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1 | | either "not well" or "not at all".
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2 | | (b) It is the intent of the General Assembly to: |
3 | | (1) ensure that limited English proficient persons in |
4 | | this State are provided meaningful access to State |
5 | | programs, services, and information; |
6 | | (2) ensure that every agency and recipient of State |
7 | | funds provides linguistic access to limited English |
8 | | proficient individuals; |
9 | | (3) ensure that State-conducted and funded programs, |
10 | | services, and activities provide limited English |
11 | | proficient persons with equitable access; |
12 | | (4) increase access to State benefits and programs; |
13 | | (5) improve efficiency in the provision of benefits and |
14 | | services; |
15 | | (6) enhance and ensure appropriate resource |
16 | | utilization; and |
17 | | (7) improve access to State benefits, programs, and |
18 | | services to vulnerable populations.
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19 | | Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
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20 | | "Agency" means all State government agencies, |
21 | | constitutional offices, boards, and commissions, and all |
22 | | recipients of State general revenue funds, including, but not |
23 | | limited to, all agencies, organizations, and persons receiving |
24 | | State funding in order to provide a program or service and lead |
25 | | an activity. |
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1 | | "Bilingual" means a person who has some degree of |
2 | | proficiency in 2 languages. |
3 | | "Customer" or "client" means any person seeking to access |
4 | | agency programs, services, activities, or information. |
5 | | "Interpreter" means an individual who renders a message |
6 | | spoken or signed in one language into a second language and who |
7 | | abides by a code of professional ethics. "Interpreter" includes |
8 | | any of the following: |
9 | | (1) "Ad hoc interpreter" means an untrained individual |
10 | | who is called upon to interpret, such as a family member |
11 | | interpreting for his or her parents, a bilingual staff |
12 | | member pulled away from other duties to interpret, or a |
13 | | self-declared bilingual who volunteers to interpret. "Ad |
14 | | hoc interpreter" may also be referred to as a chance |
15 | | interpreter or lay interpreter. |
16 | | (2) "Bilingual worker/employee" means an employee who |
17 | | is a proficient speaker of two languages and who may |
18 | | provide direct services in both languages but who, without |
19 | | additional training, is not qualified to serve as an |
20 | | interpreter. |
21 | | (3) "Dual-role interpreter" means a bilingual employee |
22 | | who has been tested for language skills and trained as an |
23 | | interpreter and who assumes the task of part-time |
24 | | interpreting willingly. |
25 | | "Interpreting" means any of the following:
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26 | | (1) "Community interpreting" means interpreting that |
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1 | | takes place in the course of communication in the local |
2 | | community among speakers of different languages. A |
3 | | "community interpreter" may or may not be a trained |
4 | | interpreter. "Community" settings include schools, social |
5 | | service agencies, clinics, legal services, and businesses |
6 | | that serve a diverse clientele. |
7 | | (2) "Face-to-face interpreting" means interpreting in |
8 | | which the interpreter is present, in person, and with both, |
9 | | or a least one, of the persons for whom interpreting is |
10 | | provided. |
11 | | (3) "Telephone interpreting" or "telephonic |
12 | | interpreting" means interpreting carried out remotely, |
13 | | with the interpreter providing the service connected by |
14 | | telephone to the principal parties, typically provided |
15 | | through a speaker phone or headsets. |
16 | | "Language" means a manner of communication utilized by one |
17 | | person to communicate with another person.
