New York: A survey of language translation services at city welfare offices finds obstacles for those with limited English skills

[Harold Schiffman]

City Limits WEEKLY Week of: December 17, 2007 Number: 618


IF YOU DON'T 'GET IT,' YOU MIGHT NOT GET BENEFITS

A survey of language translation services at city welfare offices
finds obstacles for those with limited English skills. > By Tram
Whitehurst

The city's welfare agency is not providing all of the language
translation services required by law at many of its offices, thus
making it harder for the Limited English Proficient (LEP) population
to access benefits – a population that largely needs and qualifies for
such benefits. That's according to a new report from Legal Services
for New York City (LSNY), which claims that one out of four New
Yorkers over the age of five does not speak English, or does not speak
it well. "Because LEP communities are growing at a rapid rate and
because LEP status is closely connected to poverty, food insecurity
and lack of economic mobility, LEP persons are more likely to need
critical public benefits," the report says. "Language access services
are vital services for LEP New Yorkers, immigrants and citizens alike,
and when denied, can result in hunger, eviction, and other grave
problems."

Advocates, local elected officials and clients of the Human Resources
Administration (HRA) gathered on the steps of City Hall last week to
discuss the findings and urge HRA to improve its services. The report
is based on a survey of all 69 HRA centers citywide, conducted in June
and July of this year, measuring compliance with Local Law 73, the
Equal Access to Human Services Act of 2003, which requires HRA to
provide language services to LEP clients. According to the report,
only 26 percent of food stamp, Medicaid and public assistance offices
offered all three of the basic language assistance services requested:
posted signs in multiple languages, translated applications and
bilingual staff. Fewer than two-thirds of the offices had an
interpreter, and applications in Spanish were available at just 18
percent of HRA centers.

"The data in our report reveals that the problems our LEP clients face
in accessing their benefits are a systemic issue," said attorney Amy
Taylor, the LSNY language access project coordinator and the report's
co-author. "Civil rights laws mandate the provision of language
services for limited English proficient New Yorkers, and when the law
is not followed, poor New Yorkers are unable to access the benefits
they need to survive." HRA responded by saying that "making our
programs accessible to people with limited English proficiency is a
priority of this administration." Spokeswoman Barbara Brancaccio did
not want to discuss specific claims until the agency can conduct its
own review of the findings.

"It is of great concern to us that these observations were made in
June 2007, but have been withheld for the purpose of releasing a
report, rather than working with the Agency to improve services to our
clients if needed," Brancaccio said in a statement released Wednesday.
"The report was finally given to HRA yesterday afternoon and it still
did not contain the specific results from the centers that were
surveyed. We are eager to review the specific findings in order to
ascertain whether they are accurate."

Several LEP clients spoke at the press conference about challenges
they faced in trying to apply for or keep benefits administered by
HRA. LSNY client Wan Sin Ng of Chinatown lost her Medicaid coverage
because she could not get recertification materials in her native
language. "Sometimes I would wait there four or five hours and nobody
can speak Cantonese," she said through an interpreter. "But by the
time it is our turn they would tell us there is no translator." Ng has
since had a hearing and got her benefits back.

Erika Rodriguez, a mother of two from Ridgewood, Queens and one of
many Make the Road by Walking members at the press conference, said
through an interpreter that she lost public assistance because her
caseworker didn't speak Spanish and interpreters were rarely around.
Her benefits were reinstated after a fair hearing this fall. "The
signs say translation services are available, but they're not,"
Rodriguez said.

But the report points out that the lack of translation assistance at
HRA centers is not a result of bad policy but of a breakdown in
administrative procedures. In fact, several speakers credited the
Bloomberg administration and HRA for their commitment to improving
services for LEP clients. "The city has invested significant resources
already," said attorney Dimple Abichandani, director of program
development at LSNY and report co-author. "The workers just don't know
about them."

The report recommends that HRA hold each center accountable for
compliance with language policies, monitor centers more closely, and
train all center staff on language policies and procedures. It also
recommends setting up a central public complaint system so that people
can give feedback without fear of retaliation; designating a language
policy coordinator at each center and making that person known to both
staff and the public; and creating a citywide taskforce of such
coordinators so they can share best practices and resources.

Advocates had previously challenged the lack of translation services
at HRA centers in a class action lawsuit settled in 1999. Randal
Jeffrey, director of the general legal services unit at New York Legal
Assistance Group, worked on the case, and said at the press
conference: "It's a shame that eight years after we filed the lawsuit
people are experiencing the exact same problems."

- Tram Whitehurst


 http://www.citylimits.org/content/articles/viewarticle.cfm?article_id=3463&content_type=1&media_type=3

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