San Francisco Language Access Ordinance Summary Report LAO 2020 - Jan 31 FINAL | Page 14

Looking Back Reflecting on Previous Year Goals Crisis and Emergency Response In the past year, the Office of Civic Engagement & Immigrant Affairs (OCEIA) has expanded its work with the San Francisco Police Department, Department of Police Accountability, Department of Emergency Management, and community stakeholders to set citywide standards and protocols for language access and community engagement for first-responder agencies. Through this process, these departments have improved and increased their translated public information materials and have significantly expanded their language services budgets, with the Police Department nearly doubling its budget from $418,000 to $750,000. Creating a Community Language Bank In 2019, OCEIA launched the much anticipated Community Language Bank Pilot program. The first step was to recruit bilingual speakers for a 40-hour Community Interpreters Training in order to train community members on the principles and techniques of providing interpretation services. The first cohort to complete the training included 39 people covering 11 languages. After shadowing OCEIA interpreters, these community interpreters have been deployed at community outreach events, town hall meetings, and have supported education and engagement for City departments. Improving the Language Access Community Grants Program In 2019, OCEIA renewed the Language Access Community Grants Program. In addition to continuing to fund community outreach and education about language access rights, this new grant cycle included funds for mentoring and support services for new interpreters, increased funding to train more community-based interpreters in all languages, more community-based translation and interpretation support, and a community language needs assessment study. These augmentations are in direct response to the needs that both Language Access Summary Reports have identified as well as the demand that OCEIA’s nonprofit partners see in their communities. 9 / LAO 2020