Report 2010-106 Recommendations

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.

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

State agencies should leverage General Services' and the Personnel Board's contracts for interpretation and translation services to potentially reduce the costs of providing bilingual services.

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.

State agencies should leverage General Services' and the Personnel Board's contracts for interpretation and translation services to potentially reduce the costs of providing bilingual services.

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.

State agencies should leverage General Services' and the Personnel Board's contracts for interpretation and translation services to potentially reduce the costs of providing bilingual services.

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.

State agencies should leverage General Services' and the Personnel Board's contracts for interpretation and translation services to potentially reduce the costs of providing bilingual services.

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.

State agencies should leverage General Services' and the Personnel Board's contracts for interpretation and translation services to potentially reduce the costs of providing bilingual services.

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.

State agencies should leverage General Services' and the Personnel Board's contracts for interpretation and translation services to potentially reduce the costs of providing bilingual services.

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.

State agencies should leverage General Services' and the Personnel Board's contracts for interpretation and translation services to potentially reduce the costs of providing bilingual services.

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.

State agencies should leverage General Services' and the Personnel Board's contracts for interpretation and translation services to potentially reduce the costs of providing bilingual services.

To ensure that all state agencies subject to the Act are aware of their potential responsibilities to provide bilingual services, the Personnel Board should improve its processes to identify and inform all such state agencies of the Act's requirements.

It should also make certain that every state agency required to comply with the Act conducts language surveys and submits implementation plans unless the Personnel Board exempts them from these requirements. The Personnel Board should ensure that it adheres to the specific criteria contained in the Act when exempting agencies from conducting language surveys or preparing implementation plans.

The Personnel Board should require state agencies to provide all of the information required by the Act. For example, the Personnel Board should ensure that state agencies identify their deficiencies in staffing and translated written materials and that the state agencies' implementation plans detail sufficiently how and when they plan to address these deficiencies. The Personnel Board should assess the adequacy of state agencies' language surveys and implementation plans. If it determines that implementation plans do not address deficiencies in staffing or written materials adequately, the Personnel Board should order the agencies to revise or supplement their plans accordingly. The Personnel Board should also require state agencies to report to it every six months on their progress in addressing their deficiencies. If the Personnel Board determines that agencies have not made reasonable progress toward complying with the Act, it should consider ordering them to comply with the Act. These actions could include ordering state agency officials to appear before the Personnel Board to explain why their agencies have not complied. If these actions or its other efforts to enforce the Act are ineffective, the Personnel Board should consider asking a court to issue writs of mandate under Section 1085 of the Code of Civil Procedure, to require agencies to perform their duties. The Personnel Board should seek enough additional staff to fulfill its obligations under the Act, or it should seek changes to the Act that would reduce its responsibilities and make them commensurate with its staffing levels.

The Personnel Board should follow up with responsible state agencies to ensure that the agencies resolve the language access complaints it receives in a timely manner.

The Personnel Board should improve the content of its biennial report to the Legislature to identify problems more clearly and to propose solutions where warranted. Specifically, the report should clearly indicate whether state agencies have true staffing deficiencies or deficiencies in translated materials. In addition, the report should identify any agencies that are not complying with the Act and should present key survey and implementation plan results by state agency and field office to better inform policymakers and the public about the language needs of residents in certain areas of the State and about state agencies' available resources to meet those needs.

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.

State agencies should leverage General Services' and the Personnel Board's contracts for interpretation and translation services to potentially reduce the costs of providing bilingual services.

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

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.

State agencies should leverage General Services' and the Personnel Board's contracts for interpretation and translation services to potentially reduce the costs of providing bilingual services.