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D.C. Municipal Regulations (Last Updated: September 13, 2017) |
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Title 4. HUMAN RIGHTS AND RELATIONS |
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Chapter 4-12. LANGUAGE ACCESS ACT |
Section 4-1212. BIENNIAL LANGUAGE ACCESS PLAN
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1212.1A covered entity with major public contact shall establish a Biennial Language Access Plan (“BLAP”). Each BLAP shall be established in consultation with:
(a) The Language Access Director (“LA Director”);
(b) The D.C. Language Access Coalition;
(c) The covered entity’s Language Access Coordinator (“LAC”);
(d) The covered entity’s Director; and
(e) The Consultative Agencies.
1212.2Each BLAP shall set forth, at a minimum, the following:
(a) The types of oral language services that the covered entity will provide and a description of how the covered entity made this determination;
(b) Which languages are spoken by a limited-English proficient or non-English proficient (“LEP/NEP”) population that constitutes three percent (3%) or five hundred (500) individuals, whichever is less, of the population served or encountered or likely to be served or encountered by the covered entity, and how the covered entity made this determination;
(c) The titles and types of each document that the covered entity will provide in translation and a description of how the covered entity made this determination;
(d) The total number of public contact positions in the covered entity, the number of bilingual employees in public contact positions, and the languages spoken by the bilingual employees identified on the list;
(e)The number, position, and location of bilingual employees the covered entity plans to hire in public contact positions;
(f)The names, titles and contact information of members of the covered entity’s language access team, if one has been established pursuant to § 1206.5;
(g)An evaluation of the language access services provided, the language access data collection systems in place, and whether the goals stated in the previous BLAP were met;
(h) A policy, administrative issuance, or procedures and guidelines that inform personnel of the protocols to follow when an LEP/NEP customer requests language assistance, and provide direction regarding other language access compliance requirements.
(i) A plan to conduct outreach to the District’s LEP/NEP communities served or likely to be served by the covered entity;
(j) A plan to provide training to employees in public contact positions about the covered entity’s legal obligations under the Act, and to develop cultural competency skills to support them in providing quality customer service to LEP/NEP customers; and
(k)A description of the budgetary resources with which the covered entity will implement the BLAP.
1212.3Each BLAP shall be subject to approval by the LA Director. The LA Director shall meet with each LAC and respective agency director to review draft agency BLAPs prior to approval of the BLAP. The LA Director shall consult resources including but not limited to those listed in Section 3(c)(1) of the Act (D.C. Official Code § 2-1932(c)(1) (2012 Repl.)) to verify the identification of the languages which are spoken by a LEP/NEP population that constitutes three percent (3%) or five hundred (500) individuals, whichever is less, of the population served or encountered, or likely to be served or encountered by the covered entity.
1212.4A covered entity with major public contact shall complete its initial BLAP after completion of the baseline assessments, within a time period designated by the LA Director.
1212.5Each BLAP shall be updated every two (2) fiscal years.
1212.6The LA Director shall report to the Director of the Office of Human Rights (“OHR Director”) the failure by any covered entity with major public contact to submit a BLAP in a timely manner. The OHR Director shall include a list of these failures in the OHR Director’s annual Language Access Report to the Office of the City Administrator.