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12 <br /> meaningful access to, and an equal opportunity to participate fully in,the services, activities, <br /> or other programs administered by the Department. <br /> D. Limited English Proficient(LEP)Individuals—Individuals who do not speak English as their <br /> primary language and who have a limited ability to read,write, speak, or understand English. <br /> LEP individuals may be competent in English for certain types of communication(e.g., <br /> speaking or understanding),but still be LEP for other purposes(e.g.,reading or writing). <br /> E. Meaningful Access—Language assistance that results in accurate, timely, and effective <br /> communication at no cost to the LEP individual. <br /> F. Primary Language—An individual's primary language is the language in which an individual <br /> most effectively communicates. <br /> G. Program or Activity—The term"program or activity"and the term"program"mean all of the <br /> operations of the Department. <br /> H. Qualified Translator or Interpreter—An in-house or contracted translator or interpreter who <br /> has demonstrated his or her competence to interpret or translate through testing by the <br /> Department of Human Rights and Relations, Certification by a qualified entity, or is <br /> authorized to do so by contract with the Department and if a County employee approved by <br /> his or her department. <br /> I. Sight Translation—Oral rendering of written text into spoken language by an interpreter <br /> without change in meaning based on a visual review of the original text or document. <br /> J. Translation—The replacement of written text from one language(source language) into an <br /> equivalent written text in another language(target language). <br /> K. Vital Document—Paper or electronic written material that contains information that is critical <br /> for accessing a component's program or activities, or is required by law. <br /> V. Language Assistance Measures <br /> Ensuring the quality and accuracy of language assistance services provided by each Department is critical <br /> to providing LEP individuals with meaningful access to department programs and activities. <br /> A. Identification of LEP Communities. Orange County shall assess the number or proportion of <br /> LEP persons from each language group in The County to determine appropriate language <br /> assistance services. The analysis shall include persons in Orange County with whom your <br /> departments comes into contact while carrying out service functions. The assessment shall <br /> include all communities who are eligible for services or are likely directly affected by <br /> programs or activities. Departments may determine the linguistic characteristics of an LEP <br /> population in their Orange County service area by reviewing available data from federal, <br /> state, and local government agencies, community, and faith based organizations.A <br /> department should also identifying and tracking the primary language of LEP individuals <br /> that seek and receive programs and services. By regularly collecting and updating this data, <br /> departments will be able to accurately identify and efficiently address the changing needs of <br /> their LEP communities. <br /> B. Quality of Language Access Services. The Department of Human Rights and Relations is <br /> delegated with the authority to ensure that the County will take reasonable steps to ensure <br /> that all staff or contracted personnel who serve as translators, interpreters or who <br /> communicate"in-language"with LEP persons are competent to do so. Considerations of <br /> competency in light of particular tasks may include: <br /> Page 2 <br />