SPEAKING UP : Limited English proficiency and equal access

1. Intermountain Fair Housing Council SPEAKING UP: Limited English proficiencyand equal access April 6, 2016 Boise, ID Gary E. Hanes & Associates, LLC

2. Non-english speakersand the law • Title VI of the Civil Rights Act • Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act

3. Pre-test!!!! GREAT PRIZES

4. Title VI -- CASE #1 A Spanish-speaking tenant failed to recertify HH income. All written and oral communication was in English from the housing provider. The tenant was terminated and did not know her appeal rights. The affordable housing provider did not have a LNA or LAP. There was bilingual staff, BUT no policy for its use.

5. CASE #1 -- (Outcome) The PHA: • Paid the complainant $25,000 • Adopted LEP Policy and completed a LNA and LAP • Improved procedures (inc. interpretation) • Translated documents • Trained staff • Conducted outreach

6. Title Vi -- CASE #2 April 2014 – HUD announced that the State of Nebraska’s Department of Economic Development (DED) failed to sufficiently ensure that persons with limited English proficiency have meaningful access to HUD-funded programs (CDBG and HOME).

7. CASE #2 – OUTCOME Nebraska entered into a 3-year Voluntary Compliance Agreement (VCA) with HUD: • DED -- Language Assistance Program • Perform a LNA and do a LAP • Notice to subrecipients • Train subrecipients • Monitor subrecipients …on HUD’s schedule!

8. Title VIII -- Case #3 January 2013 – A Hispanic woman was denied a rental application because she could not speak English well and was refused the language assistance of the bilingual person she brought with her. The property manager had a policy of English competency as a prerequisite for occupancy.

9. Case #3 -- Outcome The property manager agreed to: • Pay complainant $7,500 • Donate $25,000 each to two local groups [that’s $50,000!!] • Adopt a non-discrimination policy • Adopt a planto serve LEP persons • Have employees trained on fair housing

10. Not everyone speaks English Worldwide there are 7000 languages 380 languages in the U.S. (160 are indigenous) 25 million or about 9% LEP population in the U.S. 60,000 LEP persons in ID or about 4% of the population Language other than English spoken in 10%+ of ID homes

11. idaho

12. Languages in our school districts Idahoans speak 95 languages Schools Boise 80-100 Meridian 58 Canyon County 12 Twin Falls 21 Why is this important?

13. LEGALUNDERPINNINGS • Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act Prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance • U.S. Supreme Court—Lau v. Nichols (1974) • Executive Order 13166 (2000) • Federal Agency Guidelines HUD – 2007

16. WHAT IS LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY? Persons who do not speak English as their primary language and who have alimited ability to read, write, speak, or understand Englishcan be limited English proficient, or ‘‘LEP.’’

17. WHAT ISLANGUAGE ASSISTANCE? Interpretation: listening to something in one language…and orally converting it into another.... Translation…replacement of written text from one language into an equivalent written text in another language. But, what about gesturing and pantomiming? Or, speaking louder and slower?

18. LANGUAGE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

19. LANGUAGE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM LANGUAGE NEEDS ASSESSMENT

20. LANGUAGE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM LANGUAGE NEEDS ASSESSMENT LANGUAGE ACCESS PLAN

21. YOU MUST PROVIDE INTERPRETATION When the client is: • Assessed as being LEP; • Or, self-identifies as being LEP; and, • The communication involves the meaningful access by aperson to information or services, then: The interpretation must be competent,timelyandfree

22. INTERPRETING CAUTIONS • Using friends and family…especially children to interpret • Different dialects/cultural competency • Machine interpretation not equal to human interpretation • There is no“safe harbor” for interpretation!

23. WHAT DOCUMENTS SHOULD BE TRANSLATED? VITAL DOCUMENTS Those documents that are critical for ensuring meaningful access by beneficiaries or potential beneficiaries generally and LEP persons specifically. Such as…

24. THERE IS “SAFE HARBOR” FOR TRANSLATION Are there other reasons to translate docs?

25. WHO MUST COMPLY? • All agencies of the federal government • All programs that receive federal assistance • State and local agencies • Subrecipients • For-profit and nonprofit entities • Special districts (fire, water, sewer, etc) • Consultants?

26. MONITORING Feds

27. MONITORING Feds States & Local Gov’ts

28. MONITORING Feds States & Local Gov’ts Grantees Subrecipients

29. MONITORING Feds States & Local Gov’ts Grantees Subrecipients ABC’s: Advocates, Beneficiaries and Citizens

30. COVERAGE Coverage extends to a recipient’s entire program or activity, i.e., to all parts of a recipient’s operations. This is true even if only one part of the recipient receives the federal assistance. What are the implications of this?

31. But…English is the official language! In a jurisdiction where English has been declared the official language, a HUD recipient is still subject to federal nondiscrimination requirements, including Title VI requirements as they relate to LEP persons.

32. SOME FOCUS AREASFor gov’ts • Public Participation Plans • ConPlans, Annual Action Plans, CAPERS • Environmental clearances – notices and public hearings • Environmental justice • Fair treatment • Meaningful involvement • Davis-Bacon wage monitoring • Section 3

33. WHY COMPLY? • To improve community outreach • To provide good customer service • To comply with the law Ensure meaningful access by citizens Avoid disparate treatment Satisfy grant requirements • To manage risk Civil Rights complaints Avoid lawsuits • Avoid aggravation

34. Common weaknesses in language assistance programs • There is no Language Assistance Program and, if there is one, it’s not being followed • The LNA is incomplete, not all four factors are fully analyzed or it lacks conclusions • The HUD LEP Guidance suggests specific information that should be in the LAP, but it is absent • The LAPs have a tendency to be strong on policy and weak on specifics • The LAPs have vague language and promises of what will be done: ex. “_____ will take reasonable measures to provide language assistance” • No notice to LEP persons of their rights • Subrecipient compliance is not addressed • A complaint procedure is not described • No documentation of compliance actions: ex. staff training

35. THE GOLDEN RULE: Put a Language Assistance Program in place, follow it, and… • Document! • Document! • Document!

36. Be like bill!!!! This is Bill. Bill manages federally- assisted housing. Bill complies with Title VI. Bill has a Language Assistance Program. Be like Bill.

37. LEP RESOURCES Title VI www.lep.gov www.gehanes.com Title VIII Intermountain Fair Housing Council Idaho Human Rights Commission

38. 208-515-2185 gary@gehanes.com www.gehanes.com Intermountain Fair Housing Council 1-208-383-0695, x306 1-800-717-0695 zolson@ifhcidaho.org GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE IS WELCOME IN ANY LANGUAGE – Erik Kingston