and Compliance Section held a series of teleconferences to discuss the experiences of the pilot districts and to identify any "lessons learned" of potential value to sister USAOs. These teleconferences led to an updated EOUSA LEP training program. That training program was then taped and edited for broadcast in June 2004 by the Justice Television Network to all USAOs. Based on this video training and additional consultations with the EOUSA as needed, the remaining 90 USAOs have finalized, or are in the process of finalizing, LAPs for their respective districts. The LEP broadcast tape was also added to the EOUSA inventory of LEP training materials for future use.

Contact: Juan Milanes
Assistant Director,
Equal Employment Opportunity Staff
Executive Office for United States Attorneys
U.S. Department of Justice
600 E Street, NW, # 2300
Washington, DC 20530
(202) 514-3982
Juan.Milanes@usdoj.gov

CONCLUSION

Serving the needs of individuals with limited English proficiency and ensuring that they have meaningful access to federally assisted and federally conducted programs is a vitally important project. We created this document to assist you in your efforts to serve your LEP community members.

We hope that in reading this document you will be able to draw upon the experiences of others and take advantage of all the resources that are out there. We believe that one of the most effective ways to ensure meaningful access for LEP persons is to share successful strategies and available resources. Our goal in developing this document was to establish a framework for compiling and disseminating techniques and strategies from around the country for addressing the needs of LEP individuals.

In this spirit, we encourage you to view this document as a starting point in an ongoing process of striving to develop, disseminate, and build upon promising practices in the field. We hope that you will find these practices, tips, and tools useful as we all continue to search for creative and effective ways to adequately serve the needs of LEP communities. We look forward to continuing to work with all of you as we strive to achieve our common goal of ensuring meaningful access for all.

To obtain this document in alternate formats, call the Federal Coordination and Compliance Section at:

(202) 307-2222 or TDD: (202) 307-2678

To obtain this document on the World Wide Web, go to lep.gov.

REPRODUCTION OF THIS DOCUMENT IS ENCOURAGED