SR-106-019
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Council Meeting 4/9/85
Santa Monlca, CalIfornIa
II-A
APR 0 9 1985
TO:
Mayor and CIty CouncIl
FROM:
Clty Staff
SUBJECT:
Report on Procedures and Programs to Increase LatIno
Involvement In Clty Sponsored Actlvltles
INTRODUCTION
Thl s report prov Ides Counc II WIth Informat Ion on the proposals
developed by the LatIno AdVIsory CommIttee and recommends a
number
of
1nit1atIves
to
Increase
Lat1no
Involvement
1n
act I Vl tles and ser V1ces sponsored by the CIty of Santa Mon1ca.
A recommendat1on 1S made to enter into a contract with a
qualIfIed translatIon serVIce for no more than $2,000 to provide
translatIon services to C1 ty departments Hi the preparatIon of
informatIonal materlals for the remaInder of thIS fIscal year.
In addl t lon, In format lon IS prov1ded on efforts WhICh have been
developed by VarIOUS city departments to 1mprove outreach and
serVlces to the Lat1no communIty.
BACKGROUND
In 1982 the CIty funded the then newly formed Lat1no Resource
Organ1zat1on to conduct a survey of Latino res1dents 1n Santa
Monica.
The goal of the survey was to 1dent1fy concerns and
needs WhICh exist Hi the local LatIno community and to thereby
Increase communIcatIon between local government and Santa MonIca
LatInos.
InformatIon produced by the survey suggested that
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APR 0 9 1985
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Lat Ino res idents ar e by and lar ge un1nvol vea 1n C1 ty government
and often are unaware of C1 ty serVIces and programs WhICh are
available. Lack of citizen participation in city affa1rs was
1dentifled as a slgniflcant problem In the local LatIno
communIty.
In August, 1983 CIty CouncIl appointed a 15 member Task Force on
Latlno Affairs to study clty departments and develop
recommendations for Councll consideration on actions which could
be taken to Improve serVIces to and Involvement of LatIno
reSIdents In Santa MonIca. In December, 1984 the Final Report of
the Task Force was presented to Councll and referred to Cl ty
Staff for analYSIS and subsequent recommendatlons.
CounCIl request ed that staff cons 1 der the following I terns WhIch
were ldentlfied as of partlcular interest to the Council:
l. Establishment of a central CIty Hall phone number wIth a
bl-llngual operator and status of bI-llngual capaCIty within
the 911 systemj
2. Use of bl-llngual prInted materIal In City bUSIness;
3. Improvement of the affIrmatIve actIon mailIng lIst;
4. Status of securIty at VIrglnIa Park, and
5. POSSIble Inequity In PNA dlstrlbutlon of hOUSIng
rehabilItatIon program.
DIScussions have been held WIth city departments addressed In the
Task Force Report to analyze the recommendatIons presented to
Councll and to identify possible actions which could be taken to
comply WIth the goals of the Task Force. These goals are to:
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1. Create a climate of mutual trust, understandIng f
cooperatIon, and involvement between the cIty of Santa
Monica and the ever-expandIng Latino community.
2. Increase Latino participation In CIty government.
3. Increase Latino ut IlIzatIon of eXIstulg cIty-provIded and
cIty-funded serVIces.
4. Increase the quality of eXIstIng serVIces and help create
add I t ional ser VIces to fIll "servIce gaps II In the Lat ino
community.
In some cases departments have already made efforts to Improve
outreach to LatIno residents and these are described In thIS
report. Task Force recommendatIons WIll also be addressed In the
proposed objectives and workplans for FY 1985-86.
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
A number of the recommendations made by the Task Force related to
Improvements In the City's AffIrmative Action program. The major
recommendatIons are addressed below:
The Rule of Three
The abilIty of the CIty to hIre and advance mInorIty candIdates
IS lImited by the CIty Charter requIrement that the CIty hIre one
of the top three candIdates emergIng from the CIVIl serVice
test ing process. The Charter prov i s Ion dates back to the 194 Os
and current pUblIC personnel practIce 15 to move to broader band
selectIon from eligIbIlIty lIsts. Because often hundredths of a
point separate indIVIduals on a lIst, the top three rule IS
unnecessarIly restrIctIve. The League of CalIfornIa CItIes
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recommends a mOdel procedure WhICh expands the list to the top
fIve, and many other cItIes have adopted that procedure or other
alternatives to liberalize hIrIng practices.
