City establishes language access policy

The City Council voted to establish an official Language Access Policy at its April 21 meeting. The policy is designed to ensure the provision of appropriate translation and interpretation services for Long Beach residents with limited English proficiency.

Documents and messages containing vital information will be translated and made better available to residents, officials said. The city currently contracts with Language Line, a phone service that provides on-the-spot translation of conversations from English to multiple languages, and operates an emergency notification system that allows users to receive emergency alerts in Spanish.“Communicating to all of our residents in the best way possible is extremely important to this City Council,” said Council President Len Torres. “This policy ensures that all folks in our community will be reached, particularly in emergency situations.”

Torres referred to the resolution as “historic” while voting in favor of it at last week’s meeting.

The city’s commitment to further ensuring language access services comes in light of the 2013 U.S. Census, which determined that an estimated 8.3 percent of Long Beach residents are considered limited English proficient, with the majority of those being Spanish-speaking individuals. The new policy, officials said, is designed to be implemented in a cost effective and efficient manner. 

“We at the Long Beach Latino Civic Association applaud the City Council for this momentous legislation to bring language access to the city government of Long Beach,” Helen Alessi, executive director of the Long Beach Latino Civic Association, said in a statement. “We know this first step will lead to better communication between our community and the City government for services, information and discourse towards a stronger Long Beach.” 

The city’s website can now be translated into numerous languages by clicking a link on the right side of the homepage. The Long Beach Response mobile app can also be translated to the default language set on an individual’s device.

For example, a resident can report an issue in Spanish and the city will receive it translated into English, and the city’s response will be translated back into Spanish.