Access to Justice PowerPoint Slide Text for Webinar Slide 1: Access to Justice Language Access for Victims with Limited English Proficiency Slide 2: Goals for Today IMAGE of a checklist with the first item checked off. 1. Create awareness around improving accessibility of your programŐs services to LEP Victims of Crime 2. Support you in better understanding, and meeting your obligations as service providers 3. Provide with the tools and resources to support you in developing an Effective Language Access Plan Slide 3: Part 1: * Overview of Demographics and Advocacy Framework Slide 4: Creating a Comprehensive Framework Fundamental guidelines: * DV violates the rights of survivors and their children by creating unsafe & fearful environments * Their safety must be central to any work we do * Safety is unattainable unless we practice cultural and linguistic competency consistently at the organizational and individual level * IMAGE of Woman smiling in front of a tree with her hand over her eye. Slide 5: Foreign Born Population in the US Ą Of the total foreign-born population in U.S. (39.9 million): Ą 53% were born in Latin AmericaĘand the Caribbean Ą 9.3% are from the Caribbean Ą 28% were born in Asia Ą 12% were born in Europe Ą 4% were born in Africa Ą 2% were born in Northern America Ą 0.5% were born in Oceania (U.S. Census; 2010 American Community Survey Report) Slide 6: Foreign Born Population in the US (2) * Foreign-born residents make up approximately 13% of the population today, compared to 15% in 1910 at peak of immigration influx. Slide 7: Barriers to Seeking Help Ą Lack of knowledge and misinformation about the U.S. legal system (and negative experiences from country of origin) Ą Fears of the Police and Judicial System, of deportation, of social services and child welfare agencies, etc. Ą Linguistic and Cultural barriers Ą Discrimination Ą Economic and Employment challenges Ą Isolation from family and community Slide 8: Who are individuals with Limited English Proficiency (LEP)? Ą Individuals with LEP are those individuals who do not speak English as their primary language and have a limited ability to read, write, speak or understand English Ą Deaf (uppercase ÔDŐ) refers to an identity with its own culture, language and diverse communities Ą Deaf and hard of hearing often misunderstood as a disability issue, is also a language access issue Slide 9: Statistics on LEP The Census revealed that 25.2 million persons over the age of five living in the United States spoke a language other than English and did not speak English Ňvery well.Ó Ą Of those, 11 million did not speak English at all or spoke it poorly Ą The number of individuals with LEP living in the United States increased by approximately 80 percent between 1980 and 2010? ?Limited English Proficient Individuals in the United States: Number, Share, Growth, and Linguistic Diversity, Migration Policy Institute, December 2011. Slide 10: Languages Spoken in the U.S. According to the Census, there are more than 300 languages spoken in the United States: Ą Spanish accounts for 66% of LEP population Ą Chinese: 6% Ą Vietnamese: 3% Ą Korean: 2.5% Ą Tagalog: 1.9% Ą Russian: 1.7% Ą French Creole: 1.3% Ą Arabic: 1.3% Ą Portuguese or Portuguese Creole: 1.1% Ą African languages: 1.1% Note: Important to assess local demographic needs Slide 11: Why provide Meaningful Language Access? 1. ItŐs the right thing to do 2. It improves access to services and enhances outcomes & access to safety 3. ItŐs a Legal Obligation IMAGES of Safety, Healing, and Justice symbols Slide 12: 1. ItŐs the Right Thing To Do Ą As organizations dedicated to ending and preventing gender based violence we work toward ensuring safety, healing, and justice for those harmed by violence. Ą If we are proactive, we can ensure that all individuals with LEP/Deaf individuals have meaningful access to critical services. Slide 13: 2. Language Access Enhances Outcomes and Access to Safety Ą Research shows that domestic violence survivors with LEP were more likely to seek services if those services were provided in their language Ą Language access enhances safety and improves outcomes, enabling survivors to understand their rights and options and make informed decisions Ą Survivors feel more supported when linguistically accessible services are provided Slide 14: Language Access is Essential to Safety PHOTO of Daisy Garcia, a Latina woman, and her two children, who were stabbed to death by her husband in 2014. Slide 15: 3. ItŐs a Legal Obligation Ą Any organization that receives federal financial assistanceŃeither directly or indirectlyŃis required to comply with Title VI of the Civil Right Act of 1964 (Title VI); and the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (Safe Streets Act) Ą Organizations are also obligated to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 1990; and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 Slide 16: Requirements under ADA for Places of Public Accommodation * Regardless of funding source, the ADA requires: o Organizations that are places of public accommodation ensure that communication with people who are Deaf or hard of hearing is equally effective as communication with people without disabilities. * IMAGE of a Dollar sign with a no symbol over the top Slide 17: Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 * ŇNo person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.Ó * Section 601 of Title VI, 42 U.S.C. sec. 2000d Slide 18: Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (2) * The U.S. Supreme Court stated that one type of national origin discrimination is discrimination based on a personŐs inability to speak, read, write or understand English (Lau v. Nichols(1974) * President Clinton signed Executive Order 13166 in Aug. 2000: "Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency.