Report 2010-106 Recommendations

When an audit is completed and a report is issued, auditees must provide the State Auditor with information regarding their progress in implementing recommendations from our reports at three intervals from the release of the report: 60 days, six months, and one year. Additionally, Senate Bill 1452 (Chapter 452, Statutes of 2006), requires auditees who have not implemented recommendations after one year, to report to us and to the Legislature why they have not implemented them or to state when they intend to implement them. Below, is a listing of each recommendation the State Auditor made in the report referenced and a link to the most recent response from the auditee addressing their progress in implementing the recommendation and the State Auditor's assessment of auditee's response based on our review of the supporting documentation.

Recommendations in Report 2010-106: Dymally-Alatorre Bilingual Services Act: State Agencies Do Not Fully Comply With the Act, and Local Governments Could Do More to Address Their Clients' Needs (Release Date: November 2010)

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Recommendations to Corrections and Rehabilitation, Department of
Number Recommendation Status
3

To ensure that they meet their constituents' language needs, state agencies should make certain that they accurately assess and report their clients' language needs to the State Personnel Board. State agencies should also analyze formally their language survey results and consider other available bilingual resources to determine their true staffing deficiencies. Further, state agencies should establish procedures to identify the written materials that the Act requires them to translate into other languages and ensure that such materials are translated or made accessible to the agencies' LEP clients. Finally, state agencies should develop detailed corrective action plans describing how and when they will address their staffing and written materials deficiencies. In addition, they should submit their corrective action plans to the State Personnel Board as part of the state agencies' overall implementation plans.

Fully Implemented
4

Public Health and Corrections should develop procedures to detect and prevent contract splitting.

Fully Implemented
19

State agencies should leverage General Services' and the Personnel Board's contracts for interpretation and translation services to potentially reduce the costs of providing bilingual services.

Fully Implemented
Recommendations to Emergency Management Agency
Number Recommendation Status
10

To ensure that they meet their constituents' language needs, state agencies should make certain that they accurately assess and report their clients' language needs to the State Personnel Board. State agencies should also analyze formally their language survey results and consider other available bilingual resources to determine their true staffing deficiencies. Further, state agencies should establish procedures to identify the written materials that the Act requires them to translate into other languages and ensure that such materials are translated or made accessible to the agencies' LEP clients. Finally, state agencies should develop detailed corrective action plans describing how and when they will address their staffing and written materials deficiencies. In addition, they should submit their corrective action plans to the State Personnel Board as part of the state agencies' overall implementation plans.

Fully Implemented
17

State agencies should leverage General Services' and the Personnel Board's contracts for interpretation and translation services to potentially reduce the costs of providing bilingual services.

Fully Implemented
Recommendations to Employment Development Department
Number Recommendation Status
2

To ensure that they meet their constituents' language needs, state agencies should make certain that they accurately assess and report their clients' language needs to the State Personnel Board. State agencies should also analyze formally their language survey results and consider other available bilingual resources to determine their true staffing deficiencies. Further, state agencies should establish procedures to identify the written materials that the Act requires them to translate into other languages and ensure that such materials are translated or made accessible to the agencies' LEP clients. Finally, state agencies should develop detailed corrective action plans describing how and when they will address their staffing and written materials deficiencies. In addition, they should submit their corrective action plans to the State Personnel Board as part of the state agencies' overall implementation plans.

Fully Implemented
26

State agencies should leverage General Services' and the Personnel Board's contracts for interpretation and translation services to potentially reduce the costs of providing bilingual services.

Fully Implemented
Recommendations to Food and Agriculture, Department of
Number Recommendation Status
1

To ensure that they meet their constituents' language needs, state agencies should make certain that they accurately assess and report their clients' language needs to the State Personnel Board. State agencies should also analyze formally their language survey results and consider other available bilingual resources to determine their true staffing deficiencies. Further, state agencies should establish procedures to identify the written materials that the Act requires them to translate into other languages and ensure that such materials are translated or made accessible to the agencies' LEP clients. Finally, state agencies should develop detailed corrective action plans describing how and when they will address their staffing and written materials deficiencies. In addition, they should submit their corrective action plans to the State Personnel Board as part of the state agencies' overall implementation plans.

