Government / City Manager's Office / Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / Language Access Program

LANGUAGE ACCESS PROGRAM / PROGRAMA DE ACCESO LINGÜÍSTICO

The City of Concord is committed to providing accessibility to persons whose dominant, only, and/or primary language is something other than English, and to improving and increasing access to City-operated programs and services.

The City of Concord has been accepted into Institute for the Study of the Americas’ Local Government Language Access Collaborative, in partnership with El Puente Hispano, an active non-profit organization dedicated to furthering Hispanics in the area. Through this program, our City-Community team of 7 will learn promising practices, conduct an assessment to gauge current offerings and opportunities, and draft/implement a language access plan.

The team will focus on expanding our Spanish language offerings, but also aim to include other languages based on community need.

Our progress can be tracked through this webpage and El Puente Hispano’s newsletter, Conéctate Cabarrus.

La Ciudad de Concord está comprometida a proporcionar acceso a información y recursos a las personas cuyo idioma predominante, único y/o primario no es el inglés y a mejorar y aumentar el acceso a los programas y servicios que la Ciudad brinda.

La Ciudad de Concord ha sido aceptada en el programa de Colaboración para el Acceso al Idioma de los Gobiernos Locales del Instituto para el Estudio de las Américas en asociación con El Puente Hispano, una activa organización sin ánimo de lucro dedicada a promover el desarrollo de los hispanos en la zona. A través de este programa, el equipo comunitario de la Ciudad, compuesto por 7 personas, aprenderá prácticas prometedoras, llevará a cabo una evaluación para analizar lo que ya se ofrece y las oportunidades disponibles actualmente y creará e implementará un plan de acceso lingüístico.

El equipo se concentrará en ampliar los recursos lingüísticos en español, pero también aspira incluir otros idiomas basados en las necesidades de la comunidad.

Nuestro progreso se puede seguir a través de esta página web y el boletín de El Puente Hispano, Conéctate Cabarrus.

 

Project Updates / Progreso del Proyecto

Results of the Internal Language Survey

8/16/2023 11:33:00 AM

 

Background

In April 2023, the Language Access group sent a survey to City of Concord supervisors from all 19 departments to take and share with their team members. The survey was a way to gather information about the different languages that City staff interact with and learn about existing practices and resources within each department. All 19 departments submitted responses and 61 participants completed the survey. 

Below are some of the highlights from the results:

City Staff who participated in the survey identified the most regularly encountered languages as:

1. Spanish

2. Hindi 

3. ASL

82% of City staff members who participated in the survey reported that they encountered Spanish-speaking customers, “Very Frequently”, “Often”, and “Occasionally”.

Survey results revealed that public safety departments, Police, Fire, & Communications, interact the most with American Sign Language (ASL) speakers compared to other departments.

Over 55% of respondents selected that the most popular way of identifying whether someone needs help communicating in their preferred language is “assuming limited English Proficiency if communication seems impaired”. Only 9% of survey takers selected that they use language identification cards or posters to help decide whether someone needs additional language assistance. 

When asked, “How does your department interact with the public and individuals who prefer languages other than English?” the top three responses were:

1. Bilingual staff “not trained as an interpreter”

2. Electronic communications in languages other than English (email, website, and social media)

3. Telephonic Interpreter

Reflections

The survey results reflect what the Language Access team had expected and confirmed that Spanish was the most popular non-English language encountered by City of Concord staff. This reflects Cabarrus County data provided by the 2020 U.S Census, stating that around 14,000 Cabarrus County residents speak Spanish and nearly 14% of the population in the City of Concord identify as Hispanic or Latino. 

Additionally, it highlighted the importance of the City’s bilingual pay policy. The survey implied that bilingual employees are the most used resource for customers who prefer to communicate in languages other than English. The bilingual pay policy offers a 5% increase in base pay to City employees who pass a language proficiency test and meet the City’s language proficiency standard. This policy ensures that bilingual staff who pass the language test are paid for their time spent assisting customers who need assistance in another language beyond normal work duties. Without these employees, the City would have to pay an external business for their language services. 

