For years, Dallas residents have complained about City Hall's approach to serving Spanish-speaking residents and the lack of translation of information citywide.
That's starting to change as Dallas' Office of Equity and Inclusion and the Division of Welcoming Communities and Immigrant Affairs begin efforts to better serve Spanish-speaking residents. Community leaders say the city is currently moving in the right direction, but all departments need to work together to communicate more effectively and efficiently with residents.
In 2023, the city of Dallas launches the 311 non-emergency mobile application in Spanish, holds its first-ever town hall in Spanish, adds funding to the budget for more translation services, and helps day laborers Created a Spanish-language program to help people find secure jobs.
The city's plan includes eliminating wait times between English and Spanish 311 calls, providing code violation notices in Spanish, holding more city meetings in Spanish, and addressing language inclusion. This includes training all city departments.
“If the average person in Dallas was able to respond to city communications, feel safe entering any space, be it a library or a cultural institution, and know that their voice was being heard, they would “The way we communicate allows us to be seen and recognized, and that's an example of what success looks like,'' said Assistant City Manager Liz. Cedillo Pereira said.
Spanish is the second most spoken language in Dallas, and at least 42% speak a language other than English at home.
translation and interpretation
The Office of Equity and Inclusion serves as a consultant to other departments on how to meet the needs of residents regarding language access, said Dr. Lindsey Wilson, Director of the Office of Equity and Inclusion.
“We need to make language inclusive,” Wilson said.
In 2023, the Office of Language Access received approximately 1,000 requests for translation services from multiple departments and members of Congress for everything from press releases and educational information to text alerts, according to records obtained by . Dallas Morning News.
This year, as of March 31st, we have received 220 translation requests. The average time it takes to complete a request depends on the type of document you need translated.
The city has two in-house Spanish translators who assist other departments with written translations. In addition, the city contracts with vendors to provide translation into multiple languages.
District 2 City Councilman Jesse Moreno said the city's translation logistics system can be time-consuming.
“Unfortunately, I am not very happy with the turnaround time. It takes too long and the tedious checklist to make sure multiple items are submitted to send the translation back to the office,” Moreno said. Told. “So that's something we're looking to work with our communications department on.”
Adriana Portillo, director of language access, explained that city departments, including the City Council, can submit translation requests and interpretations to the Office of Communications, Outreach and Marketing. From there, departments work together to provide the products and services you need.
Moreno said he relies primarily on bilingual staff who translate press releases and other information to communicate with voters.
Portillo said humans translate all press releases, social media posts and flyers. The city does not rely on artificial intelligence for these tasks.
The need for bilingual employees
Myrna Mendez of Comadres Unidas de Dallas Y Más, a community group focused on providing information and resources to the Hispanic population, said Dallas needs to effectively communicate and build trust with the communities it serves. He said they need more Spanish-speaking employees who can foster an environment where they can do business. Dallas community.
Mendez recalled that when he requested an interpreter for a City Council meeting in 2020, city staff did not accurately translate what community leaders were trying to convey. dallas morning news editorial wrote about the incident.
“Residents need to feel empowered and feel safe to take the microphone at city meetings,” Mendez said. “While the city has gradually made improvements to help Hispanic residents access information in their preferred language, we still have a long way to go.”
Mendez attended a Spanish-language town hall meeting in October and said the meeting made her feel better about how the city is approaching the Spanish-speaking community.
In 2023, the Office of Compliance responded to resident complaints regarding apartments in the Bachman Lake area and appointed a Hispanic Spanish-speaking code inspector. This arrangement is reported to be news, A trusting relationship was built between residents and inspectors.
Dallas has a diversity dashboard that shows employee numbers, demographics, and tenure. Of the 13,248 workers, 32.5% are black, 31.6% are white, and 29.9% are Hispanic.
The City of Dallas established the Language Skills Quota Pay Program nearly 30 years ago. The program provides a monthly stipend to certified bilingual city employees. Portillo explained that the city has created its own process for certified employees.
As of January, 1,633 employees received language skills quota benefits and 1,416 earned Spanish language certifications. City employees are required to renew their certification every two or five years, depending on proficiency.
However, not all of these employees may host public meetings or serve as interpreters. Some people may only be fluent in talking to residents and assisting with daily tasks.
“We separate it from public meetings because we recognize that interpreting for public meetings is a completely different skill set,” da Silva said. “That's why we have a process where when departments reach out to the communications department to get support for hosting a public meeting, we step in and say, let's talk about the language access part. I am doing it.”
There's more to do
The City can receive concerns from residents through the Dallas 311 non-emergency system, which includes a phone line, website and mobile app.
It wasn't until late 2023 that the city upgraded its portal and app to be available in Spanish. Community groups have been advocating for this enhancement for years.
Currently, the 311 Dallas Bureau does not have a way to measure the number of requests submitted per language. The city's communications department said such features could be considered for future enhancements to the application.
North Dallas resident Susana Garcia uses the mobile app in Spanish and said the system is user-friendly and efficient.
“I would rather use an app than a phone line because it takes longer to answer calls in Spanish,” Garcia said. “It wasn't until the end of January that I learned about the problem in my city, reported it, and found out the app was now available in Spanish.”
Garcia said she feels more comfortable with mobile applications available in her native language.
“I wish all other departments in the city would work more efficiently to provide information in Spanish. I can understand English to some extent, but when it comes to official documents and things related to the city, I have difficulty providing information.” I would rather have everything translated so I can be confident and understand,” Garcia said.
To better serve Spanish-speaking residents, the goal is to reduce the wait time for English- and Spanish-speaking residents when calling 311 by three minutes by the end of 2024.
Cedillo Pereira said the goal is to introduce a system of language access in each department over the next two years to better serve residents.
