[lg policy] North Dakota: STUTSMAN COUNTY PUBLIC MEETING NOTICE/LANGUAGE POLICY

[Harold Schiffman]

STUTSMAN COUNTY PUBLIC MEETING NOTICE/LANGUAGE POLICY

Notice

Stutsman County, North Dakota, in an effort to comply with Title VI,
hereby assures its citizens
that a paper notice of all public announcements and meetings shall be
made available for
publication to the following organizations:

1) Stutsman County Social Services
2) Stutsman County Auditor’s Office
3) Stutsman County Chamber of Commerce
4) James River Correctional Center
5) Jamestown City Hall

By providing notice to the organizations listed above, Stutsman
County, North Dakota hopes to
encourage all Stutsman County citizens, including women and
minorities, to attend and
participate in public outreach programs.

Language

Statistics gathered from the Census Bureau (www.census.gov)
demonstrate that a vast majority
(18, 265 people out of a reporting 19,412 people - 94%) in Stutsman
County, North Dakota,
speak only English. 127 Spanish-speaking individuals speak English
“less than very well” and
182 German-speaking individuals speak English “less than very well.”
The amount of other
non-English speaking individuals who speak English “less than very
well” is less than 100 per
language. For example, the amount of Scandinavian-speaking individuals
who speak English
“less than very well” is 30.

As such, Stutsman County will not provide interpreters for non-English
speaking individuals at
public meetings and will not provide notice of public announcements in
languages other than
English. However, the relevant Stutsman County department hosting the
meeting or publishing
the notice shall make arrangements for a necessary translation upon
request. The relevant
Stutsman County Department shall seek guidance from the Title VI
coordinator where necessary
to determine the most efficient method of providing a translation.
Additionally, if a public
notice or meeting is likely to affect individuals who speak English
“less than very well,” the
relevant Stutsman County Department shall make necessary
accommodations automatically.

Documentation

When notice of a public meeting or outreach program is made available
to the public, the
relevant Stutsman County Department shall provide a copy of the notice
and a brief indication of
whether language services are expected to be necessary and an
explanation of why/why not.
When language services are requested or the relevant Stutsman County
Department feels that a
translation will likely be necessary, the relevant department shall
provide a brief documentation
to the Title VI Coordinator indicating: 1) the date, 2) why language
services were necessary, 3)
what they did to provide the necessary services, 3) how many people
were served, and 4) whether
the services were adequate.

http://www.co.stutsman.nd.us/files/public_outreach_policy_statement.pdf

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