In order to brIng Santa MonIca's procedures into conformance WIth
modern practIce, an amendment to the Charter would be necessarYt
accomplished through a vote of the people. The Personnel
Department Intends to inItIate the process to expand the Rule of
Three by developIng an InitIal study and evaluation of such a
change and Its potential benefIts and drawbacks for Santa MonIca.
However, the ultImate deCIsion must be made In an electoral
context and has collectIve bargaInIng ImplIcatIons. Without the
elImInatIon of the Rule of Three, the City's efforts to
aggressi vely recruit mInorItIes and women can easily be
frustrated when these candIdates place fourth or fIfth on an
eligIbilIty lIst. The use of greater fleXIbIlIty In hIrIng and
promotIng mInorIty persons as suggested by the Task Force IS not
pOSSIble untIl the Charter prOVISIons are amended. However,
efforts can contInue to be made In the area of candidate
recruitment.
AffIrmatIve Actl~n Mall~.n~ Li~t
At the request of the Personnel Department members of the LatIno
Task Force have submitted a substantIally expanded affIrmatIve
actIon lIst WhICh will be of great help to the CIty in recrUIting
applIcants from the Latlno communIty. The lIst IS partlcularly
complete In the area of professional organizatIons in many fields
of interest to the CIty.
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AffIrmatIve ActIon OffIcer
The Task Force recommended the creatlon of an AfflrmatIve Actlon
OffIcer positIon WhICh would report directly to the Clty Manager
In order to dlrect more cIty staff tIme for recruItment of
mInorIty candidates for varIOUS CIty departments. The Task Force
also felt that such a posItIon could offer technical assistance
to cIty departments and ser ve as a clear lnghouse for var 10US
Issues related to services to the mInor 1 ty communIty in Santa
MonIca.
In a survey of 9 comparable clties In the area, it was dIscovered
tha t most house the affi rmatl ve act ion res ponslb III tIes wi thin
the Personnel Department rather than the City Manager's OffIce
and that only 2 surveyed citIes have a distInct posItIon
des Ign ated as an afflrmat i ve actIon offIcer pas i t Ion. The rest
dl v Ide the responslb III tIes for the admlnlstrat Ion of the AA
program among different personnel staff, usually at the Personnel
Analyst level or hIgher, as IS the practIce currently In Santa
MonIca.
The deSIgnatIon of a new pOSItIon within the Personnel Department
with prImary responslbI1Ity for the admInIstratIon of the
AffirmatIve ActIon program would provIde added staff capabIlltles
to devote to recruitment, retentIon of mInorIty and women
employees {WhICh IS a current concern WIthIn the protective
servIces), technical aSSIstance to department heads in fIllIng
positIons, and outreach actIvIties amongst minority and female
youth regarding Job possIbilitIes.
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The posItion could addItionally either fill other
responsIbIlItIes wIthIn the Personnel Department or take on other
tasks related to outreach to the mInority communIty discussed
below.
The pOSSIbIlIty of creatIon of the posItIon WIth the
res pons ib III t Ie s outlIned above wi 11 be revIewed In the conte xt
of the 1985 - 86 proposed budget delIberatIons.
AchIevements to Date
The Task Force pOInted out that 17% of the City f S workforce IS
composed of Latinos. ThIS compares favorably to the 11%
representatIon of LatInos In Santa MonIca'S populatlon, but falls
short of the 24% repr es entat Ion in the Standard MetropolItan
StatIstIcal Area (SMSA) labor force. However, the hIghest
concentrations of Latino employees are In the lower employment
categorIes InCludIng para-professIonals I offIce/clerIcal and
service/maIntenance.
In the decade SInce the cIty'S fIrst AffIrmatIve ActIon plan was
wrItten, the city's work force has Increased by 17.7%, whIle
representat10n of LatHlOs 1n the work force has Increased by
75.4% (from 11.4'% of the work force 1n 1974 to 17'% Hl 1984).
LatInos make up 26.2% of serv1ce/maintenance employees, 21.4% of
SkIlled crafts employees J 15.6% of cl er leal employees, 11. 6% of
protectIve serVice employees, 16.7% of technIcal employees, 6.3%
of professional employees and 5% of offlclals/adm1nlstrators.
