HomeMy WebLinkAboutPR Language Access Plan for Limited English Proficiency 09-08
Patricia G. Engelhard
Director
Harry Kim
Mayor
Pamela N. Mizuno
Deputy Director
DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION
101 Pauahi Street, Suite 6 Hilo, Hawai’i 96720
(808) 961-8311 Fax (808) 961-8411
LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY PLAN
PURPOSE: The purpose of this LEP Plan is to take reasonable steps to ensure persons
with limited English proficiency are able to gain meaningful and understandable access to
P&R services and programs.
BACKGROUND: Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is the basis of Presidential
Executive Order 13166. Title VI provides that “no person shall be excluded from
participation in, or denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any
program receiving Federal financial assistance” because of their race, color or national
origin. The interpretation of that statement is that a person’s national origin may
determine the language they speak and, therefore, their proficiency in English.
Language barriers can serve to limit our multicultural residents from being able to fully
take part in their community activities and could hinder their attempts to become self-
sufficient and productive participants.
DEPARTMENT OVERVIEW OF SERVICES AND PROGRAMS VIA DIVISIONS AND
SECTIONS:
Administration provides organizational support services to all divisions and
sections that assist in meeting the strategic goals and objectives of the
department’s mission. That support consists of Park Planning and Contract
Management, Accounting, Payroll, Personnel and scheduling of pavilions and
camping.
Two County Bands provide musical services during scheduled concerts, parades,
ceremonies, festivals and special events.
Cemeteries provide affordable public burials as well as veterans cemeteries for the
burials of Big Island Armed Forces veterans and eligible family members.
Parks Maintenance, the largest division, provides maintenance for all park spaces
and recreational facilities including offices. The division also undertakes
construction, repairs and renovations of buildings and equipment. A plant nursery
provides support for landscaping and beautification. A storeroom provides
supplies for the entire department.
The Recreation Division plans, conducts, arranges or promotes organized
recreation, athletics, crafts, events and other leisure time activities for all age
Language Access Plan 9-08 Parks and Recreation
groups at gyms and community centers throughout the island. The Division also
conducts Summer Fun and Intersession programs at various sites in all districts.
Ho‘olulu Complex Section assures the clean, safe and efficient use of all facilities
within the Ho‘olulu Complex.
Aquatics develops and initiates water safety operations and swimming programs
at 9 County pool facilities island wide.
The Culture and Community Arts Section promotes, perpetuates and encourages
programs and activities in support of culture, art, history and the humanities.
Panaewa Recreational Complex is comprised of the Panaewa Rainforest Zoo and
Gardens and the Panaewa Equestrian Center.
Hilo Municipal Golf Course provides the maintenance and starters office at the only
municipal golf course on the island of Hawai‘i.
Elderly Activities Division is responsible for 6 programs which provide services for
Older Americans on the Big Island.
1.Coordinated Services promotes self sufficiency by providing in referral to
services, in-home care, transportation and socialization to maintain
independent living.
2.Retired and Senior Volunteer Program makes opportunities for
approximately 1,800 seniors to share their experience, abilities and skills
with government and non-profit agencies as volunteers.
3.The Nutrition Program provides 156,000 meals annually for seniors both in
congregate settings and via Meals on Wheels.
4.Senior Employment helps unemployed low income seniors foster economic
self sufficiency through job training opportunities.
5.Elderly Recreation oversees educational, recreational and athletic activities
for seniors through various classes, programs and leagues in each
community.
6.Special Activities supports the Kupuna Hula Festival, Island wide
tournaments and other events which extend competition beyond those
offered in communities.
DEFINITIONS:For the purposes of this Plan, the following definitions will apply:
LANGUAGE ACCESS COORDINATOR – shall be the Director or someone else so
designated by the Director.
LEP– Limited English Proficiency (LEP) shall describe persons whose primary language is
not English and who have a limited ability to read, write, speak or understand English.
Such persons may be eligible to receive language assistance during their interaction with
P&R employees relating to a program, facility use or reservations.
VITAL DOCUMENT – shall be one that is necessary for the complete and total
understanding of the LEP client that cannot be explained verbally, either in person or by
phone. Such a document would provide important information necessary to participate
in programs and activities offered by the department, including applications, outreach
materials and written notices of rights, denial of services, etc. Such documents include
burial information for cemeteries. Others will be described as they become known.
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Language Access Plan 9-08 Parks and Recreation
GUIDELINES: P&R will determine how to provide effective language access by
considering the four factors of the Reasonableness Test which are: 1) the number of LEP
contacts compared to the eligible population, 2) frequency of contacts by LEP persons
with P&R employees, 3) the nature and importance of the services provided and 4) the
resources and costs associated providing interpretation and translation services.
By far the greatest contact with the public in P&R offices is for facility use permits for
gyms, community centers and pavilions. Other contacts ask questions about P&R
programs for youth and elderly at pools, gyms, community centers and senior centers.
Still other contacts are with seniors who are part of RSVP; volunteers at State and
County offices and Non-profit agencies. Contacts may also involve burials at three
Veterans cemeteries and several community cemeteries on the island.