Fully Implemented
20

State agencies should leverage General Services' and the Personnel Board's contracts for interpretation and translation services to potentially reduce the costs of providing bilingual services.

Fully Implemented
Recommendations to Highway Patrol, California
Number Recommendation Status
11

To ensure that they meet their constituents' language needs, state agencies should make certain that they accurately assess and report their clients' language needs to the State Personnel Board. State agencies should also analyze formally their language survey results and consider other available bilingual resources to determine their true staffing deficiencies. Further, state agencies should establish procedures to identify the written materials that the Act requires them to translate into other languages and ensure that such materials are translated or made accessible to the agencies' LEP clients. Finally, state agencies should develop detailed corrective action plans describing how and when they will address their staffing and written materials deficiencies. In addition, they should submit their corrective action plans to the State Personnel Board as part of the state agencies' overall implementation plans.

Fully Implemented
18

State agencies should leverage General Services' and the Personnel Board's contracts for interpretation and translation services to potentially reduce the costs of providing bilingual services.

Fully Implemented
Recommendations to Housing and Community Development, Department of
Number Recommendation Status
12

To ensure that they meet their constituents' language needs, state agencies should make certain that they accurately assess and report their clients' language needs to the State Personnel Board. State agencies should also analyze formally their language survey results and consider other available bilingual resources to determine their true staffing deficiencies. Further, state agencies should establish procedures to identify the written materials that the Act requires them to translate into other languages and ensure that such materials are translated or made accessible to the agencies' LEP clients. Finally, state agencies should develop detailed corrective action plans describing how and when they will address their staffing and written materials deficiencies. In addition, they should submit their corrective action plans to the State Personnel Board as part of the state agencies' overall implementation plans.

Fully Implemented
21

State agencies should leverage General Services' and the Personnel Board's contracts for interpretation and translation services to potentially reduce the costs of providing bilingual services.

Fully Implemented
Recommendations to Justice, Department of
Number Recommendation Status
13

To ensure that they meet their constituents' language needs, state agencies should make certain that they accurately assess and report their clients' language needs to the State Personnel Board. State agencies should also analyze formally their language survey results and consider other available bilingual resources to determine their true staffing deficiencies. Further, state agencies should establish procedures to identify the written materials that the Act requires them to translate into other languages and ensure that such materials are translated or made accessible to the agencies' LEP clients. Finally, state agencies should develop detailed corrective action plans describing how and when they will address their staffing and written materials deficiencies. In addition, they should submit their corrective action plans to the State Personnel Board as part of the state agencies' overall implementation plans.

Fully Implemented
22

State agencies should leverage General Services' and the Personnel Board's contracts for interpretation and translation services to potentially reduce the costs of providing bilingual services.

Fully Implemented
Recommendations to Motor Vehicles, Department of
Number Recommendation Status
14

To ensure that they meet their constituents' language needs, state agencies should make certain that they accurately assess and report their clients' language needs to the State Personnel Board. State agencies should also analyze formally their language survey results and consider other available bilingual resources to determine their true staffing deficiencies. Further, state agencies should establish procedures to identify the written materials that the Act requires them to translate into other languages and ensure that such materials are translated or made accessible to the agencies' LEP clients. Finally, state agencies should develop detailed corrective action plans describing how and when they will address their staffing and written materials deficiencies. In addition, they should submit their corrective action plans to the State Personnel Board as part of the state agencies' overall implementation plans.

Fully Implemented
23

State agencies should leverage General Services' and the Personnel Board's contracts for interpretation and translation services to potentially reduce the costs of providing bilingual services.

Fully Implemented
Recommendations to Personnel Board, State
Number Recommendation Status
5

To ensure that all state agencies subject to the Act are aware of their potential responsibilities to provide bilingual services, the Personnel Board should improve its processes to identify and inform all such state agencies of the Act's requirements.