The Personnel Department has IdentIfIed the hiring of Latinos and
Blacks 1n profeSSIonal and admlnlstrati ve pOSl tions as a major
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budget ObjectIve for FY 1984-85 and 1S concentrat1ng staff
efforts 1n th1S area. The hlrIng of mInorItIes in admInlstrative
pos1tIons was seen as a priority of the Task Force because of the
effect such pOSitions have on City policy development.
There 1S one apprent1ce pos1tion 1n each skilled craft (l.e.
painter, electr ic ian, plumber) pas i tlon In the city work force
through WhICh some women and Latinos have gone to become
permanent staff members. Whlle lImIted to 3 pOSItions, th1S does
represent a vocatIonal educatIon tra1ning program open to women
and minor1ty candIdates, WhICh was recommended by the Task Force.
PERSONNEL DEPARTMENT
A number of other recommendations were made which related to the
work of the Personnel Department.
Pay D1fferent ials fOT Billng~al_ Skills
The Rent Control, Attorney Cler1cal and Municipal Employee
ASSoc1at1on MOUs have a provIs1on for prOVIdIng a monthly "sklll
pay bonus" for employees who are "aSSIgned to speak or translate
a language in additIon to Engl1sh." Employees have been tested
for verbal and wrItten translation skills and a pay dIfferent1al
has been prOVIded If Spanlsh language SkIlls are utIlized as part
of the employee's work wIth the oi ty. A lIst Ing of employees
WIth these SkIlls WIll be dIstrIbuted throughout CIty Hall for
informational purposes and they may be called on from t1me to
tIme to provide translatIon serVIces at the dIscret10n of their
department head.
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Span~s~ ~_s .~ S~cond_L~ng).1age Tra1nIng for Current__E~l_~yees
Because profIcIency at a second language requIres extensIve study
and practice, past efforts to offer language classes to city
employees have had lim1ted success and are seen as ImpractIcal.
However, the tUitIon reimbursement program prOVIdes up to $1,000
a year to employees who study subJects which wIll enhance theIr
work performed for the city. This tUIt10n program 1S avaIlable
for employees Interested In studying SpanIsh who would utilIze
SpanIsh as part of their CIty employment, and the Personnel
Department wIll encourage such use In advertls1ng the program
amongst CIty employees.
PrOVIde Employm~nt and Tra1nIngLnfo~matlon In SpanIsh
Information about employment and tra1ning opportunit1es with the
CIty W1ll contInue to be translated and d1strIbuted through the
Spanish language newsmed1a when approprIate.
SPANISH LANGUAGE INFORMATIONAL MATERIALS
Most CIty departments produce InformatIonal materIals WhICh
should be prOVIded In Engllsn and SpanIsh for dIstrIbutIon to the
publIC. However, translation serVIces are expenSIve and are not
generally budgeted withIn departmental budgets. To overcome a
SItUatIon in whIch departments must draw on theIr own limited
resources to translate materIals, and to assure uniformt hIgh
qualIty translatIons WhICh are readable and well wrItten, a
central translatIon contract should be held WIth a qualified
translation serVlce. Such a serVice should be able to translate
Into well wrItten and grammatIcally correct SpanIsh, wlth access
to technIcal expertise for specialized technical vocabularies,
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and able to provide translatIon services in a timely fashIon. It
is dIffIcult to estImate the extent to whlch such a service WIll
be utIlIzed, but a FY 1984-85 contract not exceedIng $2,000 would
allow city departments adequate access to translatIon serVIces
for an untlal effort. Such a contract, with an estlmated cost
for trans lat lon ser vices of $. lOa word, would prov ide
translatIon of approxlmately 80 pages of double spaced
typewrItten text. Such a contract would lnclude translatlon of
the Recreatlon and Parks schedules and portions of the clty
newsletter, ~e~~ca~e.
Translat10n serVlces for the next f1scal year w1ll be addressed
In the 1985 - 86 proposed budget.
PUBLIC SAFETY
212-Emergency Number
Currently there IS a Span1sh-speaking operator on every shIft
handlIng the 911 Emergency Number. No problems have been
encountered to date with language problems through thIS service.
In add1 t1on, if a non-Engli sh speak lng per son calls and
translation ser vices aT' e needed, the 911 program has Immed late
translatIon available 1n a number of forelgn languages, allOWIng
for dIrect communication between the caller and the operator.
