Audit Report on the Compliance of the New York City Department for the Aging with Executive Order 120 Regarding Limited English Proficiency

Special Reports

Executive Summary

This audit focuses on whether the New York City Department for the Aging (DFTA) complied with Executive Order 120 (EO 120).  DFTA’s mission is to work for the empowerment, independence, dignity and quality-of-life of New York City’s diverse older adults and for the support of their families through advocacy, education, and the coordination and delivery of services.  DFTA procures services through contracts with service providers and through those providers, engages in collaborative partnerships with community-based organizations for the provision of programs and services, which aim to foster independence, safety, wellness, community participation, and quality of life.

With more than four million foreign-born residents from more than 200 different countries, New York is home to one of the most diverse populations in the world.  New Yorkers come from every corner of the globe and speak over 200 different languages.  Over 75 percent of all New Yorkers speak a language other than English at home, and almost 46 percent, or 1.8 million people, are limited in English proficiency.  For these New Yorkers, interacting with City government can often be a challenge.

Local Law 73 was enacted in 2003 for the purpose of enhancing the ability of City residents with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) to interact with City government and more specifically to obtain needed social services.  The law applies to four social service agencies: the Human Resources Administration; the Department of Homeless Services; the Administration for Children’s Services; and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.  It requires free language assistance services be provided for clients at job centers and food stamp offices, and when they seek to obtain other services from any of those four City agencies.

In July 2008, Mayor Bloomberg signed EO 120, which requires all City agencies to provide opportunities for limited English speakers to communicate with City agencies and receive public services.  EO 120 specifically requires City agencies providing direct public services to ensure meaningful access to those services to LEP persons.  To accomplish this, EO 120 requires these agencies to develop and implement agency-specific language assistance plans for LEP persons.

Results

The audit found that DFTA generally complied with EO 120.  A review of each of DFTA’s Language Access Plans from 2009 through 2016 demonstrates that DFTA has made substantial progress in providing meaningful language access to the agency’s services for LEP customers at its central office located at 2 Lafayette Street.  Each annual Access Plan described the steps that DFTA has taken to provide additional services to the LEP population. 

At 2 Lafayette Street, Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., DFTA staff provide direct services to seniors that include referring seniors to services, and providing information about available benefits including food stamp eligibility and the application process, seniors’ rights under equal employment opportunity laws, and the availability of senior citizen centers in New York City.

The audit found that DFTA generally provides these services to its customers in the top six New York City LEP languages.  Further, the audit found that through a City-wide contract with Language Line Services, Inc., DFTA has the ability to provide documentation translation and phone interpretation services in over 170 languages.

In their written response, DFTA officials generally agreed with the audit and the results of the report stating, “Per your recommendation, we will continue to adhere to EO120 [sic] and update our website with the latest language access plan.”