Providing Language Access at Municipal Courts BRYDAN MCNEELY RICCARDO CAMERA AUSTIN MUNICIPAL COURT What is Language Access Providing meaningful access to services, activities and programs irrespective of linguistic status of residents. Federal Requirements Executive Order 13166 Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency Title Vi of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 State Requirements Texas Government Code Chapters 57, 157, Art. 38.30, and Art. 38.31 Creating a Language Access Plan Four Factor Assessment Demography Frequency of Contact Importance Resources Implementation 1
Demographic Assessment What percentage of your population speaks other languages? Resources: Limited English Proficiency Federal Site, http://www.lep.gov (select the Demographics button) - Provides data from Census, Department of Education and other sources. Census Bureau s American Fact Finder and American Community Survey, http://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/ Provides data regarding languages spoken at home. Statistical Atlas, https://statisticalatlas.com/state/texas/overview - Provides data about local neighborhoods and individual city blocks. Community-based organizations that are familiar with language needs of individuals seen in your Court. Some school districts may also keep demographic data. City of Austin Demographics Language % of households Number of % that does not % that does households speak English speak English very well very well Spanish 24.9 194,000 46.9 53.1 Chinese 1.2 9,690 39.6 60.4 Vietnamese.9 7,237 53.2 46.8 Other Asian.8 5,946 19.1 80.9 Hindi.5 4,055 18.0 82.0 Korean.5 3,810 45.5 54.5 French.4 3,347 19.7 80.3 German.3 2,337 8.6 91.4 Urdu.3 2,230 28.3 71.7 Arabic.3 2,180 35.5 64.5 Other Indic.2 1,945 14.1 85.9 African.2 1,408 42.4 57.6 Portuguese.2 1,293 23.1 76.9 Russian.2 1,275 21.2 71.8 Gujarati.2 1,174 31.7 68.3 Persian.2 1,172 36.4 63.6 Japanese.2 1,109 41.7 58.3 Tagalog.1 1,070 19.4 80.6 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 English Proficiency by Language % that doesn t speak English very well % that speaks English very well Frequency of Contact Who are you seeing in your Court? Resources: Case Management System Vendor Reports Phone usage Dockets scheduled Review your spending AMC Dockets with Interpreters Requested 2015-2016 Language Requests Language Requests Language Requests American Sign 215 French 12 Persian 5 Arabic 180 Hindi 12 Kurdish 4 Amharic 92 Urdu 12 Kinyarwanda 3 Tigrigna 48 Swahili 11 Thailand 3 Vietnamese 39 Nepali 10 Berber 2 Other 30 Somali 9 Bulgarian 1 Farsi 25 Mandarin 8 Burmese 1 Chinese 22 Russian 7 Greek 1 Korean 18 Bengali 6 Gurrati 1 Ethiopian 17 Portuguese 6 Japanese 1 Moroccan 14 Cantonese 5 Karen 1 Turkish 13 Creole 5 Pashto 1 2
Frequency of Contact AMC Language Line Calls 2012-2017 Language Calls Language Calls Language Calls Language Calls Language Calls ARABIC 265 FRENCH 23 RUNDI 3 ROMANIAN 2 POLISH 1 SPANISH 141 HINDI 14 TAGALOG 3 SERBIAN 2 FULANI 1 BURMESE 88 KAREN 12 BENGALI 3 TAMIL 2 AKAN 1 SWAHILI 86 SOMALI 11 GERMAN 2 JAPANESE 2 AMHARIC 78 SORANI 10 DUTCH 2 KARENNI 1 VIETNAMESE 75 PORTUGUESE 9 KURDISH 2 DARI 1 Total Calls 1123 KOREAN 53 THAI 7 KINYARWANDA 2 HUNGARIAN 1 TIGRINYA 53 RUSSIAN 6 URDU 2 CANTONESE 1 MANDARIN 52 TURKISH 6 HAITIAN CREOLE 2 ALBANIAN 1 NEPALI 44 ITALIAN 4 LAOTIAN 2 INDONESIAN 1 FARSI 39 PASHTO 4 TELUGU MOROCCAN 2 ARABIC 1 Languages Within Top 10 of Both Data Sets Spanish Arabic Amharic Tigrinya Vietnamese Korean Farsi Mandarin Importance First identify the services you provide Service Location How does public access the service (include specific point of encounter) Bilingual Staff Interpretation and Downtown Courthouse, Downtown Austin Customer indicates to a Customer Services staff member at the Front Counter Communication (Spanish) Community Court, North and South Substations that they require interpretation. Language Line Phone Service Downtown Courthouse, Downtown Austin Customer indicates to a Customer Services staff member at the Front Counter Community Court, North and South Substations that they require interpretation. Licensed Court Interpreters (Spanish) Downtown Courthouse, Downtown Austin Community Court, Central Booking Facility Customer indicates to a Customer Services staff member at the Front Counter that they require interpretation. Certified Court Interpreter (American Sign Language) Downtown Courthouse, Downtown Austin Community Court, Central