However, there is lIttle publIcity In the SpanIsh-speakIng
community WhICh lets indivlduals know that the serVIce eXIsts In
languages other than EnglIsh. The SMPD IS plannIng to publICIze
thIS eXIstIng service to encourage use of the 911 number by
LatInos and others WIth lImited English SkIlls. InformatIon WIll
be affIxed to police vehIcles and will be d1stributed to SpanIsh
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language newsmedia in the area.
The newly redesigned CIty hall phone system dlrects phone calls
dIrectly to cIty departments, bypassIng a central sWItchboard.
Therefore, it is lmpossible to have all incoming calls pass
through someone wIth a bIlIngual capacity. The long-term
sol utIon for Improv Ing communlcat Ions wIth the Spanlsh-speak In g
communIty calls for bIlIngual staff capaCl ty WI thin each
department capable of provIdIng InformatIon and services to those
residents who have limited Engll.sh skills. However, to address
current needs, a specIal CIty Hall lIne wlll be installed at the
Per sannel desk 1.n the Cl ty Hall lobby whIch already ser yes as a
general informatIon desk and is staffed by bIlIngual staff
members. The number WIll be pUblIcIzed through Seascap_e and
other appropriate information outlets. The information desk
staff will also have access to the lIst of CIty staff wIthin each
department capable of fIeldIng questIons 1n Spanish and provId1ng
oral translatIons. Cost for lnstallatlon of the llne WIll be
und er $200.
~~.1lce ActiX~,ty in Vlrgin1.a Park
Currently beat offIcers walk through VIrgInla Park as part of the
Pica neighborhood foot patrol two or three tlmes a nIght,
Wednesday through Saturday. There is no PICa nelghborhood foot
patrol Sund ay, Monday or Tuesday, the regularly aSSI goed
offIcers' days off.
o fflcer s conducted an
consecutive days in
undercover operation at
January after receivIng
the park three
complaInts of
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strongarm robberIes in the park. The operatIon resulted In six
arrests, IncludIng two ror strongarm robbery.
The Dorchester tunnel has recently been the scene of Increased
youth act). Vl ty , result Ing In dIsplays of graffl tl around the
tunnel and the surroundIng area. The Pollce Department 15 aware
of the problem, has met with area resIdents and 15 InvolVIng
local gang members 1n a graffltl clean up campaIgn in the
immedlate area.
Promotions
It has been suggested by the Task Force that some admlnlstratlve
pos 1 t ions W1 thIn the protec t1 ve ser VIces be fi lIed from outsi de
the CIty work force. The thr ee-per son recru i tment team 1n the
SMPD currently Includes a woman and an HispanIC, and fluency In
SpanIsh IS seen as an Important attrIbute for new offIcers and
PolIce Department personnel. The FIre Department's special 35
week traInIng course and a prior lateral recruItment resulted In
hIring four HIspanICS In the FIre Department in the last year.
Youth InteractIon wIth the PolIce Department
The Task Force suggested the establishment of more informal
Interaction between the protectIve serVIces and LatIno youth In
the communIty. Currently a youth dIverSIon program IS run by the
Pollce Department In co-operatlon WIth the YMCA, but no Informal
sports program WhICh Involves pollce offIcers and local youth
eXIsts. Although few pollce officers 11 ve l.n Santa MonIca, the
Department IS nonetheless open to suggestions In thIS area.
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9ang-related Activltl~~
In 1984 gang act 1 VI ty wi thin and around the cIty Increas ed. In
response, a polIce offIcer WIth expertise In gang related
actiVIty, was transferred to the InvestIgatIve DIVISIon and gIven
the responslblll ty for coordInating all Information related to
Santa MonIca area gangs and establIshIng lIaIson WIth them.
Approx Imately 35 meetIngs have been held wIth par ents of gang
members to gIve the parents InSIght Into theIr chIldren's gang
related actIVItIes. Meetings have been organIzed by the Lati'1o
Resourc e Organ 1 zatlon and the P ieo Ne Ighborhood Associat Ion In
WhIch members of the HispanIC communIty were told about
gang-related actiVitIes WIthIn the area.
Monthly meetIngs WIth the School DIstrict began in November,
1984 to discuss gang actIVIty on Santa MonIca school campuses.
AddI tionally, the offIcer attends the monthly meetIngs of the
CalIfornia Gang Investigator's Associatlon and exchanges gang
related InformatIon with all other polICIng agenCIes in Los
Angeles County.
RECREATION AND PARKS
Task Force recommendatIons focus on the areas of Improved
communIcation with the LatIno community and the development of
culturally relevant programmIng to attract Latino reSidents to
RecreatIon and Parks sponsored actIVItIes.