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18 | | "Language access services" (LAS) means mechanisms used to |
19 | | facilitate communication with individuals who do not speak |
20 | | English, those who have limited English proficiency, and those |
21 | | who are deaf or hard of hearing. These services may include, |
22 | | but are not limited to, in-person interpreters, bilingual |
23 | | staff, or remote interpreting systems, such as telephone or |
24 | | video interpreting. "Language access services" also refer to |
25 | | processes in place to provide translation of written materials |
26 | | or signage, sign language, or Braille materials. |
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1 | | "Limited English proficient" (LEP) means a level of English |
2 | | proficiency that is insufficient to ensure equal access to |
3 | | public services without language assistance with respect to a |
4 | | particular type of service, benefit, or encounter. An LEP |
5 | | person does not speak English as his or her primary language |
6 | | and has limited ability to read, write, speak, or understand |
7 | | English. |
8 | | "Meaningful access" means when agencies and their |
9 | | contractors and subcontractors take reasonable steps to ensure |
10 | | programs and services normally provided in English are |
11 | | accessible to LEP persons and thus do not discriminate on the |
12 | | basis of national origin in violation of the prohibition |
13 | | against national origin discrimination under Title VI of the |
14 | | Civil Rights Act of 1964. Compliance involves the balancing of |
15 | | 4 factors: (1) the number and proportion of eligible LEP |
16 | | customers; (2) the frequency of contact with LEP customers; (3) |
17 | | the importance or impact of the contact upon the lives of the |
18 | | person served; and (4) the resources available to the |
19 | | organization. This 4-factor LEP analysis may be applied to the |
20 | | different types of programs or activities that each agency |
21 | | provides to determine the level of language assistance measures |
22 | | sufficient to assure full compliance or to demonstrate |
23 | | reasonable efforts. |
24 | | "Person" means any individual, corporation, partnership, |
25 | | firm, organization, or association acting individually or as a |
26 | | group.
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1 | | "Reasonable steps" means steps taken to provide language |
2 | | access to LEP persons in agreement with this Act and in |
3 | | compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
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4 | | "Staff" means the group of individuals formally affiliated |
5 | | with an institution, including paid employees, contractors, |
6 | | sub-contractors, and unpaid volunteers.
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7 | | "State" means the State of Illinois.
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8 | | "Translation services" means the conversion of a written |
9 | | text into a corresponding written text in a different language.
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10 | | Section 15. State-conducted programs and activities. |
11 | | (a) Each agency shall prepare an LAS Plan that shall |
12 | | improve access to its State-conducted programs and activities |
13 | | for eligible LEP persons.
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14 | | (b) Each agency LAS Plan shall include the steps the agency |
15 | | will take to ensure eligible LEP persons can meaningfully |
16 | | access the agency's programs and activities. |
17 | | (c) Agencies shall develop and begin to implement LAS Plans |
18 | | within 120 days of the effective date of this Act and shall |
19 | | send copies of their LAS Plans to the Illinois Latino Family |
20 | | Commission, which shall serve as the central repository of the |
21 | | agencies' LAS Plans.
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22 | | (d) Each agency that already has developed a LAS Plan shall |
23 | | examine their existing guidelines, as well as their programs |
24 | | and activities, to determine if additional guidelines are |
25 | | necessary to comply with this Act. The Illinois Latino Family |
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1 | | Commission shall consult with the agencies in creating their |
2 | | guidelines. Within 120 days of the effective date of this Act, |
3 | | each agency shall submit its specific guidelines to the |
4 | | Illinois Latino Family Commission for review and approval.
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5 | | (e) Agency LAS Plans shall provide: |
6 | | (1) A 4-factor meaningful access assessment that shall |
7 | | include:
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8 | | (A) the number or proportion of LEP persons |
9 | | eligible to be served or likely to be encountered by |
10 | | the program or agency; |
11 | | (B) the frequency with which LEP individuals come |
12 | | into contact with the program;
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13 | | (C) the nature and importance of the program, |
14 | | activity, or service provided by the recipient to its |
15 | | beneficiaries; and
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16 | | (D) the resources available to the agency and the |
17 | | costs of interpretation and translation services.
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18 | | (2) A language needs assessment tool based on the |
19 | | 4-factor analysis to establish: |
20 | | (A) a systemic protocol of data collection; and |
21 | | (B) tracking of languages served and eligible to be |
22 | | served. |
23 | | (3) All print materials, Internet website language, |
24 | | and other mechanisms or forms that shall be used by the |
25 | | agency to provide notice to persons of the agency's LAS |
26 | | Plan. |
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1 | | (4) Agency compliance with Sections 25 and 30 of this |
2 | | Act. |
3 | | (f) Each agency shall file its LAS Plan Status Report with |
4 | | the Illinois Latino Family Commission on an annual basis. The |
5 | | first Status Report shall be filed by each agency on or before |
6 | | May 31, 2015, and on or before every May 31 thereafter. |
7 | | Section 20. State-assisted programs and activities.
