Communicating and Working with Limited English Speakers AIRS Conference 2010 Rochester, New York Presented by Patti Walls Language Line Services © 2010 Language Line Services

Overview Introduction Challenges for I & R Agencies Case Studies New York City Toronto Monterey County Conclusions © 2009 Language Line Services

Language Line Services Overview Introduction Language Line Services Overview Reliable Business Partner to I&R Providers Serving the industry for over 25 years More than 170 languages 24x7x365 coverage 2 fully redundant operations centers Industry leading technology solutions Interpreter Quality Employee-based staffing model 1 in 12 applicants are hired On-going training, testing and monitoring Over 40 hours of annual training per interpreter Operational Efficiency Proven industry leading service metrics 24 hour operation with customers in 30 countries © 2009 Language Line Services

Over 25 years of innovation, in a changing world… Introduction Over 25 years of innovation, in a changing world… Malcolm Baldrige Award 9-1-1 Training Program LLS Court & Medical Certification TeleInterpreters joins the organization 1982 1989 1993 1994 1998 2000 2007 2008 Founded by SJ Police Officer Strategic Business Unit of AT&T 1 Million Interpretations 10,000th Customer 2nd Redundant Site Rapid Connect Platform Influx of Hispanic and Asian Population LA Riots Northridge Earthquake 9/11 & Aftermath Hurricanes Rita & Katrina Atlanta Olympic Games 2004 Florida Hurricane Season

Challenges for I &R Agencies Budget How can you maximize limited resources? Staffing Can you recruit, train and hold great staff? Public Image Could it be improved? Response Time Are call handling times fast enough? Training Is it ever over? What keeps YOU up at night? © 2009 Language Line Services 5

Challenges for I &R Agencies Issues with providing service for LEP clients Cost Local language mix/needs Availability of resources Appropriateness of resources Confidentiality Liability Issues © 2009 Language Line Services

Case Studies Three agencies demonstrate a range of best practices reaching out to limited English speaking communities to overcome very different challenges. New York City combats domestic violence City of Toronto raises profile of 9-1-1 services Monterey County 2-1-1 Launch © 2009 Language Line Services 7

New York City Agency Challenges Key Stakeholders Outreach Efforts NYC identified domestic violence among immigrants as "intractable criminal justice problem” Victim established language barrier as #1 problem in reporting crimes Problems go unreported/unresolved Key Stakeholders Mayor's Office to Combat Domestic Violence NYPD and 9-1-1 services Community based organizations Federal grant Language Line Services Outreach Efforts Targeted most culturally and linguistically diverse neighborhoods (foreign language spoken in 84% of homes), later went citywide. Press conference launch Community forums Radio and television PSA's, plus posters & brochures. Background: In 2003: NYPD responded to an average of 600 domestic violence incidents a day. NYC Domestic Violence Hotline answered over 147,000 calls. 16% of hotline calls were from Queens. There were 64 family related homicides. 28% were from Queens. Domestic Violence goes unreported In 2003, 70% of family-related homicide cases had no known prior contact with police. Friends, family, clergy often knew something was wrong Immigrant victims, in particular, are less likely to report domestic violence. Lack of knowledge about U.S. laws, pressure, fear, language barriers © 2009 Language Line Services 8

New York City Police Resource Guides Created to help officers identify languages spoken. On reverse side, domestic violence resource contact information is provided, allowing fast and efficient referrals for victims. © 2009 Language Line Services

New York City Public Service Announcements for Radio and TV Created in four languages English, Korean, Mandarin, and Spanish. VIDEO © 2009 Language Line Services 10

New York City Informational Brochures Created in five languages Bengali, English, Korean, Mandarin, and Spanish. © 2009 Language Line Services 11

New York City Informational Posters Created in 14 languages (Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, French, Greek, Haitian Creole, Hindi, Italian, Korean, Polish, Punjabi, Russian, Tagalog and Urdu). These were distributed throughout the community. © 2009 Language Line Services 12

New York City Press Releases Created in three languages Korean Mandarin and Spanish, and were distributed to ethnic media outlets throughout the city. © 2009 Language Line Services 13

New York City ● Interpreter Connect Time (average): 18.1 seconds Results: “In 2005, the Language Line Program, which was started in Queens, became a citywide initiative that equips police officers with special telephones that allow direct access to interpreters in more than 150 languages.  Through these efforts, major domestic violence felony crime has decreased 20% citywide and family-related homicides have decreased 7% over the last five years.” New York City Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence, October 25, 2007 2006 INTERPRETER ACCESS ● Languages served: 46 ● Interpreter Connect Time (average): 18.1 seconds ● Calls served: >2,500

