Community Outreach to Immigrant and Ethnic Populations

Contents

• Introduction
• General Civil Rights Compliance - Recipients of Federal Funds
• Engaging Immigrant Communities
• Community Outreach Program Examples
• Outreach Service Resources and Examples by Topic
• Related MRSC Pages
  • Demographic Change and Local Government

Introduction

In recent years, many Washington communities have seen an influx of immigrants from many countries. The challenge is to integrate these persons into our communities. They have diverse cultural backgrounds and special needs. Many are low income and have limited English speaking abilities. A 2004 Brookings Institute article, The Ride of New Immigration Gateways by Audrey Singer, suggests six major approaches to ease the immigrants’ incorporation into their communities. The approaches are: understand local immigration dynamics; bring cultural and language sensitivity to service delivery; build English language capacity; provide workforce support; create linkages to mainstream institutions; and encourage civic engagement. There are many partnerships and innovative techniques being used by our local governments as they create inclusive communities. A few reference sources and a sampling of program descriptions have been assembled here to illustrate some of the approaches being taken.

General Civil Rights Compliance - Recipients of Federal Funds

Also see Voting below

• Executive Order 13166: Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency, U.S. Department of Justice
• LEP Limited English Proficiency, Federal Interagency Website - The Website supports fair, reasoned, and consistent implementation of Executive Order 13166, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Title VI regulations regarding language access. It also acts as a clearinghouse, providing and linking to information, tools, and technical assistance regarding limited English proficiency and language services for federal agencies, recipients of federal funds, users of federal programs and federally assisted programs, and other stakeholders.
• Federal Agency LEP Guidance & Language Access Plans - Each federal agency that provides financial assistance must develop guidance for its recipients on the obligation to provide meaningful access to limited English proficient persons. This page contains recipient LEP guidance documents by agency.
• Mattawa Compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act
  • Justice Department Announces Memorandum of Agreement with Town of Mattawa, Washington, and Mattawa Police Department, DOJ Press Release, 03/18/2008
  • Memorandum of Agreement () between the Department of Justice and the Town of Mattawa and the Town of Mattawa Police Department

Engaging Immigrant Communities

• Are Immigrants Seen and Heard in City Hall? (), Public Policy Institute of California, Research Brief No. 101, 06/2005
• Building Inclusive Communities Action Guide (), League of Minnesota Cities, Cultural Diversity Task Force, 1973
• Building Inclusive Communities: A User-Friendly Handbook for Those Who Care About Self and Others, by Pamala V. Morris, Journal of Extension, 06/2002 - This is a review of a manual authored by Ann C. Schauber, Diversity Leader for Oregon State University Extension Service
• Creating Communities of Inclusion, written by William H. Woodwell, Jr., edited by Monica Sullivan, A League of Women Voters Education Fund publication, Publication # 1077, 1998 - Highlights lessons learned by Leagues on creating broad-based community coalitions; offers models and guidance to organizations and community activists on what works
• The House We All Live In: Carnegie Report on Immigrant Civic Integration (), by Anne Farris, Carnegie Corporation of New York, 2003
• Immigrants: Diversity and Inclusion, by Deborah Macmillan, Immigration Study Brief #2, League of Women Voters of the United States, 2009
• Immigrants and Local Governance: The View from City Hall (), by S. Karthick Ramakrishnan and Paul G. Lewis, Public Policy Institute of California, 2005
• Immigrants, Urban Institute - Provides links to publications, and policies
• Immigrant Integration, National League of Cities
• Immigration, National Conference of State Legislatures
• Immigrants to Citizens: A Role for State Legislators, by Ann Morse and Aida Orgocka, National Conference of State Legislatures
• Reaching Out To Spanish-Speaking Volunteers: A Guide to More Inclusive Community Building (), Points of Light Foundation & Volunteer Center National Network, 2006 via Chesapeake Volunteer Center
• The Role of Municipal Leaders in Helping Immigrants Become an Integral Part of Colorado's Communities (), by Susan M. Thornton, produced by The Colorado Trust in conjunction with the Colorado Municipal League, 2006
• Working with Differences in Communities: A handbook for those who care about creative inclusive communities, by Ann C. Schauber, Oregon State University Extension Service, Manual 13, 03/2002 - OSU Extension Catalog Blurb (Available through MRSC Library Loan)