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8 | | (a) Each agency providing State financial assistance and |
9 | | each agency contracted by the State to provide services shall |
10 | | prepare an LAS Plan that shall be specifically tailored to its |
11 | | LEP clients and is consistent with the LEP Guidelines in this |
12 | | Act, as well as with rules adopted pursuant to this Act. |
13 | | (b) Each agency LAS Plan shall include the steps the agency |
14 | | will take to ensure eligible LEP persons can meaningfully |
15 | | access the agency's programs and activities. |
16 | | (c) Each agency shall develop and begin to implement their |
17 | | LAS Plans within 120 days of the effective date of this Act and |
18 | | shall send copies of their LAS Plans to the Illinois Latino |
19 | | Family Commission, which shall serve as the central repository |
20 | | of the agencies' LAS Plans. |
21 | | (d) Agency LAS Plans shall include: |
22 | | (1) the number or proportion of LEP persons eligible to |
23 | | be served or likely to be encountered by the program or |
24 | | grantee; |
25 | | (2) the frequency with which LEP persons come into |
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1 | | contact with the program; |
2 | | (3) the nature and importance of the program, activity, |
3 | | or service provided by the recipient to its beneficiaries; |
4 | | (4) the resources available to the grantee or recipient |
5 | | and the costs of interpretation and translation services; |
6 | | (5) a language needs assessment tool based on the |
7 | | 4-factor analysis to establish a systemic protocol of data |
8 | | collection and tracking of languages served and eligible to |
9 | | be served; and |
10 | | (6) all print materials, Internet website language, |
11 | | and other mechanisms or forms that shall be used by the |
12 | | agency to provide notice to persons of the agency's LAS |
13 | | Plan. |
14 | | (e) Each agency shall file its LAS Plan Status Report with |
15 | | the Illinois Latino Family Commission on an annual basis. The |
16 | | first Status Report shall be filed by each agency on or before |
17 | | May 31, 2015, and on or before every May 31 thereafter.
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18 | | Section 25. Staffing of State-conducted programs.
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19 | | (a) Agencies shall have minimum bilingual staffing levels |
20 | | and requirements. |
21 | | (1) For agency staff with a 15% or more LEP person |
22 | | caseload, the position shall be designated "bilingual". A |
23 | | position designated "bilingual" shall not be filled by a |
24 | | monolingual staff person. A reclassification of staff |
25 | | positions from "bilingual" to "monolingual" shall require |
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1 | | the approval of the Governor's Office of New Americans.
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2 | | (2) Each agency shall assess language proficiency |
3 | | using a formal written and oral examination. The staff |
4 | | person's score in the examination shall determine |
5 | | qualified bilingual persons that can offer direct |
6 | | conversations to the LEP client. |
7 | | (b) State agencies shall provide interpreters who have |
8 | | received a minimum of 100 hours of interpreter training on |
9 | | techniques and professional standards of practice. Each State |
10 | | agency shall:
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11 | | (1) create an internal pool of trained and qualified |
12 | | interpreters using a 100-hour curriculum; |
13 | | (2) develop and make accessible to all agency staff a |
14 | | complete and up-to-date directory of qualified |
15 | | interpreters utilized by the agency; and
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16 | | (3) assess and build current LAS resources and provide |
17 | | a reliable method of communicating these resources to state |
18 | | agencies.
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19 | | Section 30. Language Assistance Protocol. |
20 | | (a) Each agency shall conduct at least one annual staff |
21 | | training on the following:
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22 | | (1) the agency's existing LAS Plans; |
23 | | (2) the agency's need to provide qualified |
24 | | interpreters to LEP clients; and
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25 | | (3) interpreter use, including, but not limited to, |
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1 | | interpreter competencies, professional standards of |
2 | | practice, interpreter code of ethics, and quality of |
3 | | service. |
4 | | (b) Each agency shall assign a senior-level staff person to |
5 | | oversee implementation of the agency's LAS Plan and to monitor |
6 | | internal LAS initiatives, programs, filings, and |
7 | | communications.
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8 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January |
9 | | 1, 2015.".
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