City of Toronto Agency Challenges Key Stakeholders Outreach Efforts Over 40% of Toronto’s population speaks a language other than English or French. The accidental drowning of a 9-year old in 2004 highlighted the fact that LEP persons either are not aware of 9-1-1 or do not think their language is spoken. Key Stakeholders City Councillor Olivia Chow City of Toronto Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Police and Fire agencies. Community based organizations Language Line Services Outreach Efforts City Councillor spearheaded campaign targeting neighborhoods with new immigrants, (with focus on caregivers) Message: 9-1-1 services are available in 150 languages. Posters and pamphlets translated in 11 languages were distributed to schools, libraries, community centers, and bus shelters. Radio and television PSA's, plus posters & brochures. Background: In 2003: NYPD responded to an average of 600 domestic violence incidents a day. NYC Domestic Violence Hotline answered over 147,000 calls. 16% of hotline calls were from Queens. There were 64 family related homicides. 28% were from Queens. Domestic Violence goes unreported In 2003, 70% of family-related homicide cases had no known prior contact with police. Friends, family, clergy often knew something was wrong Immigrant victims, in particular, are less likely to report domestic violence. Lack of knowledge about U.S. laws, pressure, fear, language barriers VIDEO © 2009 Language Line Services 15

City of Toronto Press Conference City Councillor Chow and leaders of the combined public safety agencies stage media event highlighting transit shelter posters. © 2009 Language Line Services 16

City of Toronto Brochures and Decals Promoted campaign through translations in 10 languages distributed to targeted areas of the city, and decals located on recycling bins. Images courtesy of Toronto EMS. © 2009 Language Line Services 17

City of Toronto Results: Toronto achieves excellence in 9-1-1 emergency medical dispatch, due in part, to its language coverage. Overall language access gained a higher profile citywide, leading to improvement of access to other vital services. Public relations gain for Toronto, seen as very forward thinking and proactive in outreach efforts. © 2009 Language Line Services 18

Monterey County 2-1-1 Launch Agency Challenges United Way Monterey County tasked with launching new 2-1-1 service countywide. Over 47% of people speak a language other than English at home (~40% is Spanish) Far-flung parts of the county hold large pockets of Spanish speakers. Key Stakeholders United Way Monterey County County and municipal government agencies Corporate and community partners Language Line Services Outreach Efforts Promotional material included posters, fliers, bookmarks and bus-wraps, with cost effective Spanish-language translations. Transit agency-sponsored launch-day media bus tour of far flung corners of county. Spanish language radio and television PSA’s © 2009 Language Line Services 19

Monterey County 2-1-1 Launch Promotional Information Spanish language translations of posters, cards and bookmarks were distributed with the launch. © 2009 Language Line Services 20

Monterey County 2-1-1 Launch Launch Day Local transit agency sponsored media bus tour to promote services in outlying communities. Public Service Announcements Spanish language public service announcements also launched on local Spanish-language radio and television VIDEO © 2009 Language Line Services 21

Monterey County 2-1-1 Launch Results: Year One Results: Projected call volume: 10,000 calls Actual call volume: 13,000 calls 35% of calls from LEP callers (primarily Spanish) Spanish language calls to 2-1-1 include healthy volume from remote cities visited during launch day media tour. Overall, 2-1-1 proved to be an efficient way to increase awareness among callers of other programs for which they were eligible. © 2009 Language Line Services

Case Studies: Common Success Factors Community collaboration Know your target audience Appropriate media for each of your LEP touch points Simple messaging translates best Quantify-- Measure, measure, measure (before and after)

Measuring Your ROI: Language Support Meeting the language support need Language resource mix Language resource volume Language resource timing Deploying variable cost support for variable language needs Overflow Off hours None core languages Animate these points © 2009 Language Line Services

Service Portfolio Document Translation Web Localization Voice Talent Multilingual Marketing Support Bilingual Staff Training © 2009 Language Line Services

Informational Resources http://news.newamericamedia.org/directory/ http://www.ethnologue.com/ http://www.languageline.com/

Strategic Sales Executive Questions? PATRICIA WALLS Strategic Sales Executive Email: pwalls@languageline.com Phone: 1-800-731-6436 www.LanguageLine.com © 2009 Language Line Services 27