The Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office (“Public Defender”) provides services to an incredibly diverse population in thirty-two locations across Los Angeles County (for both adults and minors). The Public Defender is committed to providing equitable access to its services, regardless of someone’s preferred language. This Departmental Language Access Plan (“DLAP”) outlines the Public Defender’s commitment to language access and will be publicly available on our website.
The Public Defender’s commitment to language access is also consistent with law prohibiting discrimination. The California Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination by agencies that receive state funds and requires them to provide equal access to benefits without regard to the beneficiary’s race, color, national origin, or ethnic group identification among other factors. (Cal. Gov’t. Code §11135(a); The Bilingual Services Act requires local agencies to provide language access services to limited English-proficient speakers. (Cal. Gov’t. Code § 7290.) Federal requirements include Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. § 2000 Et Seq.)
A. General Plan Statement
The Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office has prepared this Departmental Language Access Plan (DLAP) to define the protocols and procedures taken by the Public Defender to ensure meaningful and universal access to Public Defender services and programs for people who identify as speaking a language other than English. Meaningful and universal access means that the Department will provide Language Access services that are free of cost, clearly advertised, and immediately available, such that LOTE speakers can access Departmental programs and services just as easily as someone with English as their primary language.
B. Scope of Plan
This DLAP applies to employees and contractors.
Speaker of a Language Other Than English ("LOTE"): Also known as Limited English Proficiency (LEP) or English Language Learner (ELL), this designation refers to individuals who do not speak English as their primary language and who do not fluently read, write, or speak English.
Preferred Language: The primary language in which an individual prefers to read, write, and speak.
Interpretation: Rendering spoken or signed language into another language while maintaining the meaning and tone of the language.
Translation: Rendering written communication into another language while preserving meaning.
Vital Documents: Documents that affect enrollment, continued participation, or termination from a county program, benefit, or service.
Language Access: The provision of free language assistance to LOTE speakers in their preferred language, including through interpretation and translation services, to help enable reasonable access to and an opportunity to fully participate in the services, resources, and programs administered by the County.
Language Access Complaint: Common scenarios include but are not limited to the availability of language services not communicated to the public, when language services were not provided when requested, and when the quality of language services did not meet the needs of the LOTE speaker.
A. Identifying Preferred Languages
Our department has procedures to identify a LOTE speaker’s preferred language. Specifically, staff that regularly interact with clients and potential clients will have received training on identifying and documenting preferred languages. This training will include signage in public facing spaces such as office lobbies, common cues to be aware of, cultural competence to equip public facing employees with necessary knowledge to be able to identify LOTE speakers and respectfully elicit preferred languages, and proper intake approaches to quickly identify preferred languages in person, over the phone, in the courtroom, or in the jails. When a LOTE speaker’s preferred language is not one of the identified priority languages, our department will make efforts to secure a qualified interpreter within a reasonable time.
B. Vital Documents
The Department of the Public Defender has identified the waiver of presence, the HIPAA waiver, and website content as vital documents to a LOTE speaker receiving Public Defender services. The waiver of presence and the HIPAA waiver are vital documents because they are commonly used documents in hundreds if not thousands of cases. The website is a vital document because it is the most common way a client, client family member, or other community member, finds important information about the Department. Any other case-specific document will be translated on a case-by-case, as-needed basis with the assistance of a qualified interpreter.
C. Plan on Untrained Interpreters
The Department of the Public Defender does not have any untrained interpreters. Interpreters are hired based on identified criteria.
Language Assistance resources will be advertised in all of the priority languages in the lobby of every Departmental office throughout the County as well as on the Departmental website and social media platforms. The website notification of language assistance will be placed in a prominent location and the notice will be in all of the priority languages. All public facing employees will be trained on the importance of advertising the existence of language assistance services when communicating with a potential LOTE speaker in other settings, such as over the phone, via email, in the courtroom, jail, prison or during community events.
A. Evaluation of Language Assistance
External language service providers are exclusively appointed by the court, and their qualifications, background and training are vetted by Professional Appointee Court Expenditure (“PACE”). Internal language service providers (i.e., bilingual staff) are tested initially and participate in training every three years that addresses cultural competency, appropriate contexts for translation, and the most used legal vocabulary. Our department collects annual metrics that track LOTE speakers through the internal Case Management System.
B. Complaint Process
If a client or member of the community feels that the Department did not adequately provide language access services, the Department will have a complaint procedure. The procedure will be accessible and easily identifiable on the department’s public website. The complaint procedure will have a dedicated email address and phone number for language access issues. The individual can reach out with either the phone number or the email address to the Language Access contact person, who will review the complaint and take appropriate actions. This process is in development and will be operational by December 1, 2025.
The Department of the Public Defender will distribute the DLAP to all staff within 60 days of the Department’s Language Access Plan being published. This plan will be reviewed every two years to ensure it is still up to date.
By June 30, 2025, the Department of the Public Defender will provide training to the entire staff on the Department’s Language Access Plan. All staff who regularly interact with the public will be trained on how to access the Department’s language assistance resources.
All new staff members will be trained on the Department’s Language Access Plan within six months of onboarding.
All staff will be trained in the Department’s Language Access Plan every five years.
Our Department is in the process of making our website available in the following languages: Spanish, Cantonese and Mandarin, Armenian, Korean, Vietnamese, and Tagalog.
Our Department frequently partners with a variety of community-based organizations, such as community colleges, law schools, nonprofits and legal professional associations. The Department will work with these community partners to disseminate information about our department’s programs and services. In addition, the Public Defender will partner with community stakeholders such as the Mexican Consulate, CIELO, the Latina Lawyers Bar Association, California Public Defender’s Association, and others with subject matter expertise and strong ties to these communities in setting up best practices around language access.