Dissemination of Information
The Department of Recreation and Parks dIstributes numerous
flIers and announcements which prOVIde InformatIon on recreatIon
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programmlng some of WhICh are now produced In SpanIsh. WIth the
av al1abi 11 ty of a tr an slation ser vlce, addItIonal fll er s can be
translated Into SpanIsh and dIstrIbuted through the normal
dl str Ib utlon networks (i. e. schools, parks, etc.) In addi tioD,
specI a1 pub1i CIty efforts WIll be made for actl v 1 ties In WhlCh
mlnorlty partIcipation has been small, notably SWlmmlng
instruction.
"Offlcer B Ill" Type .~_U~.l_IC Ity
In order to encourage more LatInos to take advantage of
recreatIon opportunIties avaIlable through the cIty, the Task
Force suggested the development of an "OffIcer BIll" type program
In WhiCh a bilingual recreation speclallst would speak to school
and church groups about program opporturn tIes. Such a staff
member could also provide feedback to the Department about WhICh
programs would be of special Interest to the LatIno community
(e. g ESL classes). WI thIn next year r S budget the hIr lng of one
part-tlme bilIngual and bIcultural recreatIon specialIst wl1l be
considered. Such a staff member would be trained to provIde
communlty outreach for the range of serVices offered by the
Recreation and Parks Department to Include programs for chIldren,
adults and senlor citizens. The cost for such a part-tlme
pos It Ion would be about $8, OOO/year . Dut ies could include an
evaluation of the most effectIve means to dIssemInate information
to the LatIno community, Includlng the posslble development of a
Spanlsh-language edItIon of the Recreation and Parks schedule.
LIBRARY SERVICES
While not addr essed by the Task Force report, the Santa Monlca
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library has developed program InitiatIves to Increase serVIces to
the LatIno community Wh1Ch deserve ment10n In th1S report.
For the past eIght years, the Santa Mon1ca Public LIbrary has
been paY1ng special attentIon to the lIbrary needs of
Spanish-speaking commun1ty members. ThIS has resulted in an
expanded collectIon of materIals In Spanish at the MaIn Library
(Wh1Ch has recently been relocated to a hIghly Visible locat1on),
the addItIon of Spanish-speaking staff, and the creation of an
HispanIc outreach program at the Fairview Branch LIbrary.
The collectIon of SpanIsh language materIals 1S housed near the
front entrance. It 1S comprised of approxImately 2,500 books,
150 r ecor ds, 8 magaz ines, and 2 newspaper s. In addl t1on, the
lIbrary offer s English as a Second Language mater I als In pr in t
and audiocasette format. The amount of money allocated for the
purchase of SpanIsh language materIals has been 1ncreased each
year In response to a steadIly grOWIng demand for and use of the
materials.
The MaIn Library presently has the equIvalent of 5 staff members
who speak Spanish, 3 of whom are full-time Reference LIbrarians,
W1 th the rest part-tIme staff In the Reference and CIrculatIon
Departments. For the past 2 years the lIbrary has Increased Its
efforts to encourage llbrary use by the LatIno community by
aSSlgrnng an H1spanIc outreach Ii brar1an to attend conferences,
workshops, semInars and organIzational meetIngs to learn how the
lIbrary may better serve the needs of thIS group. In addItion,
the library regUlarly schedules book talks at schools and tours
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of the 11 brary for H1span Ie stude nts and adult s of non-Engll sh
speak1ng backgrounds.
The Falrview Branch L1brary was targeted by the llbrary as the
SIte for the library's Hispanic outreach project due to Its
proximity to a large segment of the city's Spanish-speakIng
community. The project has resulted In the creation of a
separate collectIon of books, records, audlocasettes, per10dicals
and pamphlets In SpanIsh. In addi tlon, the llbrary has books,
records and cassettes that teach EnglIsh as a second language,
and a collectIon of books for new readers in EnglIsh. New to the
collectIon thIS year are cIrculatlng record and cassette players,
The Falrview Branch staff Includes 3 Span1sh-speaklng staff
members, one of whom IS a full-tIme clerk. The ChIldren's
LIbrarIan conducts bIweekly bIlingual pre-school story tImes for
two Head Start groups Wh1Ch ar e brought to the 11 brary. In
addi tlon, the HIspanIC outreach lIbrarIan from the MaIn L1brary
spends fIve hours each week workIng at FaIrvlew on outreach and
working wIth the Branch LIbrarIan on the maintenance of the
collectIon. DurIng th IS year, the outreach Ilbrar ian has made
fourteen contacts with ag~ncIes serv1ng the HIspanIC communIty to
apprIse them of the Ilbrary's serVlces and to learn how the
library may better serve the needs of the LatIno communIty.
