PART 1. Office of Language Access
135000.
There is hereby established within the California Health and Human Services Agency the Office of Language Access to provide critical oversight, accountability, and coordination across various state departments and agencies to ensure individuals with limited English proficiency have meaningful access to government programs and services.135001.
The Office of Language Access shall do all of the following:(a) Lead the development, monitoring, and periodic updating of Language Access Plans within the California Health and Human Services Agency, which shall include both of the following:
(1) A Language Access Plan for each department and office within the California Health and Human Services Agency as required by Section 135010.
(2) The California Health and Human Services Agency’s Language Access Plan Guidance Document as required by Section 135010.
(b) Coordinate with the language access coordinators from the various departments and offices within the California Health and Human Services Agency to implement each departments’ and offices’ Language Access Plan.
(c) Increase the provision of language assistance services, including translation and interpreter services, through various options, which may include, but are not limited to, hiring bilingual staff and contracting with community-based organizations and third-party vendors.
(d) Ensure each Language Access Plan, as required pursuant to Part 2 (commencing with Section 135010), includes all of the following:
(1) Methods to identify individuals with limited English proficiency who require
language assistance, including both of the
following:
(A) A demographic assessment of the department’s service population.
(B) An effective system of recording and utilizing spoken, sign, or written language preferences.
(2) Language assistance measures and information about the ways that language assistance will be provided, including all of the following:
(A) The types of services available, including both of the following:
(i) How a department or office will provide free sign language interpretation and oral interpretation services in a language, upon request, for all public contacts, including sign translation of
vital documents pursuant to the California Health and Human Services Agency’s Language Access Plan Guidance.
(ii) How the department or office will use the safe harbor provisions described in pages 41455 and 41463-64 in Volume 67 of the Federal Register to determine the languages that a vital document shall be translated into.
(B) How staff can obtain those services.
(C) How to respond to an individual with limited English proficiency, including via telephone, written communication, and inperson contact.
(D) Ensuring the competency of interpreters and translation services.
(3) (A) Training for staff to ensure they know about limited English proficiency policies and procedures.
(B) Ensuring staff who have contact with the public are trained to work effectively with inperson, video, and telephone interpreters.
(4) Notice for individuals with limited English proficiency containing the services that are available for an individual with limited English proficiency or, to the extent that a service area exists, who reside in its service area and are eligible for services.
(5) A mechanism to do both of the following:
(A) Monitor the implementation of the plan.
(B) (i) Update the plan every two years, which shall include whether new documents, programs, services, and activities shall be made accessible for individuals with limited English proficiency.
(ii) When reviewing a plan for updates, the Office of Language Access may also consider all of the following:
(I) Changed demographics.
(II) An analysis of internal and external data.
(III) Responses to new and unexpected language needs.
(IV) Complaints received and how they were resolved.
(V) Assessment and measures of client
satisfaction.
(VI) Capacity building efforts regarding funding, staffing, and training.
(e) Collect data from the various departments and offices within the California Health and Human Services Agency to create the report required in Section 135003. This includes, but is not limited to, all of the information described in subdivision (b) of Section 135003.
(f) Ensure a document is translated if an individual with limited English proficiency submits a written request to the California Health and Human Services Agency, or any of its departments or offices, that the document be translated into the individual’s preferred language.
(g) Investigate the number
of language access complaints received by each department and office within the California Health and Human Services Agency, as well as by other relevant agencies that may receive a language access complaint regarding the California Health and Human Services Agency or a department or office within the California Health and Human Services Agency.
135002.
The Office of Language Access shall maintain a language access internet website that contains all of the following:(a) A publicly available list of translated California Health and Human Services Agency materials and forms.
(b) A directory of qualified interpreters, translators, and other similar resources within the California Health and Human Services Agency.
(c) Every current California Health and Human Services Agency Language Access Plan, every update to those plans, and all corrective action plans.
(d) Notices, instructions, and information for the public regarding both of the following:
(1) An individual’s language access rights.
(2) How to submit a complaint if a department or office within the California Health and Human Services Agency has failed to provide language services, which may include, but is not limited to, filing a complaint with any of the following:
(A) A managed care plan.
(B) A health care provider.
