Background

On August 11, 2000, the President signed Executive Order 13166 (EO 13166), Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency.  EO 13166 assigned the Coordination and Review Section (COR) of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice with implementation.  EO 13166 contains two major initiatives. The first is designed to better enforce and implement an existing obligation: Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits recipients of federal financial assistance from discriminating based on national origin by, among other things, failing to provide meaningful access to individuals who are limited English proficient (LEP). The Executive Order requires federal agencies that provide federal financial assistance to develop guidance to clarify those obligations for recipients of such assistance. Second, the Executive Order sets forth a new requirement: Because the Federal Government adheres to the principles of nondiscrimination and inclusion embodied in Title VI, the Executive Order requires all federal agencies to meet the same standards as federal financial assistance recipients in providing meaningful access for individuals with LEP needs to federally funded programs and services. Anything a federal agency does, including all contact with the public, falls within the scope of federally conducted programs or services and access defined similar to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 language. EO 13166 requires that all federal agencies provide meaningful LEP access to their own federally conducted activities, develop and implement a plan by December 11, 2000.

NCD is a small independent federal agency with a budget of approximately $3 million, 15 Presidentially appointed and Congressionally confirmed members and an FTE staff of 12 civil servants. Its mission is to make recommendations to the President and Congress on disability policy; to further the goals enshrined in the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990: equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living and economic self-sufficiency for all people with disabilities. NCD recommends that the Administration ensure that small agencies receive adequate funding to carry out this mandate. NCD's policy of outreach to diverse people with disabilities, including people with LEP is long-standing. In 1995, NCD translated its brochure National Council on Disability At a Glance into Spanish. In 1998, NCD conducted a public hearing in San Francisco, specifically to ensure input from the Asian/Pacific Islander and Hispanic communities and conducted it simultaneously in Spanish, English, and Cantonese. NCD translated its report Lift Every Voice: Modernizing Disability Policies and Programs to Serve a Diverse Nation into Spanish and Chinese (in four parts: PDF1, PDF2, PDF3, PDF4).

NCD also has learned from grassroots witnesses and its Federal Advisory Committee on Cultural Diversity (2002 - 2008) that the best way to empower people from diverse cultures with disabilities and their families to take full advantage of federal laws, programs, and services is to provide them with (1) opportunities for participation in planning and decision making about matters that affect their lives; (2) easy-to-understand, culturally sensitive and appropriate information about what their rights are under various federal laws (e.g., ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, IDEA, the Fair Housing Act)  and (3) how best to exercise those rights when a violation occurs or discrimination is alleged.

NCD's Lift Every Voice highlighted and other reports[1] echoed a recommendation to the President and Congress in particular that has potential to enhance the impact of current policies and programs for people with disabilities who are culturally diverse and with LEP.  Included is the recommendation that the interagency team[2] should develop and implement a large-scale outreach and training program. The initiative will: (1) be targeted to people with disabilities from diverse cultural backgrounds and their families; (2) involve people with disabilities from diverse cultures in all phases of planning and implementation; (3) provide information directly to the target communities through a series of trainings across the country; (4) include among those who provide training leaders recognized within each cultural group; and (5) use training strategies that are appropriate for specific communities and groups across the country. These trainings should be repeated periodically so that new people are trained each year or two and materials are routinely updated.

This interagency team should work with disability communities, diverse cultural communities, and a broad array of organizations representing different types of disabilities, ethnic, racial, religious, civic and other interests. The interagency team should develop a workplan, timetables, with stakeholder consultation. In addition, NCD recommends that the interagency team recruit, train, and contract with people with disabilities from diverse cultural backgrounds and their family members to help (1) develop the written materials and programs that will be used for the different trainings; (2) translate materials into many languages with sensitivity to cultural appropriateness of terminology, and (3) conduct the trainings once the appropriate materials are translated, field tested on sample groups, and produced for dissemination in communities. The federal partners should include/accommodate often-overlooked groups among the people to be trained and the core group of trainers. Include young adults with disabilities, people in rural or isolated locations (i.e., tribal communities), people with mental health disabilities, and people with intellectual disabilities. NCD also recommends that Congress should provide funding to the federal sponsors of the trainings in order to eliminate any potential financial barriers to participation so that the population trained will truly represent the population to be served.

In 2000-2003, NCD translated reports (e.g., Back to School on Civil Rights; National Disability Policy: A Progress Report, December 2000-December 2001; Reconstructing Fair Housing; The Accessible Future) into Spanish, and provided language translators for selected regional briefings. NCD also began translating selected news releases and media advisories into Spanish and Chinese.