PROCEDURES:P&R staff shall provide oral interpretation by first showing the card or
signage to help LEP customers identify the language they need. Multilingual personnel
shall be used, if available. The telephone 800 number shall be used where no other help
is available. P&R will keep a list of employees within the County who are able to speak
other languages and will use that source as they are able.
P&R will provide written translations of vital documents for LEP groups who constitute
5% or 1,000 persons, whichever is less, subject to the four factor test. The Language
Access Coordinator will arrange for a written translation into an appropriate language
within 10 business days after a request is made.
RESPONSIBILITY FOR LANGUAGE ACCESS PLAN:The Director has been
designated the Language Access Coordinator (LAC) for the Department of Parks and
Recreation. The LAC is responsible for implementing the Language Access Plan;
conducting the initial survey and subsequent surveys to monitor changes in the LEP
population it serves; producing internal documents that outline the policy and procedures
of the plan; identifying the need for training, following through to provide training as
required; reviewing, modifying the LAP as needed; and filing the LAP with the Office of
Language Access.
DATA COLLECTION – INTERPRETER REQUIREMENT: To determine what
communication barriers LEP persons may encounter, P&R conducted a survey of its
employees to assess the frequency with which LEP persons have attempted to access our
services and programs.
To determine whether to provide language access, P&R considered the totality of the
circumstances as directed by the Office of Language Access using the following four-
factor analysis:
The number or proportion of Limited English Proficient speakers:
460 employees surveyed.
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Language Access Plan 9-08 Parks and Recreation
One, in the Retired & Senior Volunteer Program had contact with LEP
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clients several times a month. She speaks Ilocano and Tagalog with them
because they feel most comfortable speaking in their home language. They
are capable of conversing in Pidgin English but prefer these two Filipino
dialects.
Another encounter was with a German speaker at the counter of the Admin
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Office.
Frequency of LEP contact with the Department of Parks and Recreation
employees:
98% of staff members never had contact with LEP clients.
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Nature and importance of services provided:
Access to facilities is one aspect of P&R’s public contact. Campers from
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foreign countries reserve camp sites in the Administration Office. Most
campers speak English well enough to understand what they need to do.
When that is not the case, the placard with phone numbers for translations
is available at the desk.
Access to programs is important as it ensures all people, visitors or
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residents, will be able to participate in what P&R has to offer.
Resources available to the P&R Department and the costs of providing
interpretation and translation services:
Hawai’i County has a contract with the Language Line to provide telephone
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interpreting services.Since the frequency with which LEP persons have
contact with departmental employees is so little, the cost of providing this
service when needed is not prohibitive.
Several employees within the department speak a few foreign languages
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and can be called upon to assist LEP clients when they are available.
RESOURCES:The County Human Resources Department has an established practice of
asking new employees for their language skills. New employees of Parks and Recreation
are not required to respond, but if they do report additional foreign language skills, their
information is sent to the Human Resources Department. P&R has 11 employees with
foreign language skills. A Report on Bilingual Employees is kept on a database in the
Human Resources Department and updated annually. There are currently 148
employees within the County who speak one or more languages other than English and
have volunteered to be of assistance if the need arises.If an interpreter is needed
thought to be particularly
during the course of business to attend to a matter that is not
important to a person’s life, the Bilingual Employees Report will be consulted to see if
there is an available employee who can interpret. If a bilingual employee is not readily
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Language Access Plan 9-08 Parks and Recreation
available, or if the need for interpretation relates to an activity that is important to the
person’s life, P&R will use the Language Line, a telephone interpreting service which
offers interpreting services in over 140 languages. If a face-to-face interpreter is
needed, P&R will use the list provided by the Human Resources.
PROCEDURE:Posters which state “Interpretation Services Available” (from the
Language Line) and “If You Need an Interpreter” (from the state Office of Language
Access) are on display for public viewing in the P&R department.
Based upon a P&R survey, at this time, a written notice of the right to receive free oral
interpretation of written materials, in their own language, shall be provided to LEP
groups who meet the 5% threshold but number less than 50.
REPORTING SYSTEM: Two forms are utilized. One is for division heads to document
the LEP contacts, noting the documents shared with the public, and staff encounters with
persons who are LEP. The other form is the LEP questionnaire which is to be used by
employees to document their experiences with persons who are LEP, which are turned in
to their supervisors for submittal to the Language Access Contact. Both of these forms
are attached and posted on the department’s shared folder on P&R COH 02 in the Forms
folder in Templates.
HIRING OF BILINGUAL STAFF:Pursuant to HRS §371-33(d), if P&R requires
additional personnel to provide language access to LEP customers as directed by the
guidelines in HRS §371-33(A) –(4), P&R will consider hiring qualified employees who are
bilingual to fill vacant, existing, budgeted positions which serve the public.
TRAINING:The Language Access Contact is responsible for the development of
materials and guidelines for training. These documents have been provided to division
heads. At the time of hire, new employees will be made aware of our Language Access
Plan and procedures.
EVALUATION:The Plan should be reviewed annually in September to ascertain its
continual applicability. Adjustments should be made to the Plan as necessary, based on
comments from LEP individuals, other interested individuals and P&R staff.
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