Language Accessibility:
The City Can Strengthen
Efforts to Address Language
Equity Across Its Services
A Report from the City Auditor
Issued March 2024
http://www.sanjoseca.gov/auditor 1
Background
2 • More than 57% of residents in San José report
speaking a language other than English at home.
• The City’s Language Equity Policy and Guidelines
expects departments to take reasonable steps to
provide equitable access to language assistance
services.
• The City currently has contracts with 11 vendors
who provide language services.
• As of June 2023, there were nearly 900 certified
bilingual staff in the City.
• The City has initiatives to improve customer service
and training to manage communication barriers.
Most Common Languages in the City by Census Tract
Source: Auditor created based on data from the City’s GIS language map.
Note: Other languages may be commonly spoken in each area.
Finding I: Departments Have Made Some Progress
on Addressing Language Accessibility, But Additional
Work Remains.
• Based on a review of five City services, we
found all had made some progress in
implementing aspects of the Language Equity
Policy and Guidelines.
• Reviewed services varied in the extent to
which they addressed the policy’s
requirements and best practices.
• Common areas of improvement included
addressing language access at common
points of customer contact, such as phone
trees, translations of vital documents, and
signage.
3 Recommendations: The Administration
should:
→ Monitor language accessibility of common
points of customer contact across
departments
→ Require customer facing departments
designate Language Access Coordinators
and develop Language Access Plans
→ Develop additional resources to support
department efforts around language
accessibility
→ Create performance metrics and a system
to review progress
Finding I: Departments Have Made Some Progress
on Addressing Language Accessibility, But Additional
Work Remains.
• Departments have not generally assigned
Language Access Coordinators, which is a
best practice recommended in the policy.
• The Administration can provide additional
guidance or resources for departments to
support language access efforts.
• Currently, there are no performance metrics
or systems to gauge progress on language
accessibility and promote improvement over
time.
Finding 2: Bilingual Staff Are a Resource to the
City, Though Clarity on Their Role is Needed.
5 • Certified bilingual staff use their bilingual
skills to provide direct services to
residents, businesses, and visitors.
• Certified bilingual staff assist in other areas
within their department and assist other
City departments.
• Bilingual staff expressed generally positive
views of their role in providing services to
the community.
Bilingual Staff Assist Individuals in Several City Areas 25 (8%)
54 (17%)
61 (19%)
138 (43%)
261 (81%)
Other
As part of the Emergency Operations
Center
Other City departments
Other areas within my department
Part of my normal duties
Source: Auditor analysis of responses to the question “Select the areas of the City in which you provide your bilingual services [select all that apply]” 6 Recommendations: The Administration
should:
→ Clarify the expectations and role of
bilingual staff, including those that do
not receive bilingual pay
→ Reconcile bilingual certification records
for staff who receive bilingual pay as
necessary
• Bilingual staff have noted that their regular
duties are impacted by their bilingual workload.
• Additionally, some staff may be asked to act as
interpreters, which they may not be qualified or
trained to do.
• The City has made improvements to the
bilingual certification process, though there may
potentially be certification records not on file
for some certified bilingual staff.
Finding 2: Bilingual Staff Are a Resource to the
City, Though Clarity on Their Role is Needed.
Conclusion
This report has 12 recommendations to improve language equity across the City’s services.
We would like to thank the City Manager’s Office of Communications, the City Attorney’s Office, certified bilingual staff who participated in our survey and focus groups, and all City departments who assisted in the audit.
The audit report is available at www.sanjoseca.gov/auditor Audit staff: Brittney Harvey, Adrian Perez, Hiwad Haider, Eduardo GarciaEscobar (Stanford in Government fellow) 7