Implementation Plan for NCD Web Site and Publications

As a continuation of its cultural diversity and LEP outreach in Fiscal Year 2001, NCD added interim language translation software to its Web page. This language translation function, known as Babel Fish, is a free, automatic translation service that removes language barriers. Babel Fish translates these language pairs: English to French, German; Italian; Portuguese; and Spanish; French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish to English; French to German; and German to French. New language needs will be assessed periodically.

NCD also worked with the U.S. Government Printing Office, the agency that hosts the NCD Web site and approximately 30 other federal sites, to provide advice on how translation software for the DOJ recommended languages of Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Tagalog, and Korean can be added to all federal Web sites under GPO's purview. NCD recommended that DOJ recommend that GPO purchase or create the necessary software and apply it to each agency, thus creating a standard for at least 30 federal agencies.[3]

During Fiscal Year 2001, NCD published several reports and other documents on the implementation and enforcement of civil rights laws that affect people with disabilities. As part of its outreach practices, NCD assesses the (1) number or proportion of people in the eligible service population; (2) frequency with which LEP individuals contact with the agency; (3) the importance of services; and (4) the resources available.

Implementation Plan for Public Meetings

Pursuant to Section 522b (e) (1) of the Government in the Sunshine Act, (Pub. L. 94-409), NCD publishes in the Federal Register, notice of all meetings and asks people needing reasonable accommodations to notify and request services prior to the meetings. To that end, NCD will assess (1) the number or proportion of LEP people in the eligible service population; (2) the frequency with which LEP individuals contact the agency; (3) the importance of the service provided; and (4) the resources available. Beginning with its February 2001 meeting, NCD also made it standard practice to include requests for language translation as a reasonable accommodation in advance of each quarterly meeting.

Implementation Plan for the NCD Office

NCD will need funding assistance to carryout its plan to provide and expand language translation and assistance to any person with a disability who is LEP and in need of assistance. This will include telephone calls and office visits.

Conclusion

NCD will continue to make every effort to fully comply with EO 13166. In addition, based on the changing United Stated demographics and anticipated affect on language needs among people with disabilities, NCD stands ready to review its LEP plan at least annually, including the provision of opportunity for external stakeholder input and might lead to revisions therein.  NCD will apply the four-factor analysis and guidance developed by DOJ in considering what constitutes reasonable steps to ensure meaningful access. NCD will take concrete actions to address the inadequacies and unique needs of people who are culturally diverse and LEP, and work for their meaningful inclusion into our society. NCD will monitor the effectiveness of its LEP outreach and modify the plan when necessary. NCD will procure its LEP services through contracts that include consideration of the U.S. General Services Administration guidance.

[1] June 12, 2006 - NCD Voting Rights Act Reauthorization Statement (PDF); June 9, 2005 - "Same Struggle, Different Difference: Civil Rights Policy Forum" - Forum Summary Paper (PDF); Disability Matters in Tribal Communities 2004 (HTML) (PDF); August 1, 2003 - People With Disabilities on Tribal Lands: Education, Health Care, Vocational Rehabilitation, and Independent Living (PDF); November 20, 2003 - Outreach and People with Disabilities from Diverse Cultures: A Review of the Literature (PDF); August 10, 2000 - Closing the Gap: A Ten Point Strategy for the Next Decade of Disability Civil Rights Enforcement (PDF);

[2] Representatives from the departments such as Education, Labor, Health and Human Services, Justice, and Housing and Urban Development, along with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Small Business Administration, and Federal Communications Commission

 [3] Bureau of Land Management, Commission on the Roles and Capabilities of the United States Intelligence Community, Congress of the United States, Department of Interior Office of Inspector General, Executive Office of the President, Council of Economic Advisers, Office of Management and Budget, Export Administration Regulations, Federal Labor Relations Authority, Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission, Food and Drug Administration, General Accounting Office, Merit Systems Protection Board, National Archives and Records Administration's Office of the Federal Register, National Bankruptcy Review Commission, National Commission on Terrorism, National Council on Disability, National Gambling Impact Study Commission, National Labor Relations Board, National Mediation Board, Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, Office of Compliance, Office of Government Ethics, Office of Technology Assessment, U.S. Census Monitoring Board, United States Commission on Civil Rights, United States Supreme Court, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board, U.S. Trade Deficit Review Commission