The Commissioners Court directed the Office of County Administration to assess and develop Language Access Plans for departments that frequently interact with the public, and to estimate budget needs for those plans by April 6.

What it means for you

Residents with limited English proficiency may eventually receive better language assistance when dealing with county departments such as 311, Public Health, Public Libraries, and others named in the order.

Outcome

A motion was made by Commissioner Briones, seconded by Commissioner Ellis, to direct the Office of County Administration to work with all departments to assess current internal language access procedures, resources, departmental service data, and interaction with the public to create and implement departmental Language Access Plans that best serve Harris County’s limited Englishproficient population; and to direct the Office of County Administration to work with the following departments and relevant stakeholders, by April 6, to assess budget needs for Fiscal Year 2027 to implement Language Access Plans and provide adequate language access to Harris County residents. These departments shall be prioritized in the first iteration of language access planning due to their high interactions with the public, size of department and service area, and/or connection to the judicial system and these departments include 311 which is Universal Services, Harris County Public Health, Harris County Public Libraries, Office of County Administration, and Domestic Relations Office. As they’re doing this work, they also consider having a proper level of training for all the interpreters, and that they, to the extent possible, make a projection of how much it would cost to service all public facing departments. The motion carried by the following vote: