HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

238

TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING THE OFFICE OF LANGUAGE ACCESS TO CONDUCT A   FEASIBILITY STUDY ON ESTABLISHING A STATEWIDE CENTRALIZED        LANGUAGE ACCESS RESOURCE CENTER.

 

 

 


WHEREAS, for many people in Hawai‘i, English is not their primary language, and they have only a limited ability to read, write, speak, or understand English; and

 

WHEREAS, according to the 2000 census, nearly two hundred ninety thousand people, or twenty-four per cent of Hawaii's population, speak a language other than English at home, including more than two hundred fifty thousand people who speak an Asian or Pacific Island language; and

 

WHEREAS, for persons who are limited English proficient, language barriers prohibit them from fully participating in the community and can undermine their ability to be self-sufficient and productive; and

 

WHEREAS, the legislature enacted Act 290, Session Laws of Hawaii 2006, codified as part of chapter 371, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to address the language access needs of limited English proficient persons by, among other things, requiring each state agency to take reasonable steps to ensure meaningful access by limited English proficient persons to services, programs, and activities funded and provided by the State; and

 

WHEREAS, as the lead agency for the State in this regard, the department of labor and industrial relations plays a critical role; and

 

WHEREAS, all state agencies and other covered entities are required to establish a plan for language access to provide equal, meaningful access to essential government services, such as social services, job training, employment assistance, fair and impartial hearings, and emergency assistance, to all of Hawaii's diverse population regardless of their primary language; and

 

WHEREAS, as of December 2007, plans for twenty-three out of twenty-five state agencies and forty covered entities were completed; and

 

WHEREAS, as the implementation of the plans approaches, two major stumbling blocks hinder meaningful access to essential government services for persons who are limited English proficient.  First, there is no comprehensive system in Hawaii to identify language interpreters and translators and to refer interpreters or translators to the state agencies and other covered entities seeking assistance.  Second, there is a lack of trained and certified language interpreters and translators who can meet the demand to assist limited English proficient persons in a timely, meaningful manner; now, therefore,

 

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2008, the Senate concurring, that the Office of Language Access under the department of labor and industrial relations, State of Hawaii, is requested to conduct a feasibility study on establishing a statewide centralized language access resource center.  The study will include a survey of existing language resources as well as the language service needs and costs of state agencies and covered entities.  In addition, it will include an analysis of the functions of a language resource center, including, but not limited to, the following:

 

(1)  Compiling and maintaining a roster of available language interpreters and translators;

 

(2)  Coordinating training programs to increase the availability of qualified language interpreters and translators;

 

(3)  Matching and referring qualified language interpreters and translators to the needs of state agencies and other covered entities seeking assistance;

 

(4)  Training state employees in positions of public contact that are first to respond to limited English proficient customers who seek to access state-funded services, programs, and activities;

 

(5)  Developing the office’s capacity and resources to assist state agencies with their language services needs in the future; and

 

(6)  Standardizing the testing and certification of language interpreters and translators to ensure the quality and accuracy of their services; and

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the office of language access shall submit a written report to the legislature of its findings and recommendations, including a proposed budget, no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the 2009 regular session; and

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Executive Director of the Office of Language Access and the Director of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, State of Hawaii.

 

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

___________________________

 

     (By Request)