TRANSPORTATION
On December 11, 1984 CounCIl authorIzed the C1ty Manager to enter
into a contract wlth Transcom, Inc. for a tranSIt marketing and
publIC lnformation program to Include market research,
development of a marketlng plan, users gUIde, advertISIng and
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promotIonal and commun1ty outreach materIals as well as an
evaluation of transportatIon serV1ces. In lIne wIth CounCil
dIrectIon, the proJect has Included telephone surveys conducted
lD SpanIsh and the convenIng of a "focus group" of HispanIC bus
users and non-users to dISCUSS improvement to the transportatIon
serVIces as well as marketIng strategies. GUIdes to serVIces
WIll be produced 1n both EnglIsh and Spanish and distributed
throughout the communIty begInn1ng 1n June. The user gUIde WIll
show people how to take the Big Blue Bus to varIOUS attractIons
and events in the Bus Company's service area. Advert1sIng
materials Will be produced In both Spanish and EnglIsh, and WIll
be available In September.
SOCIAL SERVICES
In addItion to IdentIfYing speCIfIC areas of need for the Latino
communIty (e.g. legal aSSistance and ImmIgration counselIng), the
Task Force focused on the need for bIlingual and bIcultural staff
capaCity WIthIn serVIce agenCIes and InstItutIons In the city.
Wi thout the language capabIlity and cultural sen:31 ti VI ty needed
to work effectIvely WIth the LatIno community, eXistIng social
services cannot be effectIvely dell ver ed to thl s segment of the
communIty.
For the past 2 years the city has funded the LatIno Resource
Orgarnzat1on to provide a varIety of services to local agenCIes
IncludIng help WIth outreach to the LatIno community, translatIon
services, and publiCIty through LRO's newspaper.
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School DistrIct
When allocating the proceeds from ProposItIon LL, the Santa
Man 1ca/Mal ibu Uni fled School D1 str lct funded a pas 1 t Ion for a
bIlIngual social worker to work withIn the school dIstrict
handling famIly related problems.
WIth the Increase In the
D1strIct's bIl1ngual student body, such a posItIon was seen as a
neceSSity for effective communIcatIon wIth Latino parents.The
establIshment of such a posItIon wIthIn the DIstrict was
recommended by the Task Force to offer counselIng for students
)
and educatIon for parents. The schools are the one unIt of local
government wIth WhICh the LatIno communIty has the most contact,
and Improved communication between parents and the schools was
IdentIfied as an Important goal by the Task Force.
Domestic Violence
Another recommendatIon of the Task Force was to prOVIde
preventIve educatIon focusing on domestIC vIolence within Latino
families.
ThIS year the Santa Monica PolIce Department expanded
Its domestIC vIolence unIt to Include a bIlingual counselor who
has qUickly established rapport wIth LatIno parents through
school presentatlons and 1S recelvlng an increaslng numbers of
calls. The domestIC violence unit, now composed of two full time
counselors, makes presentatlons to classes, PTAs and other
interested communIty groups and conducts inter views and in take
for VIctims of ChIld abuse or sexual vIolence.
Recrultment of Bicultural Staff in SOCIal SerVice Agencl~s
Local agenCies have made efforts to include blllngual and
blcultural profeSSIonal staff to expand theIr outreach efforts
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with the Latino community. However, as the Task Force noted, it
IS often diffIcult to hIre staff with such capabilit~es given the
modest salarIes offered by serVIce agenc1es and the shortage of
bIlIngual professionals In this fIeld. The affIrmative action
lIst prov~ded by the Task Force wIll be shared wlth local
agencIes to aid in theIr staff recruitment efforts.