Fully Implemented
6

It should also make certain that every state agency required to comply with the Act conducts language surveys and submits implementation plans unless the Personnel Board exempts them from these requirements. The Personnel Board should ensure that it adheres to the specific criteria contained in the Act when exempting agencies from conducting language surveys or preparing implementation plans.

Fully Implemented
7

The Personnel Board should require state agencies to provide all of the information required by the Act. For example, the Personnel Board should ensure that state agencies identify their deficiencies in staffing and translated written materials and that the state agencies' implementation plans detail sufficiently how and when they plan to address these deficiencies. The Personnel Board should assess the adequacy of state agencies' language surveys and implementation plans. If it determines that implementation plans do not address deficiencies in staffing or written materials adequately, the Personnel Board should order the agencies to revise or supplement their plans accordingly. The Personnel Board should also require state agencies to report to it every six months on their progress in addressing their deficiencies. If the Personnel Board determines that agencies have not made reasonable progress toward complying with the Act, it should consider ordering them to comply with the Act. These actions could include ordering state agency officials to appear before the Personnel Board to explain why their agencies have not complied. If these actions or its other efforts to enforce the Act are ineffective, the Personnel Board should consider asking a court to issue writs of mandate under Section 1085 of the Code of Civil Procedure, to require agencies to perform their duties. The Personnel Board should seek enough additional staff to fulfill its obligations under the Act, or it should seek changes to the Act that would reduce its responsibilities and make them commensurate with its staffing levels.

Fully Implemented
8

The Personnel Board should follow up with responsible state agencies to ensure that the agencies resolve the language access complaints it receives in a timely manner.

Fully Implemented
9

The Personnel Board should improve the content of its biennial report to the Legislature to identify problems more clearly and to propose solutions where warranted. Specifically, the report should clearly indicate whether state agencies have true staffing deficiencies or deficiencies in translated materials. In addition, the report should identify any agencies that are not complying with the Act and should present key survey and implementation plan results by state agency and field office to better inform policymakers and the public about the language needs of residents in certain areas of the State and about state agencies' available resources to meet those needs.

Fully Implemented
Recommendations to Public Health, Department of
Number Recommendation Status
15

To ensure that they meet their constituents' language needs, state agencies should make certain that they accurately assess and report their clients' language needs to the State Personnel Board. State agencies should also analyze formally their language survey results and consider other available bilingual resources to determine their true staffing deficiencies. Further, state agencies should establish procedures to identify the written materials that the Act requires them to translate into other languages and ensure that such materials are translated or made accessible to the agencies' LEP clients. Finally, state agencies should develop detailed corrective action plans describing how and when they will address their staffing and written materials deficiencies. In addition, they should submit their corrective action plans to the State Personnel Board as part of the state agencies' overall implementation plans.

Fully Implemented
24

State agencies should leverage General Services' and the Personnel Board's contracts for interpretation and translation services to potentially reduce the costs of providing bilingual services.

Fully Implemented
27

Public Health and Corrections should develop procedures to detect and prevent contract splitting.

Fully Implemented
Recommendations to Toxic Substances Control, Department of
Number Recommendation Status
16

To ensure that they meet their constituents' language needs, state agencies should make certain that they accurately assess and report their clients' language needs to the State Personnel Board. State agencies should also analyze formally their language survey results and consider other available bilingual resources to determine their true staffing deficiencies. Further, state agencies should establish procedures to identify the written materials that the Act requires them to translate into other languages and ensure that such materials are translated or made accessible to the agencies' LEP clients. Finally, state agencies should develop detailed corrective action plans describing how and when they will address their staffing and written materials deficiencies. In addition, they should submit their corrective action plans to the State Personnel Board as part of the state agencies' overall implementation plans.

Fully Implemented
25

State agencies should leverage General Services' and the Personnel Board's contracts for interpretation and translation services to potentially reduce the costs of providing bilingual services.

Fully Implemented


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