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San Francisco hearing finds progress and persistent gaps in language access compliance
Summary
City officials reported increased bilingual staff and new reporting tools, but OSEA data showing a 9% drop in language‑access budgets, uneven departmental reporting, poor translation quality and low certification rates in some departments drew concern from supervisors and community advocates.
San Francisco — City and community speakers at a Board of Supervisors committee hearing on Oct. 1 reviewed the annual Language Access Ordinance compliance report and described both gains and ongoing problems in providing services to residents with limited English proficiency.
Chair Eric Marr opened the Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee hearing by tracing the ordinance’s roots to a 2001 equal access law and the 2009 language access ordinance, and called language access a “civil right” for many immigrant and newcomer communities. Adrienne Pan, executive director of the Office of Civic Engagement and Immigrant Affairs (OSEA), told supervisors nearly half of San Francisco residents speak a language other than English at home and about one in four are limited‑English proficient.
Why it matters: The report is intended to show where city departments…
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