As part of the City of Boise’s Limited English Proficiency Assessments (LEP), the Mayor’s Office has developed the following plan to provide meaningful access to its services for LEP populations. The plan will be updated on a biennial basis.
Mayor's Office LEP Assessment and Plan
Four Factor Analysis
- The number or proportion of LEP persons served or encountered in the eligible service population. The number or proportion of LEP persons encountered is the same as that in the general population of the City of Boise.
- The frequency with which LEP individuals come in contact with the program. Over the past year, employees of the Mayor’s Office who were surveyed have reported having an average of zero to two interactions with LEP individuals a month. The encounters have been with Spanish speaking individuals. Spanish language interpreters were provided in both cases. Employees of the Mayor’s Office are most likely to encounter LEP individuals through office visits, telephone conversations, attendance at outreach events and City Council meetings.
- The nature and importance of the program, activity or service provided by the recipient to people’s lives. The services provided by the Mayor’s Office are important to individuals, as the services focus on the governance of the constituents of the City of Boise. As such, public participation in the process is extremely important. The Mayor’s Office also houses an economic development team, and a community engagement team.
- The resources available to the recipient and the costs. The Mayor’s Office assessed its available resources used to provide language assistance. This included identifying bilingual staff, reviewing the existing Mayor’s Office services for interpretation and translation-service providers, determining which documents should be translated, and deciding what level of staff training is needed.
The Mayor’s Office will provide specific outreach on programs to organizations supporting persons with Limited English Proficiency. The Mayor’s Office will ensure that information regarding public meetings is disseminated to organizations supporting persons with Limited English Proficiency and disseminate public notices that have language assistance instructions.
The Mayor’s Office will provide “I Speak” cards at public meetings, and utilize the telephone interpreter service Language Line Solutions, when interpreter services are required. The Mayor’s Office will also use Boise Police Department Interpreter Program, when the services for an interpreter are needed for a meeting or hearing.
The Mayor’s Office continues to determine what documents to translate into languages other than English. When staff prepares a document or schedules a meeting for which the target audience is expected to include LEP individuals, documents, meeting notices, flyers and agendas will be printed in an alternative language based on the known LEP population.
Based on the Hispanic and Latino population in the City of Boise, many of the written materials and all of the vital documents are being translated into Spanish.
Department Plan
Identify Individuals Who Need Assistance
To better identify those persons who need language assistance and to better anticipate those persons who may need language assistance in the future, the Mayor’s Office will take document requests for language assistance from past meetings and events to anticipate the possible need for assistance at upcoming meetings. They will have “I Speak” cards at City Council meetings. The Mayor’s Office will frequently survey first line staff and other city staff regarding any direct or indirect contact with LEP individuals.
Language Assistance Measures
The Mayor’s Office will continue to locate “I Speak” cards at the front desk and at public meetings. Google Translate has been installed on the Mayor’s Office website. Front desk staff will also have access Google Translate on the front office computer where LEP individuals may be encountered. Public meeting notices will include language assistance instruction. They will educate employees about the existence of bilingual and trilingual employees in City Hall. Staff will also have access to the Police Department’s Contract Interpreter list. When an interpreter is needed and staff has exhausted all other options, the Mayor’s Office will use the language line for interpretation services.
Training Staff
In addition to the training provided by the City, the Mayor’s Office will ensure that its staff understands its Title VI LEP responsibilities. Staff will also receive specific training on what language assistance services the City of Boise offers and specific procedures to be followed when encountering LEP persons. Staff will also be instructed on how to use Google Translate, Language Line Solutions, and the BPD Contract Interpreter list.
Providing Assistance to LEP Persons
Mayor’s Office employees will provide notice to LEP persons that language assistance measures are available in several ways. It will provide a notice on the Mayor’s Office website that language assistance is available and that vital documents are available in both Spanish and English. It will continue to include a notice on City Council agendas that language assistance is available. It will expand this practice to include other public meeting agendas.
Monitoring and Updating the LEP Plan
The Mayor’s Office will monitor and update this plan on a regular basis, but not less than triennially. At minimum, the Mayor’s Office will examine how many LEP persons were encountered and determine if their needs were met. The Mayor’s Office will also continue to review its documents to determine if any of them 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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