Final Letter Report on the New York City Department of Probation’s Compliance with Local Law 25 Regarding Translation of Agency Websites

The audit determined whether the Department of Probation is complying with Local Law 25, which is intended to make City agencies, and ultimately the City as a whole, more accessible to foreign-born residents whose primary language is not English.  This audit of DOP is one in a series of audits we are conducting of the City’s compliance with Local Law 25.

New York is home to one of the most diverse populations in the world, with more than four million foreign-born residents from more than 200 different countries.  More than 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 New Yorkers with limited English proficiency, interacting with City government and receiving access to City services can be a challenge.

Most City agencies have a significant presence on the internet and rely on agency websites to both provide information and to interact with the public.  Accordingly, in 2016, Mayor de Blasio signed Local Law 25, amending the City’s Administrative Code in relation to citizens’ ability to access translation of City websites.  Local Law 25 requires that every website maintained by or on behalf of a City agency include a translation service enabling users to view the text of that website, wherever practicable, in languages other than English.  It also requires that the translation service be identifiable in a manner that is comprehensible to speakers of the seven most commonly spoken languages in the city.  As determined by the Department of City Planning, the seven most commonly spoken languages in New York City amongst residents with limited English proficiency are:

1) Spanish

2) Chinese (includes Cantonese, Mandarin, and Formosan)

3) Russian

4) Bengali

5) French Créole (also called Haitian Créole)

6) Korean

7) Arabic

Results

Our audit found that DOP generally complies with Local Law 25.  DOP’s website, found at http://www.nyc.gov/html/prob/html/home/home.shtml, has a translation feature for viewing text and essential information in various languages, including the top seven noted languages spoken by residents with limited English proficiency.

DOP’s website, however, does not provide essential documents online.   This is because the department is a public safety agency that does not provide services to the general public.  Its clients are individuals who have come into contact with the law and are sentenced by the courts to probation.  Because DOP’s essential documents are legal in nature, they cannot be routinely translated by the department.  However, when forms are identified by executive staff as critical for probation officers interacting with clients, they are translated internally.  DOP identifies the primary languages of its clients and provides interpretation services at its locations.

The audit recommends that DYCD continue to maintain its compliance with Local Law 25 to ensure it effectively meets the needs of residents with limited English proficiency when accessing city services online.

The audit recommends that DOP continue to maintain its compliance with Local Law 25 to ensure that it effectively meets the needs of residents with limited English proficiency when accessing City services online.

In its response, DOP agreed with the report’s findings and stated, “I am very pleased to learn that DOP generally complies with Local Law 25 and that it has made substantial progress in providing meaningful language access through our website.”