San Francisco Language Access Ordinance 2018 Report San Francisco Language Access Ordinance 2018 | Page 8

REPORT SUMMARY
The City & County of San Francisco (the City)
continues to lead the nation in prioritizing language
access and improving the efficacy and
implementation of the Language Access Ordinance
(LAO). For FY 2016-2017, 51 City departments, or
100% of required reporting departments, submitted
progress reports. While some departments continue
to face challenges in tracking data and capturing
client information, there has been a steady increase
in the number of Limited English Proficient (LEP)
individuals served. In the past year, departments
increased their in-person and telephonic
interpretation services; overall, there was a 3%
increase in LEP clients served.
Interestingly, while departments have become more
conscientious about translating information for the
public, the reported number of translated printed
materials decreased, as did overall language service
expenditures. Translation tends to be a one-time
cost, so unless materials are updated or new
documents are created, this trend is likely to
continue. 
NEW REPORTING 
This year, the Office of Civic Engagement & Immigrant Affairs (OCEIA) introduced online dashboards, a new
way to visualize individual and aggregated data over a three-year period. The dashboards allow easy
comparison and assessment of each department’s progress toward its self-defined language access goals,
along with the ability to monitor systemic language access patterns and analyze LAO data across different
variables. 
Individual department data and citywide information are now easily
accessible through the online dashboards at: sfgov.org/oceia/laoreport
DEPARTMENTAL COMPLIANCE: BY THE NUMBERS
51
Departments
Required