Report 2010-106 Recommendations and Responses in 2012-041

Report 2010-106: Dymally-Alatorre Bilingual Services Act: State Agencies Do Not Fully Comply With the Act, and Local Governments Could Do More to Address Their Clients' Needs

Department Number of Years Reported As Not Fully Implemented Total Recommendations to Department Not Implemented After One Year Not Implemented as of Most Recent Response
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation 1 6 5 0
Department of Food and Agriculture 1 5 4 0
Employment Development Department 1 5 4 0

Recommendation To: Corrections and Rehabilitation, Department of

To ensure that they meet their constituents' language needs, state agencies should make certain that they accurately assess and report their clients' language needs to the State Personnel Board. State agencies should also analyze formally their language survey results and consider other available bilingual resources to determine their true staffing deficiencies. Further, state agencies should establish procedures to identify the written materials that the Act requires them to translate into other languages and ensure that such materials are translated or made accessible to the agencies' LEP clients. Finally, state agencies should develop detailed corrective action plans describing how and when they will address their staffing and written materials deficiencies. In addition, they should submit their corrective action plans to the State Personnel Board as part of the state agencies' overall implementation plans.

Response

The CDCR developed both a Bilingual Coordinator Manual and a Language Services Manual. The Language Services Manual is found on the departmental intranet. To ensure accurate assessment and reporting of clients' language needs to the State Personnel Board, the Bilingual Coordinator Manual included information on how to identify potentially inaccurate/skewed tally sheets; evaluated the 2010 Biennial Language Survey results (determining CDCR had no true deficiencies); developed and posted a Language Services Manual on the department internet website; and facilitated the current survey through executive staff (Adult Institutions, Parole Regions, Health Care, etc.), requiring they designate their programs' Survey Liaisons. In order to formally analyze language survey results, CDCR evaluated each location initially identified as deficient, identifying other available bilingual staff and contracting resources, and determined there were no true deficiencies; this is included in the Bilingual Language Survey Implementation Plan provided to the State Personnel Board (SPB) on October 12, 2011. Additionally, CDCR developed a Bilingual Position Deficiency Plan to facilitate evaluation and reporting of staffing deficiencies; this is included in Section 8-Bilingual Position Deficiency Plan, in the Bilingual Coordinator Manual. To ensure identification, translation, and distribution of written materials in accordance with the Dymally-Alatorre Bilingual Service Act, CDCR provided process and information in Section 10-Translated Materials, in the Bilingual Coordinator Manual. CDCR's Bilingual Language Survey Implementation Plan submitted to SPB, required submission of plans to correct identified deficiencies; however, there were no true deficiencies identified for CDCR in the Bilingual Language Survey Implementation Plan.

Recommendation To: Corrections and Rehabilitation, Department of

Public Health and Corrections should develop procedures to detect and prevent contract splitting.

Response

Corrections revised its service and expense order procedures in August 2011 and reported that its office of business services has begun auditing its institutions and facilities use of service orders to better prevent and detect contract splitting.

Recommendation To: Food and Agriculture, Department of

To ensure that they meet their constituents' language needs, state agencies should make certain that they accurately assess and report their clients' language needs to the State Personnel Board. State agencies should also analyze formally their language survey results and consider other available bilingual resources to determine their true staffing deficiencies. Further, state agencies should establish procedures to identify the written materials that the Act requires them to translate into other languages and ensure that such materials are translated or made accessible to the agencies' LEP clients. Finally, state agencies should develop detailed corrective action plans describing how and when they will address their staffing and written materials deficiencies. In addition, they should submit their corrective action plans to the State Personnel Board as part of the state agencies' overall implementation plans.

