The role of language liaisons in city agencies

Language Access Liaisons are the intermediaries between MIMA and their agency. Language Access Liaisons should have broad administrative knowledge of the agency so that they are positioned to move language access implementation forward. The following provides an overview of the liaison’s responsibilities:

Essential Functions of the Liaison

• Act as initial point of contact between  the agency and the MIMA
• Advise agency leadership on language access policy, protocol, implementation, and related language access issues.
• Serve as point person for implementation and monitoring & evaluation of the agency’s language access plan.
• Work with their agency to develop a comprehensive language access plan.
• Attend meetings with other agency Language Access Liaisons.

Training: 

• Establish a training schedule and organize regular, on-going training of agency staff to ensure they are aware of the contents of the agency’s language access plan and protocol.
• Ensure that newly hired staff are provided with language access training.

Outreach:

• Work with the agency to develop means of notifying the public of the availability of language services and how to   access them.
• Establish outreach methods, such as public advertising, community outreach, posted notices in public service areas, tag lines on agency documents, or information on the agency’s website.

Provision of Services:

• Troubleshoot issues as agency staff use language services.
• Work with MIMA to resolve issues that are identified through the feedback process or through other sources.

Monitoring:

• Use the reporting template designed by MIMA to submit annual reports documenting language access implementation.
• Collect, track and report language specific data on persons served and the use of language services.
• Work with contractors or grantees of the agency to ensure that they are aware of and comply with the City’s language access policy.

Working with bilingual staff within your agency

Bilingual employees are a tremendous asset to agencies that provide resident-facing services. However, please consider how bilingual employees are used. The tips below will help you leverage employees’ skills while also respecting an employee’s time and job description: 

Determine your employee’s language skill level. For example, you may have another Spanish-speaking employee who can verify a candidate’s language skills in an interview. If such verification isn’t possible, use professional services whenever possible, as the services’ interpreters and translators are trained and vetted.
Ask yourself what the consequence would be if, for example, an employee with unverified language skills translated a flyer incorrectly and you published that information.

1. Respect the language skills and expertise of bilingual employees, and consider language skills and the time required when creating new positions.
   
   For example, if two employees have identical job descriptions and one employee who speaks Spanish is expected to perform the same responsibilities as their English only colleague AND provide translation and interpretation services, you could be overburdening the employee with language skills.
2. Interpretation and translation take time. Give employees sufficient time and notice to perform these responsibilities well. You should not pull an employee from their regular tasks with  moment’s notice to provide interpretation for a town hall meeting. Likewise, an employee cannot be expected to translate a lengthy document (greater than 1 page) overnight. 
   If you require a quick turnaround, many third-party translation and interpretation companies can accommodate these rush requests.