Reso 2013-136 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

14 communications, and heightened collaborative efforts among our network of agencies and encourage small-scale focus groups/discussions with clients. The City anticipates that some organizations may face significant resource constraints, a factor which should be documented. The intent of federal LAP guidelines is to ensure meaningful access to programs for LEP persons, while simultaneously doing so within an organization's resource capacity. The City will work with these organizations on a case-by-case basis to determine reasonable levels of service based upon the organizations' capacity and resources. The organizations should assess the type of document requiring translation and the appropriate level of service (e.g., oral translation versus summary translation). Each organization should develop its own LAP when feasible which should be incorporated with the federal grant application and review process through the City’s Community Assistance Grant Program. It should be noted that smaller subrecipients with more limited budgets are not expected to provide the same level of language services as the larger subrecipients with larger budgets. “Reasonable steps” to provide services to LEP clients may also cease to be reasonable when the costs imposed substantially exceed the benefits. Resource and cost issues can be mitigated by sharing language assistance materials and services among and between recipients, advocacy groups, and federal grant agencies. Grant recipients need to explore carefully the most cost- effective means of delivering competent and accurate language services before limiting services due to resource concerns. The City has long-standing partnerships with subrecipients, and they have the programs and services that LEP clients are likely to access. Many of these organizations already have bilingual staff and translated documents, such as fair housing and other resource documents, for LEP beneficiaries. City staff will collaborate with these organizations to help them develop their plans. However, implementation of any expanded LEP-related services will be challenging now and possibly delayed due to the severe revenue cuts all of these agencies are experiencing. Monitoring and Plan Updating The City’s LAP includes provisions to collect data so that demand for housing programs and services by LEP persons can be more accurately assessed. The data will be used to refine the LAP in response to the measured need. To provide effective LAP services for LEP clients, implementing agencies must monitor their plans and adjust them, as necessary, according to client needs. The City will review our LAP periodically to determine current effectiveness and to analyze any changes in LEP populations or needs. Collecting, analyzing, and maintaining data is one way that the City may assess the efficacy of our LAP. Without data, it is difficult to assess the true need and demand for LAP services. The LAP should explore procedures for collecting and maintaining data on each encounter with a LEP client. The data may include the following: 1. Method of communication (telephone or in-person); 2. Type of language need (Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, etc); 3. Type of language service needed (oral or written translation); and, 4. The program being accessed (housing rehabilitation, fair housing, childcare programs, etc.).