(C) The California Health and Human Services Agency.
(D) The State Department of Health Care Services.
(E) The Department of Managed Health Care.
(F) The Department of Insurance.
(G) The Civil Rights Department.
(H) The United States Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights.
135003.
(a) Commencing November 1, 2026, and every other year thereafter, the Office of Language Access shall submit a report for the prior fiscal year to the Legislature and the relevant policy committees containing the information described in subdivision (b).(b) The report shall provide information by fiscal year and, at a minimum, contain all of the following:
(1) Challenges encountered while implementing the various Language Access Plans.
(2) The Office of Language Access’ efforts to address the problems it encountered, if any.
(3) Lessons learned and best practices.
(4) The number and percentage of individuals with limited English proficiency who use each department’s or office’s services, listed by language other than English, in comparison to the estimated population with limited English proficiency who are eligible for the department’s or office’s services, including a description of the methodology or data collection system used to make this determination.
(5) The number of multilingual employees in public contact positions that includes all of the following for each individual:
(A) Job title.
(B) Qualifications for
bilingual or multilingual capacity.
(C) Office location.
(D) The language or languages they speak in addition to English.
(6) The name and contact information for each language access coordinator.
(7) A list of ongoing employee development and training strategies to maintain well-trained multilingual employees and general staff, including a description of both of the following:
(A) Quality control protocols for multilingual employees.
(B) Language service protocols for individuals with limited English proficiency who are in crisis situations.
(8) A list of goals for the upcoming year and, except for the first year of the report, an assessment of each department’s and office’s success at meeting the prior year’s goals.
(9) The number of translation requests received and provided, the languages used to translate materials, and which materials were translated and completed during the prior fiscal year.
(10) The number of interpretation requests received and the number of interpretation services provided, by language, including services provided in person, by video, and via telephone, for services provided by department and office staff, as well as by contracted vendors.
(11) The number of language access
complaints received by each department or office within the California Health and Human Services Agency, or other relevant agency that may receive a language access complaint, including, but not limited to, the Civil Rights Department and the United States Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights. This data shall
include all of the following:
(A) The total number of complaints received.
(B) The number of complaints investigated.
(C) The number of complaints resolved.
(D) Summaries of the investigation results and resolution agreements.
(12) The number of staff, total dollar amount, and breakdown of annual expenditures, including services provided by vendors, that each department and office spent on language access services.
(c) The report shall be submitted in accordance with Section 9795 of the Government
Code.
PART 2. CALIFORNIA HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES AGENCY LANGUAGE ACCESS
135010.
(a) Each department and office within the California Health and Human Services Agency shall do both of the following:(1) Develop a Language Access Plan as described in subdivision (d) of Section 135001.
(2) Delegate a coordinator to work with the Office of Language Access to achieve the purposes of this division.
(b) The California Health and Human Services Agency shall develop a Language Access Plan Guidance Document to support its various departments and offices in their development of a Language Access Plan pursuant to subdivision
(a).
135011.
The California Health and Human Services Agency shall do all of the following:(a) Develop a corrective action plan for a department or office that fails to implement and achieve the goals set forth in its Language Access Plan. A corrective action plan shall include both of the following:
(1) A plan to address any deficiencies.
(2) Resolutions to improve language access.
(b)Make these corrective action plans publicly available on its internet website.
(c)
(b) Submit annual compliance reports to the Office of Language Access regarding the progress its departments and offices have made with their Language Access Plans and any corrective action plans.
135012.
(a) (1) Commencing January 1, 2025, the California Health and Human Services Agency shall commence the Language Access Advisory Workgroup.(2) The workgroup shall meet at least quarterly until January 1, 2027, annually until January 1, 2035, and as needed thereafter to share the progress of the various Language Access Plans, address relevant issues, and obtain community input.
(b) The workgroup shall be comprised of a minimum of five, but no more than ten, individuals who have limited English proficiency or who have direct experience working with individuals who have limited English
proficiency.
(c) The California Health and Human Services Agency shall make a good faith effort to ensure the workgroup is diverse in the following ways:
(1) Workgroup members represent diverse language groups that are not represented in the five threshold languages.
(2) Workgroup members have diverse geographic representation.