Finally, the survey helped the Language Access team identify departments that have successful practices for people who do not primarily speak English. We would like to continue collaborating with these departments as we begin considering the ideas and resources that could be included in the Language Access Plan. 

Data Library

Results of the Internal Language Survey

8/16/2023 11:33:00 AM

 

Background

In April 2023, the Language Access group sent a survey to City of Concord supervisors from all 19 departments to take and share with their team members. The survey was a way to gather information about the different languages that City staff interact with and learn about existing practices and resources within each department. All 19 departments submitted responses and 61 participants completed the survey. 

Below are some of the highlights from the results:

City Staff who participated in the survey identified the most regularly encountered languages as:

1. Spanish

2. Hindi 

3. ASL

82% of City staff members who participated in the survey reported that they encountered Spanish-speaking customers, “Very Frequently”, “Often”, and “Occasionally”.

Survey results revealed that public safety departments, Police, Fire, & Communications, interact the most with American Sign Language (ASL) speakers compared to other departments.

Over 55% of respondents selected that the most popular way of identifying whether someone needs help communicating in their preferred language is “assuming limited English Proficiency if communication seems impaired”. Only 9% of survey takers selected that they use language identification cards or posters to help decide whether someone needs additional language assistance. 

When asked, “How does your department interact with the public and individuals who prefer languages other than English?” the top three responses were:

1. Bilingual staff “not trained as an interpreter”

2. Electronic communications in languages other than English (email, website, and social media)

3. Telephonic Interpreter

Reflections

The survey results reflect what the Language Access team had expected and confirmed that Spanish was the most popular non-English language encountered by City of Concord staff. This reflects Cabarrus County data provided by the 2020 U.S Census, stating that around 14,000 Cabarrus County residents speak Spanish and nearly 14% of the population in the City of Concord identify as Hispanic or Latino. 

Additionally, it highlighted the importance of the City’s bilingual pay policy. The survey implied that bilingual employees are the most used resource for customers who prefer to communicate in languages other than English. The bilingual pay policy offers a 5% increase in base pay to City employees who pass a language proficiency test and meet the City’s language proficiency standard. This policy ensures that bilingual staff who pass the language test are paid for their time spent assisting customers who need assistance in another language beyond normal work duties. Without these employees, the City would have to pay an external business for their language services. 

Finally, the survey helped the Language Access team identify departments that have successful practices for people who do not primarily speak English. We would like to continue collaborating with these departments as we begin considering the ideas and resources that could be included in the Language Access Plan. 

 

Key Terms and Concepts

Bilingual: A person who is fluent in two or more languages. Someone who is bilingual may be able to perform their own job in both languages, but they may not be trained or qualified to interpret or translate.

Qualified Interpreter/Translator: “An individual who has been assessed for professional skills, demonstrates a high level of proficiency in at least two languages, and has the appropriate training and experience to interpret with skill and accuracy while adhering to the National Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice.”11 This is different than a certified interpreter or translator, who has taken additional steps to meet the requirements and pass the exams of a certifying body for their specific profession (e.g. Certified Medical Interpreter or Certified Court Interpreter).

 

Language Access: providing individuals who dominant, only, and/or primary language is something other than English reasonable and meaningful access to the same services as individuals who speak English; also refers to the laws and policies that guarantee people access to written, verbal, or visual materials or services in their preferred languages.

 

Language Justice: a framework that respects every individual’s fundamental language rights—to be able to communicate, understand, and be understood in the language in which they prefer and feel most articulate and powerful; challenges the idea that English is the dominant language and highlights historical and current power dynamics; questions the notion that not speaking English is a deficiency and honors that speaking all languages is an important part of a community’s power

 

Translation: The process of adapting written text from one language to other language(s), with consistent and accurate meanings. A finished document should read as if it has originally been written in the target language for the target audience.

Interpretation: The process of adapting oral speech from one language to another, either simultaneously or delayed (consecutive), without loss or change in meaning. An interpreter must be competent and have knowledge in both languages of the relevant terms or concepts particular to the program or activity and the dialect and terminology used by the individual has limited english proficency. Interpreter competency requires more than self-identification as bilingual.