As part of the City of Boise’s Limited English Proficiency Assessments (LEP), the Human Resources Department has developed the following plan to provide meaningful access to its services for LEP populations. The plan will be updated on a biennial basis.
HR Deparment LEP Assessment and Plan
Four Factor Analysis
- The number or proportion of LEP persons served or encountered in the eligible service population. The majority of the Human Resources Department’s public encounters involve job recruitments and damage claims against the City. The HR Department’s staff was surveyed and report the number of LEP persons encountered is less than the general public ratios in the City of Boise.
- The frequency with which LEP individuals come in contact with the program. Over the past year, Department staff surveyed estimated zero to four interactions monthly with LEP persons. They report most LEP persons come to the department with their own interpreter.
- The nature and importance of the program, activity or service provided by the recipient to people’s lives. Securing employment is critical to the welfare and way of life for most people and can be especially difficult to obtain for LEP persons. Therefore, the overall importance of the Department’s LEP plan is significant.
- The resources available to the recipient and the costs. All Department public-facing staff have been issued and trained on “I Speak” language cards. Currently the Department has two Spanish speaking and one Chinese speaking staff. The Department also has an account with Language Line Solutions to provide telephone translations and uses the Boise Police Department Interpreter Program, for in-person, over the phone, and document translations. Additionally, Google translate has been installed for use on the Department’s website.
The Human Resources Department partners with Boise Police Department’s Refugee Liaison Officer (RLO) to coordinate interpretation and translation services for city-wide use. The RLO also works with local refugee groups of numerous languages to help educate them on transitioning to the United States and building a rapport with law enforcement.
Department Plan
Identifying Individuals Needing Assistance
The Department will examine requests for language assistance from past in-person contacts, telephone calls, meetings and events to anticipate the possible need for assistance in future contacts. The Department has “I Speak” cards available and all public-facing staff members are trained on how to use them. Public-facing staff members have also been provided contact information for telephone, in-person, and document translation services. As a part of its Department outreach Google translate has been added to the Department’s website and frequently requested documents a have been translated to Spanish.
Language Assistance Measures
All Department public-facing staff have been issued and trained on “I Speak” language cards. Currently the Department has three bilingual staff members: two who speak Spanish, and one who speaks Chinese. The City has bi-lingual and tri-lingual staff working in the City Clerk’s office who the Department can also contact to assist with translations. The Department also has an account with Language Line Solutions to provide telephone translations and uses the Boise Police Department Interpreter Program, for in-person and document translations. Additionally, Google translate has been installed for use on the Department’s website. The Department is also identifying critical documents and trainings for translation into Spanish.
Training Staff
In addition to the training the Department’s public-facing staff on the language assistance services the City offers as well as specific procedures to be followed when encountering LEP persons, all Department staff have been educated on the Department Title VI LEP responsibilities.
Providing Notice to LEP Persons
The Department has a link in its website to the City’s Title VI policy statement and complaint process. It also provides the contact information for the City’s Title VI Coordinator. Critical documents are being translated into Spanish and other documents are available for translation upon request. In addition, a notice in Spanish has been posted at the front desk of the Department explaining that language assistance is available upon request. Positions with notably low Hispanic numbers are posted on the Idaho Commission of Hispanic Affairs website.
Monitoring and Updating the LEP Plan
The Department will monitor and update this plan on a regular basis, but not less than triennially. At minimum, the Department will examine how many LEP persons were encountered and determine if their needs were met. The Department will continue to review its documents to determine which ones should be translated into other languages and to determine if more program-specific outreach should be undertaken. It will also look at any complaints received and learn how to better serve the LEP population through those complaints.
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