Findings
Although this report covers a full fiscal year ( July 1 , 2019 to June 30 , 2020 ), the COVID-19 pandemic has been a key factor in reported data , especially during the fourth quarter of the year ( April 1 to June 30 , 2020 ). The pandemic presented many challenges and disproportionately impacted Black , Indigenous and people of color ( BIPOC ), immigrant , Limited English Proficient ( LEP ) and vulnerable populations . Overall , City departments responded by dedicating more resources to language services , but without simultaneous increases in the number of bilingual staff . It would be advisable for departments to assess if bilingual staff are adequately trained and able to respond to a public health emergency of the magnitude of COVID-19 , or if other solutions can be implemented to better meet the language needs of nearly half of the City ’ s population .
Increased Investment
The total language access services budget across all departments this year was $ 22,737,599 , a more than 40 % increase from $ 16.1 million in the previous year . However , when compared to the City ’ s total operating budget , this amount remains a small fraction , at less than 1 %.
The top five departments that increased their language services budgets this year ( FY 2019- 2020 ) were :
Department of Building Inspection with a $ 505,784.00 increase ( 20.01 %) Department of Elections with a $ 4,510,668.00 increase ( 273.31 %) Human Services Agency with a $ 91,541.93 increase ( 6.24 %) Municipal Transportation Agency with a $ 1,220,743.40 increase ( 80.95 %) Office of Civic Engagement and Immigrant Affairs with a $ 678,144.93 increase ( 600.10 %)
During a major national election and global public health emergency , these numbers show that departments made a significant effort to ensure that all San Franciscans had access to services and timely information in their language . The 2020 presidential election was undoubtedly a factor in the significant increases in the Department of Elections ’ budget for language services .
Bilingual Staffing
There are 2,570 reported bilingual staff across all departments — 1,585 of whom are certified . They include 714 staff members who speak Cantonese , 326 who speak Mandarin , 818 who speak Spanish , 238 who speak Filipino , 102 who speak Vietnamese , 82 who speak Russian , and 398 who speak another language . Some employees speak multiple languages ( for example , Cantonese , Mandarin , and Vietnamese ).
Bilingual Public Contact Staff
CAN MAN SPA FIL RUS VIET OTH
200 400 600 800
An important issue to note is the overall decrease in the number of bilingual staff starting in FY 2017-2018 , although 40 out of 53 departments reported having adequate levels of bilingual employees .
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