Community Outreach Program Examples

• Immigrant Integration: Resource Access and Cultural Exchange, by Ricardo Gambetta and Michelle Burgess, National League of Cities Policy Brief (Scroll down to link)
• Maryland Council for New Americans Links - Includes organizations and agencies operating at the national level
• Auburn Cultural Diversity
• Bellevue Cultural Diversity
• Clark County Diversity Strategic Plan 2009/2010 (), Department of Human Resources
• Eastside Human Services Forum - Eastside cities participate in this program. The site provides access to multilingual resource guides, Helpful Connections, to services in Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, and English.
  • Helpful Connections - Produced and sponsored by the Eastside Human Services Forum and the Eastside Refugee and Immigrant Coalition (ERIC). The guide has 22 sections providing a wide range of information subjects like banking, children’s education, neighborhood activities, and social services. ERIC designed the guide to be more than a mere telephone and address directory. Each section begins with a useful description targeting people who are unfamiliar with U.S. culture and services.
  • East King County Multilingual Resource Guide (), via Kirkland Parks and Recreation
• Federal Way Diversity Commission - Advises the City Council on policy matters involving the community’s cultural and ethnic differences
  • Federal Way Municipal Code Ch. 2.65 - Diversity Commission
• King County Policies and Public Rules Written Language Translation Process
• Lynnwood Neighborhood and Demographic Diversity Advisory Commission
  • Lynnwood Municipal Code Ch. 2.24 - Advisory Bodies - General Provisions
  • Lynnwood Diversity Task Force Report to Lynnwood City Council (), 02/2004
• Tukwila Equity and Diversity Commission
• Redmond's Diversity (), Redmond Focus, Winter 2005 - Outlines various education, social, cultural, and religious programs, both government and private, available to its growing multi-cultural community.
• Seattle
  • City of Seattle Race and Social Justice Initiative
  • Immigrants and Refugees Access
  • Seattle Resolution No. 30976 - Relating to development of an action plan to identify and address issues facing Seattle's immigrant and refugee communities
  • Immigrants and Refugees Initiative, Department of Neighborhoods
  • Seattle Immigrant and Refugee Advisory Board

Outreach Service Resources and Examples by Topic

Communications

• Communicating with People from Other Cultures () - King County Office of Civil Rights
• Examples Language Offerings on Websites
• Bellevue
  • Neighborhood Multicultural Outreach
  • Spanish Language Website - In 2003 the city created a Spanish website, "La Pagina de Internet de la Ciudad de Bellevue." The site was launched to help Latino residents with limited or no English-speaking skills to find the information, resources, and assistance they need to integrate into the community and to provide a better understanding of how Bellevue city and government systems function.
• Seattle Non-English Language Available on Seattle.Gov
• Yakima Transit Bus Book () - Guide is written in English and Spanish.

Education

• Eliminating the Gaps, The Center for the Improvement of Student Learning (CISL), Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction
• The New Americans Civic Engagement and Educational Outreach Campaign - ITVS-Community Connections Project, Active Voice, The National Issues Forums Institute and Outreach Extensions
• The New Demography of America's Schools: Immigration and the No Child Left Behind Act, by Randolph Capps, Michael E. Fix, Julie Murray, Jason Ost, Jeffrey S. Passel, and Shinta Herwantoro, Urban Institute
• Kent School District Alliance for Diversity and Equity
• The Latino/a Educational Achievement Project (LEAP) - The LEAP mission is to improve academic achievement of Latino/a students in Washington state

Health and Human Resources

• Community Perspectives: Ideas for Improving Immigrant and Refugee Access to Human Services in East King County (), a research report produced by the Eastside Refugee and Immigrant Coalition and The Eastside Human Services Forum, 09/2005
• EthnoMed - A joint project of University of Washington Health Sciences Library and the Harborview Medical Center's Community House Calls Program. EthnoMed provides medical and cultural information on immigrant and refugee groups. While information-specific to groups in the Seattle area, much of the cultural and health information is of interest and applicable in other geographic areas. The site is designed to bridge cultural and language barriers during medical visits. However, the information about culture, language, health, illness, and community resources would also be useful background for persons designing social, health, and other human service programs for ethnic groups.
• Immigrant Info.org - Immigrant Info.org is sponsored by the Santa Clara County (California) Office of Human Relations and IRIS (Immigrant Relations and Integration Services)
• Immigrant Rights, Responsibilities and Resources Guidebook of Santa Clara County (California)

Libraries

• Boulder, CO Public Library Multi-Cultural Outreach Services
• Hennipin County, MN Library New Immigrants
• Programming Librarian, American Library Association - An online resource center for all things related to presenting cultural programs for all types and sizes of libraries
• Web Junction
  • Immigrants and World Languages
  • Spanish Speakers

Public Safety

• Lost in Translation Limited English Proficient Populations and the Police, by Bharathi A. Venkatraman, Attorney, Civil Rights Division Coordination and Review Section, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C., Police Chief, 04/2006
• Overcoming Language Barriers: Solutions for Law Enforcement (), by Susan Shah, Insha Rahman, and Anita Khashu, Vera Institute of Justice, 03/2007
• Sample for Discussion Purposes Planning Tool: Considerations for Creation of a Language Assistance Policy and Implementation Plan for Addressing Limited English Proficiency in a Law Enforcement Agency - Federal Interagency Working Group on Limited English Proficiency

Recreation

• Immigrants and Parks Collaborative Resource Library
• Recreation and Health Promotion for Immigrants and Ethnic Minorities, Lifestyle Information Network (Canada) - Knowledge exchange for practitioners and organizations in recreation and sport

Utilities

• Consumer Confidence Reports, Water Translations for Public Notification, Department of Health, Office of Drinking Water
• Serving Diverse Populations with Recycling: A Model for Local Government Recycling and Waste Reduction, California Integrated Waste Management Board

Voting

Four Washington counties are required by the federal Voting Rights Act to provide bilingual election information and ballots. King County must provide these materials in both English and Chinese, and Adams, Franklin, and Yakima counties must provide ballots and election information in English and Spanish.

• About Language Minority Voting Rights, U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division (Voting Rights Act of 1965, Section 203)
• Yakima County's Bilingual Election Program, Yakima County Auditor

Related MRSC Resources
MRSC Index – Minorities, cultural awareness, diversity, inclusive communities