Audit Report on the Compliance of the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development with Executive Order 120 Regarding Limited English Proficiency

Special Report

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The objective of the audit was to determine whether the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) complied with Executive Order 120 (EO 120) in relation to the services DYCD provides directly to the public.  These services primarily consist of referrals of New York City residents to services through Youth Connect, a resource and referral service for youth, families and community-based organizations that includes an online database of information and resources, and a confidential toll-free hotline.  Youth Connect is located at 123 William Street in Manhattan, one of two DYCD locations.  In addition to Youth Connect, DYCD contracts with a network of community-based organizations and programs to provide services that promote positive youth development and strong, healthy communities.  An audit of DYCD’s efforts to ensure compliance with EO 120 by the contracted service providers will be conducted separately.

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 DYCD generally complied with EO 120 in providing meaningful language access to the agency’s services for LEP customers.  DYCD’s current Language Access Plan describes steps DYCD is undertaking to provide information on the agency’s resources and services to the LEP population.  Specifically with regard to the services DYCD provides in connection with the Youth Connect program, the audit found that DYCD generally provides these services to its customers in the top New York City LEP languages.  Further, the audit found that through a City-wide contract with Language Line Services, Inc., DYCD has the ability to provide documentation translation and phone interpretation services in 180 languages.

The audit recommended that DYCD should continue to adhere to EO 120 to ensure that it adequately meets the language needs of the communities it serves.  As required by EO 120, DYCD should utilize available and relevant studies and update and post all subsequent Language Access Plans on its website.

In their written response, DYCD officials generally agreed with the audit and stated “DYCD agrees with the sole Recommendation that it should continue to adhere to EO 120 to ensure that it adequately meets the language needs of the communities it serves.  As required by EO 120, DYCD will utilize available and relevant studies and update and post all subsequent Language Access Plans on its website.”