Response

CDFA has fully implemented all of the Bureau of State Audits' (BSA) recommendations in its report titled “Dymally-Alatorre Bilingual Services Act (Act): State Agencies Do Not Fully Comply and Local Governments Could Do More to Address Their Client's Needs.” The following efforts demonstrate CDFA's implementation of BSA's first recommendation:

• On August 8, 2012, CDFA's Bilingual Services Program (BSP) Coordinator conducted a language survey training for CDFA's reporting assistants. The training covered the Act, the agency's responsibilities under the Act, the survey participants' roles and responsibilities, and instructions on how to conduct the survey.

• From August 8, 2012 to September 28, 2012, the BSP Coordinator provided leadership and guidance in accomplishing the following tasks:

o Two-week statewide language survey;

o Data entry of survey results;

o Quality control of data submitted;

o Analysis of deficiency results, other available bilingual resources, and results of the written documents survey.

• CDFA will continue to utilize qualified bilingual staff and a telephone-based translation/ interpretation service.

• On September 21, 2012, the BSP Coordinator analyzed results of the written documents survey, which CDFA conducted concurrently with the two-week statewide language survey. Through the survey, the BSP Coordinator identified the written materials that the Act requires to translate into other languages and will make the written materials accessible to the agency's clients.

• On October 1, 2012, the BSP Coordinator submitted CDFA's 2012 Language Survey results to the Civil Rights Office of the California Department of Human Resources. The Language Survey package contained a position deficiency analysis, identification of written materials, and CDFA's BSP policy.

Recommendation To: Employment Development Department

To ensure that they meet their constituents' language needs, state agencies should make certain that they accurately assess and report their clients' language needs to the State Personnel Board. State agencies should also analyze formally their language survey results and consider other available bilingual resources to determine their true staffing deficiencies. Further, state agencies should establish procedures to identify the written materials that the Act requires them to translate into other languages and ensure that such materials are translated or made accessible to the agencies' LEP clients. Finally, state agencies should develop detailed corrective action plans describing how and when they will address their staffing and written materials deficiencies. In addition, they should submit their corrective action plans to the State Personnel Board as part of the state agencies' overall implementation plans.

Response

The EDD continues its efforts to ensure it complies with the Dymally-Alatorre Bilingual Services Act and effectively addresses and corrects identified staffing and written material deficiencies. The EDD is fully committed to ensuring all customers, including limited English proficiency (LEP) customers, have equal access to its programs, services, and information.

In an effort to improve the services and administration of bilingual services provided to LEP customers, the EDD adopted a new LEP-Bilingual Services Policy (attached). The policy explains EDD's measures to fully implement the audit recommendations.

The new LEP-Bilingual Services Policy states that each branch within EDD is responsible for determining the need for bilingual services in their offices, identifying increased needs for non-English documents based on client demand, notifying EDD's Business Operations Planning and Support Division when additional documents need translation or additional languages need to be included in the translation process, posting the State Personnel Board's Language Identification Cards (SPB-935 and SPB-937) in all public offices visible to LEP customers, and taking appropriate action to correct staffing and written material deficiencies identified through the Dymally-Alatorre Language (DAL) Survey process.

The policy further states that the Equal Employment Opportunity Office is responsible for compiling the data from EDD's branches, identifying any languages deficiencies, conducting an analysis of the data collected, reviewing and validating the branches' proposed corrective action plans, and conducting follow-up to ensure corrective action is taken and deficiencies are resolved.

The EDD has implemented the provisions of this policy in conjunction with its recently completed 2012 DAL Survey.

EDD's branches are utilizing the Public Contact Employee Bilingual Directory to ensure services are provided to non-English-speaking customers. This directory identifies certified staff in 65 different languages, including American Sign Language and Braille translators available throughout the State. Branches are also actively hiring certified Spanish-speaking staff and certifying current Spanish-speaking staff to correct the staffing deficiency identified in the DAL Survey. Furthermore, EDD has implemented an online process for its Disability Insurance program which routes Spanish telephone calls to offices that have adequate bilingual Spanish-speaking staff.

Current Status of Recommendations

All Recommendations in 2012-041