** Please visit our website: http://www.africanassociation.org **

I would like to take the opportunity to clear up any confusion that may
exist regarding the City of Madison Language Assistance Program (LAP)
which I coordinate as the Equal Opportunity Analyst for the City of
Madison Affirmative Action Department.

In the Mayor's proposal to create the Office of Civil Rights,
$20,000.00 was added to the Language Assistance Program for translation
services. Some folks have taken the addition of these funds to mean
that The City of Madison has not been meeting the needs of Limited
English Proficient (LEP) Persons in our community or may not be in
compliance with Title VI. This is not the case.

Currently there are 14 City agencies who receive Federal Funds - those
agencies are fully compliant with Title VI. All city agencies
regardless of whether they receive Federal Funds operate under the
terms of the City-Wide Language Assistance Program
(http://www.ci.madison.wi.us/affact/Language%20Assistance%20Plan.html).

Work is being done toward the creation of a more comprehensive
Language Assistance Program that will be similar in scope to what is
required under Title VI. As part of this effort we are in the process
of
forming a Language Assistance Program Advisory Group made up of
representatives of city agencies and also plan to hold focus groups
with Community Based Organizations in order to obtain their input into
the needs of the Limited English Proficient population.

The $20,000.00 which has been proposed for LAP is intended to enhance
the services that each City agency already provides to LEP persons. It
is my understanding that the Mayors office wanted to add money to
translation services so that we could go beyond providing the basics in
translation and interpretation services. An example would be public
hearings such as the one held last night by the EOC. Rather than a
Spanish or Hmong interpreter being in attendance only if requested - LEP
persons could feel confident that one would be present regardless of a
request. This would send a signal that we are welcoming and encouraging
participation from the LEP community. This might take some time to catch
on, but it sends a very important message. Simply put, this money is in
addition to money that agencies already spend on translation and
interpretation services.

The Affirmative Action Department coordinates the Language Assistance
Program for the City of Madison, which means that we serve as a resource
to those agencies who may need assistance in meeting the needs of LEP
persons. A small portion of the money proposed for LAP will go towards
website improvements (for city employees reference) and the creation of
a database to track related data.

As the coordinator of the Language Assistance Program I am thankful
that the Mayor has recognized the need for additional monies for
translation and interpretation as it will allow city staff to exceed
the already excellent service we provide to the community.

If you have any questions regarding Language Assistance, please
contact me at 608-266-6511.

Sincerely,
Hedi Rudd


Hedi Rudd
Equal Opportunity Analyst
Affirmative Action Department
Madison Municipal Bldg., Suite 130
215 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd
Madison, WI 53701-1626

608-266-6511 Phone
608-267-1142 Fax
http://www.ci.madison.wi.us/affact/AAIndex.html

"You keep plugging away--that's the way social change
takes place. That's the way every social change in history
has taken place: by a lot of people, who nobody ever heard
of, doing work."
Noam Chomsky

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