LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY (LEP)

OFFICE OF RESOLUTION MANAGEMENT GUIDANCE PLAN FOR COMPLIANCE WITH EXECUTIVE ORDER 13166 – IMPROVING ACCESS TO SERVICES FOR PERSONS WITH LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY IN FEDERALLY CONDUCTED PROGRAMS

Background

Executive Order 13166, “Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency (LEP), ” was issued on August 11, 2000. The Executive Order requires federal agencies to assess and address the needs of otherwise eligible persons seeking access to federally conducted programs and activities who, due to limited English proficiency, cannot fully and equally participate in or benefit from those programs and activities. A federally conducted program or activity is, in simple terms, anything a Federal agency does. Aside from employment, there are two major categories of federally conducted programs or activities covered by the regulation: those involving general public contact as part of ongoing agency operations and those directly administered by the department for program beneficiaries and participants. Activities in the first part include communication with the public (telephone contacts, office walk-ins, or interviews and the public’s use of Department facilities. Federal agencies and departments must take reasonable steps to ensure “meaningful” access to the information and services they provide to LEP individuals. The purpose of Executive Order 13166 is not to create new core services, but to eliminate or reduce, to the maximum extent practical, limited English proficiency as a barrier or impediment to accessing existing core services. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has established a written policy that each administration or staff office within VA will ensure it has in place a plan which will incorporate the four important elements of an acceptable language assistance plan. Those elements are:

· Assessment of LEP populations and language needs

· Language assistance plan

· Training

· Monitoring

The Office of Resolution Management (ORM) will ensure compliance with this Executive Order within each of it’s operating elements and has implemented the following plan to do so. The initial steps outlined below will be implemented within six months of the date of enactment of this plan.

Assessment Overview

ORM’s primary area of responsibility is to provide timely and high quality Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) complaint processing services within VA to employees of the agency. LEP guidance issued by the Department of Justice (DOJ) identifies reasonable steps to ensure meaningful access. Factors to be considered are the number or proportion of LEP individuals serviced by the program, the frequency of contact with the program, the nature and importance of the program, and the resources available. These factors have the greatest impact in initially determining what, if any, language assistance measures may be appropriate.

An assessment of ORM’s primary services and the primary groups served by ORM indicates that interactions with potential LEP individuals will vary depending upon the location of the ORM field office. Therefore ORM will, ensure that appropriate assistance is provided to these individuals when requesting assistance in programs administered by ORM. ORM will also respond to requests by the general public for information on the services provided by ORM and will ensure that public information (oral, written or electronic) is accessible to LEP individuals upon request.

Language Assistance Plan

ORM adopts the following language assistance principles for situations in which LEP individuals need direct services or information and to ensure compliance with Executive Order 13166.

· LEP persons, who are VA employees and are filing a discrimination complaint, shall be advised that they may choose either to secure the assistance of an interpreter of their own choosing, at their own expense, or a competent interpreter provided by ORM. The provision of this notice and the LEP person’s election shall be documented in any written record generated with respect to the LEP person.

· Each ORM location accessible to the public at which written or oral information is made available will have in place language assistance or personnel resources capable of providing, within a reasonable period of time, information and/or instruction in appropriate languages other than English. ORM has contracted with an appropriate organization that will provide both written and oral translation services to all ORM field offices and locations, as needed. These services will be provided telephonically, where practical. ORM employees shall contact this organization when needed and will be able to acquire language translation or interpreter services needed to provide service to LEP persons.

· Written procedures for accessing these services will be provided to all ORM employees (i.e. inserted into ORM telephone book; on the ORM Intranet system). A listing of volunteer ORM employees who are available to provide temporary language assistance in case of an emergency should also be made available, if possible. These employees shall be identified by name, office, location, business telephone number, work hours, language and level of fluency.

· When it has been established by census data that 25% or more of a language group seeking assistance from ORM facilities do not speak or understand English well, ORM will take steps to have primary forms or documents translated into language(s) the group understands. This includes but is not limited to complaint forms or brochures that explain ORM services and the procedures needed to file or inform individuals of their rights under the discrimination complaint process. This also includes outreach material used to provide information on the assistance provided by ORM. This standard is provided by Department of Justice guidance documents

· Electronic information provided via ORM web pages will include information on the availability of language assistance within ORM.

· Signage within publicly accessible ORM facilities will be posted which will explain ORM’s LEP policy and, where applicable, will be posted in languages other than English. ORM should post signage in languages other than English where it is found that 25% or more of the people served do not speak English well.

· Attached is a sample Language Identification Flashcard with the phrase “Mark this box if you read or speak (name of language)” translated into 38 different languages. This flash card should be used to assist employees in identifying the primary language of LEP individuals during face to face meetings.

· Outreach efforts will be implemented to inform ORM employees, other VA employees and the general public of the availability of the language assistance services outlined in this plan.

Training

Staff training will be conducted to ensure ORM employees are fully aware of the scope and nature of the available language assistance services and the specific procedures through which each employee can access these services. Training will be provided on both a recurring basis and as part of new employee orientation.

Monitoring

Periodic monitoring will be conducted to reassess the scope and nature of the language assistance provided under this plan. Monitoring will be done on an annual basis.

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Last Updated: 12/18/2003