The Language Services Collaborative Initiative: a pathway to ensure equitable access to services for all residents
Salt Lake County
Mayor
Jenny Wilson
Start of Project
08/01/2023
End of Project
To be confirmed
Website
https://slco.org/diversity/
Overview
Salt Lake County commits to enhance access to services for Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Residents through a ‘Language Services Collaborative Initiative’.
The Utah Department of Health has shown that the estimated population of LEP Residents within the county exceeds 200.000, of which 33% state that they speak English less than “very well.” This lack of English proficiency puts these residents at risk to be underserved by county services.
Led by the Mayor's Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the Initiative is a centralized effort to meet the needs of these residents and provides an impetus for different county departments to identify joint challenges and synergies. The ultimate aim of the Initiative is to improve accessibility of services in the county, regardless of English language proficiency.
Primary objectives:
To align county programs with federal guidelines that prohibit discrimination and that ensure equal access in areas like education, employment, and public services. (e.g. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987).
To ensure that information about county services is accessible, transparent and understandable and in line with e.g. the Federal Plain Writing Act of 2010.
To promote inclusivity by developing strategies that best serve the linguistic diversity of the county's population.
Expected Impact
This action is expected to have both far-reaching external and internal impacts with the intent of enhancing access of services provided by Salt Lake County (SLCo) for the significant population of Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Residents within the county. An analysis from the Utah Department of Health has shown that the estimated total of these individuals that speak a language other than English within SLCo is 222,284 with 33.29% stating that they speak English less than “very well.” This project targets this underserved population by establishing a centralized and cohesive effort to meet the needs of these individuals that speak a language other than English with a consideration that services ought to be provided regardless of their English proficiency.
These efforts are therefore expected to have a positive, external impact on underserved communities, promoting clear and effective access to government services. Streamlining language access services across county offices will also enhance transparency and efficiency in language services provision given the substantial, quantified need for such services within SLCo. Doing so can assist with increasing civic participation among linguistically diverse communities. This impact may be evaluated by monitoring the number of LEP individuals utilizing language access services and their satisfaction levels.
Internally, facilitating collaboration among county agencies procedures is expected to lead to improved efficiency of service delivery and resource allocation while ensuring compliance with federal guidelines. This may be evaluated by tracking the number of cases or requests regarding language services handled by county agencies within a given timeframe. Improved efficiency should lead to an increase in the number of cases handled without compromising quality and ensuring clarity of resources.
Priority Objectives
Providing access to urban infrastructure, social services, and education,
regardless of status
Realising socio-economic inclusion
“Salt Lake County offers so many services and it’s essential that no matter the language a resident speaks, they are able to access those services. Efforts to ensure our content is written in easy-to- understand language is a vital component of ensuring that there is equitable access to our services”