NYC ACS 2024 Language Access Implementation Plan

Implementation and Operations

ACS monitors language access through the statewide CONNECTIONS database, which tracks child welfare casework data, preferred language, and English proficiency. ISLA compares language data from CONNECTIONS with interpretation request data and vendor information to assess whether services are being requested in proportion to identified language needs. ISLA is responsible for contract management, monitoring the effectiveness of the language access plan and policy, ensuring Local Law 30 compliance, tracking service delivery and quality, and reporting collected language access data in the annual Local Law 73 report.

ACS provides language access training through ISLA, the James Satterwhite Academy, and the ACS Workforce Institute. New frontline Child Protective staff receive onboarding training that includes language access, immigration, and cultural sensitivity, while ISLA provides frequent in-person and virtual refreshers across ACS divisions and provider agencies. Training covers legal obligations, agency policy, telephonic, in-person, and video interpretation, translation requests, appropriate use of bilingual staff, staff language certification, language identification, language preference tracking, documentation of services provided, culturally and linguistically appropriate customer service, and how to work with interpreters. ACS also developed an e-learning course on working with immigrant families that includes a language access component and is available to ACS and provider agency staff.

Members of the public can submit language access complaints by calling 311, contacting the ACS Office of Advocacy by phone, email, or walk-in, or emailing the ACS language access mailbox at language.access@acs.nyc.gov . ISLA tracks and follows up on complaints, generally by contacting the relevant ACS division and/or language access vendor to investigate and correct the issue. When appropriate, ISLA responds directly to the person who submitted the complaint. ISLA also sends surveys to ACS and provider agency staff after interpretation sessions to monitor interpretation quality and reports complaint data in annual Local Law 30 reports.

The plan describes a language access model built into ACS’s child welfare, prevention, foster care, juvenile justice, child care, and family support operations. ACS uses language identification cards, staff language preference screening, 24/7 telephonic interpretation, in-person interpretation, video remote interpretation, sign language interpretation, and translated documents for both commonly distributed materials and case-specific records such as conference notes. It prioritizes in-person or video interpretation for longer or planned interactions, including interviews, investigations, family team conferences, supervised visitation, community meetings, and services needed to complete a family service plan, while telephonic interpretation is used for shorter, unexpected, or backup needs. The plan also includes website translation tools, supervised web translation efforts, emergency language access procedures, on-site Spanish interpretation at multiple ACS locations, a staff language certification program, and language access contracts that support ACS staff and provider agencies.

ACS provides interpretation in more than 240 languages and translates commonly distributed public-facing documents into NYC’s 10 Local Law 30 languages: Spanish, Chinese, Bengali, Russian, Arabic, Urdu, Haitian Creole, Korean, Polish, and French. The plan also highlights language demand across ACS-involved families and service interactions, with Spanish, Mandarin, Bengali, Russian, Haitian Creole, Cantonese, Arabic, Uzbek, French, and Urdu appearing among top requested languages for interpretation services. ACS also addresses sign language services and language access for deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals.