Civil Rights Act Office for Civil Rights (OCR)

What Laws Does OCR Enforce? “No person shall on the ground of race, color or national origin, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”

What Laws Does OCR Enforce? Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 first comprehensive civil rights law for people with disabilities in the areas of: employment public accommodations Telecommunications federally-funded programs government agencies

What Laws Does OCR Enforce? The Age Discrimination Act : Applies to all ages Exceptions that permit the use of age distinctions in programs and activities

Jurisdiction and Authority OCR jurisdiction: State agencies Hospitals Welfare programs Nursing homes Substance abuse treatment centers Day care centers Medicaid HMOs, etc Child service agencies Outpatient rehabilitation clinics Public health clinics Rural health agencies Adult day activity programs Home health agencies and hospices Area agencies on aging

Jurisdiction and Authority HHS Protects beneficiaries from discrimination in Services. LEP

Financial Jurisdiction Must be a recipient of federal financial assistance. Examples: * Medicare Part A * Medicaid * TANF Block grants * Hill-Burton * Research grants from the National Institutes of Health * Title IV-E (children services) * Ryan White Care Act funds

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act No person in the United States shall on the ground of race, color or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance. – Section 601 of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of U S C Section 2000d et seq

Who Is A Limited English Proficient (LEP) Person? An LEP individual is a person who does not speak English as their primary language and who has a limited ability to read, write, speak or understand English.

The Supreme Court Decision Title VI prohibits conduct that has a disproportionate effect on LEP persons because such conduct constitutes national-origin discrimination. - Lau v Nichols, 1974

Types of Illegal Discrimination 1. Intentional 2. Disparate Impact

Examples of Illegal Discrimination Denying a benefit or opportunity to Participate Providing different services/benefits Providing services/benefits in a different manner or in a segregated environment Restricting privileges Discriminatory policies/procedures

LEP and Title VI To comply with Title VI federally-funded entities must take reasonable steps to ensure meaningful access to their programs, activities and services for LEP persons..

Department of Health & Human Services Office for Civil Rights Offers: Policy Guidance to Discrimination Affecting “Limited English Proficient Persons” (LEP)

HHS LEP Guidance Guidance develop plans improve access -

What Must Recipients Do? take reasonable steps to ensure meaningful access to their programs, activities and services

Using the Four-Factor Analysis to Determine the Recipient’s Obligation 1. Number or Proportion 2. Frequency of Contact 3. Nature and Importance 4. Costs and Resources

Factor 1: Number or Pro portion of LEP Persons … How many LEP persons? Potential data sources: encounter data Data from Census, school systems, state and local government community organizations Also consider: minors of LEP parents/guardians underserved population

Factor 2: Frequency With Which LEP individuals come into contact with program, activity or service How often is a particular language encountered?

Factor 3: Nature and Importance of the Program, Activity, or Service Importance of activity, information, service, or program Possible consequences of not communicating Denial causes life-threatening implications

Factor 4: Costs and Resources Available to the Recipient reasonable costs of language assistance services resources

Ways to Provide Cost- Effective Language Services Information sharing. Training bilingual staff. Telephone & video conference services. Pooling resources, standardizing documents. qualified translators/interpreters to avoid errors / unnecessary costs. Centralizing services. qualified volunteers.

Selecting Language Assistance Services Options for Oral Language Services: Bilingual Staff Staff Interpreters Contractors Telephone Lines & Video Teleconferencing Community Volunteers

Family Members or Friends as Interpreters recipients should: Announce Interpreter at no cost Not required to provide own interpreter Do not rely on family members or friends Evaluate whether, interpreter should be provided

Use of Family Members or Friends: Special Concerns Providers respect LEP Persons’ desire to: interpreter of their own choosing instead of free language assistance subject to: Issues of competence, appropriateness, conflicts of interests, and confidentiality caution when a LEP person asks a minor child to serve as an interpreter

Written Translations Vital written materials should be translated.

Vital Written Materials Could Include, for instance… Consent and complaint forms Intake forms Written notices of actions affecting parental custody or child support Advisement of free language assistance Written competency tests for license/job/skills where English is not required Applications to participate in a program/activity

Non-vital Documents Could Include, for instance… Hospital menus Public service documents For a non-governmental recipient, government documents and forms Large Documents General Information about the program for informational purposes only

Written Translations: Into What Languages Should Documents be Translated? Distinctions between frequently- encountered and less commonly- encountered languages

Written Translations “Safe Harbor” Strong evidence of compliance If the recipient does not meet the circumstances in the safe harbor, it does not mean there is non- compliance

“Safe Harbors” (A) All vital documents are translated for each LEP group of 5% or 1000 of the eligible population OR (B) If there are fewer than 50 persons in a language group that reaches the 5% in (A), a recipient can instead provide written notice in the primary language of the right to receive oral interpretation of those written materials, free of cost

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