Booking Facility Customer indicates to a Customer Services staff member at the Front Counter that they require interpretation. Licensed Court Interpreters - Wasterword Downtown Courthouse, Downtown Austin Community Court Customer indicates to a Customer Services staff member at the Front Counter that they require interpretation. The case is docketed and the interpreter will be available for the hearing/court date. Importance What services do you need Service, program, information, or activity Result of absence, delay, or inadequate language access Importance (critical, vital, moderate, or optional) to provide? Interpretation in Court Settings Unequal access to justice and potential loss of civil liberties. Critical Language Line, Licensed Dockets must be reset, How important is each service? Court Interpreters (Spanish), Certified Court Interpreters (ASL), Other inconveniencing the defendant and creating additional costs for the City. Licensed and In-Person Interpretation Interpretation to provide Lack of understanding for Vital information, options, and defendants. Impedes the timely clarification administration of justice. Bilingual Staff Interpretation and Communication 3
Resources What are you already doing to provide services? What would you do with more resources? Vital or critical service, program, information, or activity Resources available Resource needed Bilingual Staff Interpretation and Communication (Spanish) Language Line Phone Service Court staff are available to communicate in Spanish in-person, via email, and over the phone. This is limited to interactions outside of legal proceedings. Downtown Courthouse, Downtown Austin Community Court, North and South Substations Available in-person, limited to interactions outside of legal proceedings for Spanish. May be used in a Court setting for non-spanish if an interpreter for that language is not available within 75 miles. American Sign Language is available in-person through a tablet via an online service. Licensed Court Interpreters (Spanish) Certified Court Interpreter (American Sign Language) Licensed Court Interpreters - Masterword Downtown Courthouse, Downtown Austin Community Court, North and South Substations Available in-person during Court business hours and upon request for dockets. Available via phone after business hours for arraignments at the Travis County Jail. Provides written interpretation upon request. Downtown Courthouse, Downtown Austin Community Court, Central Booking Facility Available upon request for on-site interpretation and dockets. Downtown Courthouse, Downtown Austin Community Court, Central Booking Facility Available upon request for dockets. Provides written interpretation upon request. Potential Vendors and Resources Interpretation Service Providers (Companies that subcontract work) Language Line or Similar Services Individual Interpreters Contracted On-site Interpreters Bilingual Staff Implementation Plan Language Access Procedures Draft policies and procedures. Language Access Training Conduct staff trainings to identify language needs and best practices for communicating Providing Notice to LEP Persons Post I Speak notices (Houston) and training staff Monitoring and Evaluating the LAP Annually review demographics and make adjustments to processes and documents 4
AMC Language Coordinating Procedures Overview Identify need Schedule Service Delivery Credentials Quality Assurance Identify Need How are interpretation needs determined? What should be done with that information? What happens if language needs are not identified? How long should you track language needs? Scheduling Identify/track what dockets interpreters are needed on. Contact vendors to schedule interpreters. Handling cancelations and interpreter no shows 5
Service Delivery Docket Considerations Jury Trials Bench Trials Appearance Dockets Attorney Dockets Vendor Requirements Managing Multiple Vendors Interpreter Credentials Credential Types Master Certification Licensed Interpreters Certified Verifying credentials Texas Office of Court Administration Licensee Search https://jbcctexas.txcourts.gov Quality Assurance Monitoring Interpreter Performance Handling Complaints Managing the Vendor Relationship Managing Expenses 6
Contact Information Brydan McNeely Court Operations Manager 512-974-4854 Brydan.mcneely@austintexas.gov Riccardo Camera Court Operations Supervisor Courtroom Support 512-974-4612 Riccardo.camera@austintexas.gov 7