LA County Board

3. Improving Language Access in Los Angeles County\nRecommendation as submitted by Supervisors Solis and Hahn: Adopt the\nrecommendations from the Office of Immigrant Affairs’ October 17, 2022\nreported entitled, “Strengthening Language Access in County Services”\n(Report); instruct the Director of Consumer and Business and Affairs, in\nconsultation with County Counsel, to prepare a Countywide Language Access\nPolicy that will demonstrate the County’s commitment to equitable access to\nlanguage services for the Board’s consideration and adoption; instruct the\nExecutive Director of the Office of Immigrant Affairs to work with the Directors\nof Public Social Services, Health Services and Children and Family Services,\nand other public-facing departments and offices, to implement the Report’s\nrecommendations for which there is existing resources and funding; direct the\nChief Executive Officer to work with Executive Director of the Office of\nImmigrant Affairs, to identify and secure adequate bridge and sustainable\nfunding and resources to implement the Report recommendations for which\nthere are no current resources or funding, and report back to the Board within\n180 days on the status of this directive; and take the following actions:\nDesignate the Office of Immigrant Affairs, as the coordinating agency for\na Countywide language access system, focusing on these three\npriorities: providing technical assistance to County Departments on their\nDepartmental language access plans, as recommended in the Report;\ncoordinating language access training to complement training already\nconducted by County Departments; and aligning relevant County\nsystems and structures with County language access standards and\nrequirements;\nInstruct the Executive Director of the Office of Immigrant Affairs to work\nwith the Executive Director of the Anti-Racism, Diversity and Inclusion\nInitiative (ARDI), Chief Executive Office, to align language access\nstrategic recommendations with ARDI efforts related to data collection\nand County workforce training in linguistically and culturally responsive\nservice;\nInstruct the Executive Director of the Office of Immigrant Affairs to\nestablish an interdepartmental working group, composed of each\npublic-facing department’s designated language access liaison, which\nwill support sharing of resources and facilitate collaboration among\nDepartments; and build strategic partnerships with community-based\norganizations to expand the translation and interpretation services\ncapacity available to the County;\nAuthorize the Director of Consumer and Business Affairs to develop a\nbank of interpreter services and enter into master services agreements\nwith organizations that provide translation and interpretation services, and\nmake these master service agreements accessible to all County\nDepartments;\nDirect the Chief Executive Officer, in consultation with the Executive\nDirector of the Office of Immigrant Affairs and the Director of Personnel,\nto create and establish language access for residents as a Management\nAppraisal and Performance Plan (MAPP) goal for public-facing County\nDepartments, the Executive Director of the Office of Immigrant Affairs\nand Director of Personnel should develop key strategies, timelines, and\nappropriate measurements for this MAPP goal, which should include\nrecommendations for training, certification and professional development\nfor the County workforce to strengthen language access Countywide;\nInstruct the Director of Internal Services to work with the Executive\nDirector of the Office of Immigrant Affairs and impacted County\nDepartments, to apply the immigrant lens and language access standards\nto County language services contracts, building on the work done\nthrough the Equity in Contracting initiative; and\nInstruct the Executive Director of the Office of Immigrant Affairs to report\nback to the Board in 180 days, and every 180 days thereafter until the\nReport recommendations are implemented. (23-0977)\nAttachments: Motion by Supervisors Solis and Hahn\nOffice of Immigrant Affairs Report - October 17, 2022\nPublic Comment/Correspondence