REPORT SUMMARY
The City & County of San Francisco ( the City ) continues to lead the nation in prioritizing language access and improving the efficacy and implementation of the Language Access Ordinance ( LAO ). For FY 2016-2017 , 51 City departments , or 100 % of required reporting departments , submitted progress reports . While some departments continue to face challenges in tracking data and capturing client information , there has been a steady increase in the number of Limited English Proficient ( LEP ) individuals served . In the past year , departments increased their in-person and telephonic interpretation services ; overall , there was a 3 % increase in LEP clients served .
Interestingly , while departments have become more conscientious about translating information for the public , the reported number of translated printed materials decreased , as did overall language service expenditures . Translation tends to be a one-time cost , so unless materials are updated or new documents are created , this trend is likely to continue .
NEW REPORTING
This year , the Office of Civic Engagement & Immigrant Affairs ( OCEIA ) introduced online dashboards , a new way to visualize individual and aggregated data over a three-year period . The dashboards allow easy comparison and assessment of each department ’ s progress toward its self-defined language access goals , along with the ability to monitor systemic language access patterns and analyze LAO data across different variables .
Individual department data and citywide information are now easily accessible through the online dashboards at : sfgov . org / oceia / laoreport
DEPARTMENTAL COMPLIANCE : BY THE NUMBERS
51 Departments
Required to File Reports
8 | LAO 2018
51 Departments Filed Reports
39 Departments
Filed Reports on Time