Laws and Legislation

Abstract:

Requires the New York City Human Resources Adminstration to provide equal access to Food Stamps, Medicaid and public assistance to all limited English proficient (LEP) New Yorkers. LEP New Yorkers have the right to receive free language assistance services and varying departments must document the language access needs of clients and agency capability.

Author: Liu|Brewer|DeBlasio, et al.
Publication Date: Dec/22/2003
Source: New York, NY: City Council
Contact Info: Andrew FriedmanCo-Director, Make the Road by Walkingandrew@maketheroad.org

Full Text:

Providing Equal Access to Public Services for Limited
English Proficient Residents
Intro38A: Equal Access to Health and Human Services Act,
New York City, 2003
Overview
One in four New Yorkers, over two million people, are limited English proficient (LEP).
Hundreds of thousands of families eligible for public assistance have historically been unable to
fully access services. The New York City Human Resources Administration (HRA), which is
responsible for administering government benefits such as Food Stamps, Medicaid, and welfare,
was found to be in violation of Title VI of the Federal Civil Rights Act in 1999, but the agency
failed to take corrective action.
The Policy
On December 22, 2003, New York City Mayor Bloomberg signed into law the Equal Access to
Health and Human Services Act (Intro 38A). The legislation set a five-year phase-in for full
compliance, and:
• Requires the HRA to provide equal access to Food Stamps, Medicaid, and public
assistance to all limited English proficient (LEP) New Yorkers who seek or receive
services. This includes free and prompt interpretation services regardless of language
spoken and translation of all documents for the public in Spanish, Chinese, Russian,
Arabic, Korean, and Creole;
• Mandates that the HRA must notify all LEP New Yorkers of their right to receive free
language assistance services upon initial contact, post signs throughout HRA offices, and
include fliers in every application and recertification packet; and
• Establishes strict, new reporting requirements for HRA, the Department of Health and
Mental Health, the Administration of Children Services, and Department of Homeless
Services to document the language access needs of all applicants, the staff capacity of
each agency to provide language assistance services, and the availability of translated
written materials in the most commonly requested languages. In addition, these agencies
must publish an annual report detailing the need for language access services, the
capacity of each agency to provide the services, and compliance with Intro 38A.
Impact
Intro 38 may be the strongest language access bill in the nation. An estimated 400,000 HRA
clients will now have equal access to benefits and services. While the city has five years to fully
implement the law, local advocates have already noted a difference. HRA has hired 200
additional bilingual staff serving over 30,000 LEP clients. “There has been a sea change in the
city’s attitude to limited English speakers applying for assistance,” says Andrew Friedman, Co-
Director of Make the Road by Walking. “In 1997, we tested welfare offices and found that only
14 percent of caseworkers who spoke another language were properly matched with LEP clients.
Our most recent test found an over 90 percent match rate. We have found that the signs are
already up and that language is no longer an insuperable obstacle to accessing services.” In
addition, the legislation creates organizing handles for expanding interpretation and translation
services at other city agencies.
Key Players
Make the Road by Walking (MRBW) and the New York Immigrant Coalition (NYIC) were the
primary organizations leading the campaign. MRBW is a community-based organization of lowincome
Latino and African American New Yorkers that is based in Bushwick, Brooklyn. The
NYIC is an umbrella policy and advocacy organization for approximately 150 groups in New
York State that work with immigrants and refugees. SEIU Local 32BJ, a progressive building
trades union with a 65 percent immigrant membership, also played a strong ally role, as did the
New York Civic Participation Project, which helped coordinate the 2003 culmination of the
Immigrant Rights Freedom Rides in New York. After years of disputes over language access, the
AFSME District Council 37 representing welfare caseworkers endorsed the legislation.
Winning the Policy
The equal access campaign took over five years from start to finish. In 1997, MRBW began
documenting language discrimination at welfare offices and filed a civil rights complaint, along
with the New York Immigration Coalition, with the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR), which found the city to be in violation of federal civil
rights law. In 2001, MRBW and civil rights advocates won a settlement of a federal class action
lawsuit, Ramirez v. Giuliani, about New York City’s failure to provide LEP New Yorkers with
meaningful access to the Food Stamp Program by failing to provide language interpreters. This
legal strategy was coupled with a grassroots organizing campaign to bring public attention to the
issue, change program implementation, and force the city to pass a comprehensive language
access law.
The attack of September 11th and the ensuing fiscal crisis in New York City made City Council
members shy away from the costs of providing new language assistance services. MRBW and
allies, however, continued to mobilize around the issue and win public support. Throughout the
campaign, the issue was framed as ending discrimination and protecting the civil rights of all
New Yorkers. “In our media messaging, in our actions, and in our materials, we worked hard to
say this was a civil rights issue and made sure that we did not polarize the issue,” reflects
Friedman of MRBW. “We did not frame this as an immigrants’ rights issue or a poverty
issue—it was an issue of fairness that had broad appeal in a city where one in four New Yorkers
have limited English proficiency.”
The 2003 Immigrant Rights Freedom Rides gave the campaign the final push it needed to pass
the Equal Access to Health and Human Services Act. The New York Civic Participation Project,
which coordinated New York’s activities for the Freedom Rides, refused to let political
candidates vying to win Latino and immigrant votes speak before a crowd of over 80,000
without agreeing to endorse the bill. When Mayor Bloomberg signed the bill into law in
December 2003, he decided to tout its passage by giving a public speech in Spanish.
Challenges
Securing resources for language access at a time when New York City had fewer resources to
allocate made it difficult to advance more ambitious reforms and to expand language access to
other city agencies. With limited resources, organizations involved in this effort have found it
challenging to secure institutional support and resources for monitoring, implementation, and
replication of language access reforms. “When it comes to policy reform, funders seem to prefer
supporting policy groups,” notes Andrew Friedman of MRBW, adding, “Democratically
structured grassroots organizations often do not get the necessary resources to be able to
spearhead policy campaigns.”
Replicability
Access to public services for people with limited English proficiency is an issue that is growing
in importance across the nation as the immigrant population expands in both urban and rural
settings. As the New York City campaign shows, even with a significant percentage of LEP
residents, policy changes involve sustained efforts on a variety of fronts over an extended period
of time. In areas where LEP residents make up a much smaller percentage of the population than
in New York City, a key to success can be reframing this issue not as the need of a minority for
special services but as the responsibility of the majority to ensure equality and fairness for all
community members.

URL: http://www.arc.org/pdf/170pdf.pdf

Notes:

Related Names: Make the Road by Walking|New York Immigrant Coalition

Contact Info: Andrew FriedmanCo-Director, Make the Road by Walkingandrew@maketheroad.org