1206 ROLES OF COVERED ENTITIES WITH MAJOR PUBLIC CONTACT

1206.1 Pursuant to Section 2(3)(A) of the Act, covered entities with major public contact are covered entities whose primary responsibility consists of meeting, contracting, and dealing with the public. “Dealing” with the public refers to providing direct services to and interacting with the public.

1206.2 Covered entities with major public contact are:

(a) The agencies listed in Section 2(3)(B) of the Act, which are as follows:

1. Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration;
2. Child and Family Services Agency
3. Department of Behavioral Health;
4. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs
5. Department of Corrections
6. Department of Employment Services
7. Department of Health;
8. Department of Housing and Community Development;
9. Department of Human Resources;
10. Department of Human Services;
11. Department of Motor Vehicles;
12. Department of Parks and Recreation;
13. Department of Public Works;
14. District of Columbia general ambulatory and emergency care centers;
15. District of Columbia Housing Authority;
16. District of Columbia Public Library;
17. District of Columbia Public Schools;
18. Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department;
19. Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency;
20. Metropolitan Police Department;
21. Office on Aging;
22. Office of Contracting and Procurement;
23. Office of Human Rights;
24. Office of Planning;
25. Office of Tax and Revenue; and
26. Office of the People’s Counsel.

(b) Pursuant to Section 2(3)(B) of the Act, agencies designated by the Language Access Director (“LA Director”) under the direction of the Director of the Office of Human Rights (“OHR Director”), which are as follows:

Department of General Services;

Department of Health Care Finance;

Department of Small and Local Business Development;

Department of the Environment;

Department of Transportation;

Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services;

Department on Disability Services;

District of Columbia Lottery and Charitable Games Control Board;

District of Columbia Public Charter Schools;

Office of Administrative Hearings;

Office of the Attorney General-Child Support Services Division;

Office of the State Superintendent of Education;

Office of the Tenant Advocate;

Office of Unified Communications; and

Office of Zoning.

1206.3 In addition to the requirements contained in this section, each covered entity with major public contact must meet all of the responsibilities for covered entities under the Act and § 1205 (other than those responsibilities that are specifically limited to covered entities without major public contact).

1206.4 Each covered entity with major public contact shall establish and implement a complete Biennial Language Access Plan (“BLAP”) required by § 1212 that is approved by the LA Director and published in the D.C. Register every two (2) years.

1206.5 Each covered entity with major public contact shall designate a Language Access Coordinator (LAC) who shall carry out the responsibilities described in § 1207. Each covered entity with major public contact may also work with the LA Director to establish a language access team. The functions of a language access team may include, but are not limited to, designating the covered entity’s LAC, providing translated vital documents, ascertaining served and likely to be served populations, providing for the training needs of the covered entity, and investigating complaints of non-compliance with the Act.

1206.6 Each covered entity with major public contact shall have all staff members in public contact positions attend either web-based or in-person training, provided by OHR, on the requirements for serving limited-English proficient or non-English proficient (“LEP/NEP”) customers under the Act and on the use of professional and qualified multilingual telephonic interpretation services and how to appropriately direct LEP/NEP customers to such services.

1206.7 Each covered entity with major public contact shall develop a plan to conduct outreach to LEP/NEP communities to disseminate information about the language access benefits and services offered by the covered entity as well as LEP/NEP goals stated in the covered entity's BLAP. Outreach activities may include, but are not limited to, the following:

(a) Conducting public meetings with reasonable advance notice to the public in locations where LEP/NEP populations are known to congregate, such as schools, community centers, or places of worship;

(b) Organizing events (such as fairs, community meetings, forums, and educational workshops) in LEP/NEP communities;

(c) Deploying mobile units to visit community centers, community based organizations, or schools;

(d) Disseminating information through in-language or ethnic media outlets (including local television, newspapers, and radio);

(e) Deploying outreach personnel to perform regular walk-throughs in LEP/NEP communities;

(f) Partnering with community-based organizations for the implementation of projects and/or delivery of services;

(g) Distributing flyers, brochures, and other printed material in diverse languages and at diverse locations;

(h) Disseminating information through covered entities' websites;

(i) Issuing press releases in diverse languages and directing those press releases to media outlets serving LEP/NEP communities;

(j) Implementing a topic-specific campaign to raise awareness of a particular service or project in an LEP/NEP community;

(k) Sponsoring educational, informational, cultural, and/or social events in LEP/NEP communities;

(l) Participating in LEP/NEP community events and/or meetings;

(m) Inviting LEP/NEP community members to visit agency service site(s) and government facilities;

(n) Cosponsoring community events with community-based organizations that serve LEP/NEP communities;

(o) Participating in and/or cosponsoring events that target the District's LEP/NEP communities with other District government agencies; and

(p) Organizing regular needs assessment meetings with LEP/NEP community-based organizations.

SOURCE: Final Rulemaking published at 55 DCR 6348 (June 6, 2008); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 61 DCR 9836 (September 26, 2014).