Ó * PHOTO of the group of Chinese children involved in the Lau v. Nichols US Supreme court decision Slide 19: Implementation of Title VI The Executive Order requires Federal agencies to: Ą examine the services they provide; Ą identify any need for services to those with LEP; and Ą develop and implement a system and plan to provide those services so LEP persons can have meaningful access to them. The Executive Order also requires that the Federal agencies work to ensure that recipients of Federal financial assistance provide meaningful access to their LEP applicants and beneficiaries. Slide 20: Part 2: Ensuring Meaningful Access for Victims of Crime with Limited English Proficiency Slide 21: What is Meaningful Access? Meaningful AccessÓ is defined in the US Department of JusticeŐs own Language Access plan as: Ą ŇLanguage assistance that results in accurate, timely and effective communication at no cost to the LEP individual. For LEP individuals, meaningful access denotes access that is not significantly restricted, delayed or inferior, as compared to programs or activities provided to English proficient individualsÓ Slide 22: Who qualifies as a Recipient of Federal Assistance * Federal financial assistance includes grants and training. Sub recipients are also covered, when federal funds are passed on from one recipient to another (e.g., state funds that are a pass through of federal dollars). * Recipients of federal funds range from state and local agencies, to nonprofits and other organizations. Slide 23: Group Question #1 If an organization gets only some federal funding to support a specific project or program, what part of the organizationŐs activities are affected by Title VI LEP requirements? A. Only that project/program within the organization that receives federal funding B. Only projects specifically focused on immigration services or outreach to underserved communities C. All of that organizationŐs activities, including those not funded by federal dollars Slide 24: What part of an organizationŐs activities are covered under Title VI? Ą Title VI covers a recipient's entire program or activity. Ą Obligated to take reasonable steps to ensure that individuals with LEP have meaningful access to all of the benefits and services provided by that organization Slide 25: Guidelines to Establish What are Reasonable Steps for LEP Access 4 Factors: 1. Number or proportion of LEP individuals eligible to be served or likely to be encountered by your program 2. Frequency of contacts by individuals with LEP 3. The nature and importance of the programs, activity or services to peopleŐs lives 4. Resources available and costs associated (67 Fed. Ref. 41455) Slide 26: Taking Reasonable Steps to Provide Meaningful Access Refers to being committed and prepared to provide critical services that support the well-being and safety of survivors by: Ą having a proactive plan in place to address the needs of survivors with LEP Ą Recognizing that the bar of what is considered ŇreasonableÓ increases with time. Ą IMAGE of footprints Slide 27: Group Question #2 * True or False? * If my county or city has an ŇEnglish onlyÓ law, then my organization does not have to comply with Title VI LEP Requirements. Slide 28: What if my state or jurisdiction has an ŇEnglish onlyÓ law? Ą Recipients continue to have a legal obligation under federal law to provide meaningful access for LEP persons (also true regardless of immigration status). State and local laws may provide additional obligations to serve LEP individuals, but cannot compel recipients of federal financial assistance to violate Title VI. Slide 29: Remarks of Assistant AG at Federal Interagency Working Group on LEP Ą ŇI want to point out 2 key areas of guidanceÉ that applies across all agencies and recipients: 1. First, as time goes on, the bar of reasonableness is being raised. The need to show progress in providing all LEP persons with meaningful access increases over time.. 2. The second cross-cutting point is that, even in tough economic times, assertions of lack of resources will not provide carte blanche for failure to provide language access. Language access is essential and is not to be treated as a ŇfrillÓ when determining what to cut in a budgetÉÓ Prepared remarks of acting Assistant Attorney General Loretta King at the April 2009 meeting of the Federal interagency working group on LEP: https://www.lep.gov/Kingremarks4_20_09.pdf Slide 30: ŇBut we canŐt afford to provide language accessÓ Financial constraints do not exempt federal fund recipients from Title VI language access requirements. Office of Civil Rights looks at: Ą Previous success providing meaningful language access; Ą Whether other essential operations are being restricted or defunded; Ą Whether additional funds are secured; Ą Options for using technology (i.e. video remote interpretation or telephonic interpretation); Ą Whether grantee has an implementation plan; and Ą Nature and impact on LEP persons Slide 31: Part 3: Ą Language Access Plan, Work with Interpreters and Resources Slide 32: Building Organizational Access * Best strategy for providing meaningful access is to be prepared and develop a Language Access Plan. * IMAGE of chalkboard with words, Ňare you prepared?Ó Slide 33: Developing an Effective Language Access Plan Implementing a language access plan is a proactive approach to assisting victims of crime who have limited English proficiency: Ą Reduces the language access obstacles for victims of crime and advocates Ą Jobs are more efficient Ą ItŐs the right thing to do Slide 34: Language Access Plan Development Steps: 1. Which languages are spoken in your community 2. Which languages are spoken by those who come to Our program? 