LIEE Capitation Fees to Agencies Serving Limited English Proficient, Disabled, and Senior Clients Presented at the Joint Utility Quarterly Meeting April 7, 2010

Overview SDG&E and SoCalGas filed Advice Letters in January 2010 to request authorization to pay a capitation fee to Community Based Organizations that serve Limited English Proficient clients, Persons with a Disability, or Elderly clients. A capitation fee will be paid to these agencies for conducting outreach and generating referrals to their LIEE programs that lead to a LIEE enrollment. The Advice Letters were approved on March 3, 2010 with an effective date of February 25, 2010.

Objectives To reach potential LIEE-eligible households that do not respond to traditional outreach efforts due to: Linguistic isolation – defined as households in which no member 14 years or older speak English very well Require specialized assistance due to a hearing or visual impairment Have low literacy – including in their native language Other barriers to enrollment

Objectives Will help SDG&E and SoCalGas achieve the aggressive goals for homes treated set by the Commission; Help meet the Commission’s programmatic initiative of treating 100% of LIEE-eligible and willing customers by 2020; and, Facilitate the achievement of the Commission’s goal to increase disabled household enrollment to 15% of the annual LIEE enrollments.

Background

2006 Telecommunications Staff Report “Challenges Facing Consumers with Limited English Skills in the Rapidly Changing Telecommunications Market Place.” Key Findings: Californians speak between 179 – 220 languages (ranks at the top world-wide); Dialects, regionalisms, and other variations create unique challenges to the delivery of every kind of service in languages other than English; Migrant populations in California are unique in their consumer, educational, and other needs

Key Findings (continued) One quarter of Asian and Latino households are linguistically isolated in comparison to 10% of all households in the state. While younger school age children are learning English, their parents, guardians, and families do not for a variety of reasons. There may be a correlation in some populations between linguistic isolation and low literacy, even in the primary language. Adding to the complexity are issues of literacy levels and cultural aspects within and among different populations and their communities.

Telecommunications Rulemaking Initiated in 2007 to consider ways to improve services to California telecommunications customers who do not read or speak English fluently and to focus on ways of consumer protections for telecommunications customers who have LEP. There were 3 key decisions from the proceeding that adopted new rules to improve services to LEP telecommunications consumers who are not proficient in English. The Telecommunications Division was directed to develop a program that integrates CBOs in its outreach, education, and compliance resolution process and funds were authorized to compensate CBOs for their efforts.

Disability Rights Advocates Report on Effective Outreach to Persons with Disabilities Updated June 2007 English is the second language of persons who have been deaf since birth. American Sign Language is their primary language. Consequently, illiteracy rates are higher for the deaf population. Many people who are born deaf have some difficulty reading English. In order for utilities to successfully increase enrollment among the deaf community they need to work with CBOs that serve the deaf community and to compensate them for their efforts.

Statewide Needs Assessment Phase II Report October 2007 Identified the following barriers to low income customer’s willingness to participate in CARE and LIEE Lack of understanding of the programs’ eligibility criteria and benefits; Language barriers; Fear – distrust among elderly and immigrant residency issues; Welfare stigma and reluctance to accept aid; and, Misconceptions about the application and participation processes

LIEE Capitation Contracts

LIEE Capitation Contractors Provide information about the LIEE program’s eligibility requirements and benefits when working with their clients; Assist SDG&E and SoCalGas overcome barriers to enrollment (language, trust, fear) and help their clients better understand the enrollment and measure installation process; Can determine if a client can categorically enroll in LIEE program (and CARE if applicable); Complete a LIEE referral form Capitation Fee will be paid for referrals that result in a LIEE enrollment

2010 – 2011 Goals Number of Enrollments SDG&E20,000 SoCalGas10,000