Develop more robust assessment , training and support for bilingual City employees .
There is currently no citywide budget allocated to ongoing training and support for bilingual employees and their use of language skills on the job . While OCEIA has increased the number of City employees trained through its Language Access Academy , a series of trainings developed to address the specific needs of City staff , ongoing support and advanced skill development need to be supported and funded to ensure the highest quality of language services to the public . Although San Francisco ’ s largest LEP populations are Chinese , Filipino and Spanish , the City serves many residents who speak languages of lesser diffusion and with greater emerging needs . Many newcomers from these communities struggle with accessing basic services and information . The Department of Human Resources could work with OCEIA to identify advanced training programs that support both written and spoken language comprehension and develop various levels of certification ( basic , intermediate , advanced / professional ), as well as quality standards . As departments increase their investment in language access resources and perform proactive outreach , the quality and consistency of translated materials and interpretation across departments is critical .
Increase accountability for language access provisioning and LAO compliance .
While OCEIA conducts data collection , trains departments on the LAO , develops tools and resources , and summarizes compliance using a variety of metrics , the Immigrant Rights Commission could support compliance by reconvening its Language Access Committee and implementing a joint task force that includes language experts , community members and leaders to identify mechanisms to increase accountability and confirm self-reported data by departments . While compliance has been linked to the budget process in the past , there is no consistent way of enforcing LAO requirements for implementing language access plans , staffing and budgets .
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