3. How are we currently providing language access? (both oral and written) 4. Developing a Plan for Improvement 5. Allocating and Building Resources 6. Formalizing the Plan 7. Implementation 8. Staff Training 9. Community Outreach Slide 35: Using Multiple Strategies Ą hiring bilingual and bicultural advocates Ą offering translated written materials/captioned videos Ą using in-person interpreters Ą using a telephone/video relay interpreter service Ą establishing co-advocacy arrangements with community-based programs Ą establishing a language bank & developing community capacity Ą establishing contracts with interpreting agencies Slide 36: Working with Interpreters Ą Being bilingual Interpretation Ą Interpretation vs. Translation Ą Be aware that using a third party bilingual advocate to interpret may bring up issues such as privilege Ą Summarization is NOT interpretation Ą Interpreters must be neutral and ideally have native- like proficiency in both the target language and English. Slide 37: Speaking in the First Person IMAGE of Illustrations of two women talking to each other, one is saying "Tell her" and other answers "Tell Who?" Slide 38: Positioning IMAGE of illustration of three people sitting around a table with thoughts about where they should be sitting in an interpretation situation Slide 39: Monitoring and Compliance * Now that you have a comprehensive plan to provide meaningful language access to LEP victims of crime, follow up with a built-in plan to monitor the implementation. * IMAGE of Cartoon person with a magnifying glass Slide 40: Monitoring and Compliance (2) 1. Establish an annual review of your plan. 2. Examine the following: Ą How have the demographics changed? Ą How has your plan affected services? Ą How did you respond to language needs as they arose? Ą How do you address unexpected languages? Ą What should you adapt or change for next year? Ą How are you progressing on your language access plan to build capacity in the long-term, i.e. fundraising, participation satisfaction, staff hiring and training, etc.? IMAGE of "Helpful Tips" written on a post-it note Slide 41: Monitoring and Compliance (3) Ą Include the input of staff, participants and partners engaged in the plan Ą utilize listening sessions, surveys, interviews and other feedback tools to gather information on how LEP victims of crime feel about the services they received and their ability to fully access those services. Ą IMAGE of "Helpful Tips" written on a post-it note Slide 42: Systems Advocacy and Enhanced Collaborations Ą Coordinated Community Response Ą Review issues of language access to services of: Ą Courts Ą Law enforcement Ą Other services (medical, CPS, etc.) Ą Collaborations with immigrant advocacy organizations and community based organizations Ą Get the word out in immigrant communities that your services are available regardless of immigration status or language spoken Slide 43: Additional Resources Ą Language Access Resources Slide 44: Translated Legal Glossaries Arabic, Armenian, Cantonese, Chinese, French, German, Hindi, Hmong, Korean, Laotian, Mien, Mong, Punjabi, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Urdu, and Vietnamese Ą Superior Court Sacramento Glossary: Superior Court Sacramento Glossary Ą Washington Courts Glossary: Washington Courts Glossary Slide 45: Domestic Violence Specific Resources The National Advisory Board of ŇServing Limited English Proficient (LEP) Battered Women: A National Survey of the CourtsŐ Capacity to Provide Protection OrdersÓ developed a Code of Professional Responsibility for Interpreters Serving Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Victims of Domestic Violence. Ą These canons cover interpreting services in non-judicial settings, such as intake and meetings with service providers, interviews with police, and communications with advocates and medical personnel. Deaf Hope Trainings: Deaf Hope Trainings: about how to be accessible to Deaf survivors of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. Slide 46: Language Access Plan Development Resources Ą Review U.S. Census data for current immigrant populations: US Census data for current immigrant populations, also consider predicted populations. Ą Review U.S. Census data on use of language in in the U.S.: US Census data on the use of languages in the US. Ą Review U.S. Census data on use of language in your state: U.S Census data on the use of languages in your state. Slide 47: Language Access Plan Development Resources (2) U.S. Department of Justice Ą Civil Rights Division Federal Coordination and Compliance Section FCS: Federal Coordination & Compliance Section FCS Ą Limited English Proficiency Federal Interagency site: Limited English Proficiency Federal Interagency site (LEP.gov) Templates, samples, and toolkits Ą Interpretation Technical Assistance Resource Center Ą Casa de Esperanza/ National Latin@ NetworkŐs LEP Toolkit: LEP Toolkit Ą NIWAP Translations for Immigrant Legal Rights: NIWAP Translations for Immigrant Legal Rights Ą Migration Policy InstituteŐs Language Access Portal: Migration Policy InstituteŐs Language Access Portal Ą DOJ/HUD/HHS guidance letter on access to services necessary for life or safety: DOJ/HUD/HHS guidance letter on access to services necessary for life or safety Slide 48: Thank You! Thank you in multiple languages Slide 49: Contact Information Wendy Lau Ą Asian Pacific Institute on Gender Based Violence Ą Tel: 415-568-3338 Ą Email: wlau@api-gbv.org Ą Asian Pacific Instituter on Gender-Based Violence Website: Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence Rosie Hidalgo Ą Casa de Esperanza: National Latin@ Network Ą Tel: 202-465-4807 Ą Email: rhidalgo@casadeesperanza.org Ą Website: Ą National Latino Network: National Latino Network