Agency Evaluatio~
As agencIes are monItored by city staff during the program year
and new program proposals are evaluated, the ablllty of the
agency to do outreach to the Latino communIty and to offer
serV1ces to the low lncome resldents of Santa Mon~ca has been
Identifled as an lmportant component. As part of the grant
application process agencIes are asked to descrIbe theIr abilIty
to serve all segments of the community and to quantify the
numbers of mInorIty group members who are served. WhIle no formal
complaint system, as suggested by the Task Force, eXlsts for
c11ents dissatlsfled wlth agency servlces, each agency ~s asked
to develop an evaluation of serVIces WhIch includes a client
satisfaction component. Many agenCies have developed this
evaluatIon In Spanish as well as Engllsh.
~P~9i_f:i~ _S~r.vlce _N~e_ds
Sever al soc 1al ser VIces wer e hI ghllghted by the Task Fore e as
areas 10 wh~ch lmproved serVlce delivery or expanslon of services
were seen as needed by the LatIno communIty. The areas of mental
health, health education and medical serVIces for LatIno seniors
are handled by the Senlor Health and Peer Counseling Center WhlCh
has added a Lat1no outreach worker to its staff during the past
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year. In addltion, Venice Family Clinic, which reports seeIng a
large number of Santa Monica senIors, has a bilingual capability.
In the areas of immigratIon and legal counseling, LIEU-CAP offers
advocacy help for those applYIng for Immigration documents, and
WestsIde Legal SerVIces offers a range of legal help with
bIlIngual staff avaIlable. WhIle It cannot be suggested that
these programs meet the need which eXists for these complex
services, there 15 mInImally some capaclty withIn thiS communIty
to offer the Identified serVIces to LatInos wIth limIted EnglIsh
skills. Culturally appropn.ate, low cost organIzed youth
actl VI tIes ldent 1 fled as an addl tional need ed serVIce can be
offered through the Department of Recreation and Parks and should
be addressed through the added capaCIty brought to the department
with the addItion of a bIcultural part-time recreatIon
specIalIst.
~ou.s ~,n g;._R~ha ~)llI tat,IO,!,! ~rogr ~m
The Pico Neighborhood hOUSIng rehabilitatIon program is
essentIally a paInt-up, fix-up program WhICh prOVides
Improvements and emergency repairs for a maXimum of $2,000 per
unlt. As designed, only bUildIngs whlch have under 7 units are
ellglble for the rehab program. I"1formation about the program
has been distrIbuted by word of mouth and printed materials. The
Task Force expressed some concern about the low percentage of
Latinos WhlCh had taken advantage of the program. ThIS concern
was shared by the PlCO Neighborhood ASSOCIatIon which has
developed outreach Information Including meetings and SpanIsh
language flIers and targeted maIlIngs for area Latinos. ThIS
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program has a goal of rehablll. tatIng 55 units in thJ.s fiscal
year. LatIno partIcIpatIon In thIS program so far thIS year has
increased to 30%.
SUMMARY
In summary It can be seen that the var 10US departments of cIty
government have taken serIously the recommendatlons of the Task
Force on LatIno AffaIrs and are trYIng in a varIety of ways to
respond to the Intent of the Task Force recommendatlons. In some
cases, as In the Rule of Three, a grea t deal of effort must be
expended before a sIgnIfIcant change can be made In the hirIng
procedures utilIzed by the cIty. In other cases, staff has
thoughtfully developed mechanisms to extend programs to and
communlcat ions WI th the LatIno communIty WI thIn the conte xt of
theIr current departmental actIvitIes.
WIth the addItIon of LatIno staff members and wlth the Increased
communIcatIon with the LatIno community, additional program
Improvements can be anticIpated as the needs and Interests of
Santa MonIca's LatIno community are better understood by CIty
government.
BUDGET/FINANCIAL IMPACT
Most recommendatIons InvolVing expendItures of funds WIll be
addres sed In pr epar atJ.on of the propos ed FY 1985 - 86 budget.
The $2,000 for translatJ.on ser vices WIll be drawn from account
#01-700-271-000-411.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
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It IS recommended that:
1. Council authorize the expendIture of $2,000 for translation
services for FY 1984-85 from account #01-700-271-000-411 and
authorIze the City Manager to enter into a contract for such
s er vi c e s .
2. Council dIrect staff to evaluate the followIng Issues in the
context of the 1985 - 86 budget:
a. EstablIshment of an AffIrmatIve ActIon OffIcer posItlon.
b. Contr act
for
translatIon
ser VIces
for
all
CIty
departments.
c. Study of modifIcations to the Rule of Three.
d. ASSIstance to department to Improve outreach to LatIno
CommunIty.
e. HIrIng of bIlingual RecreatIon SpeCIalIst.
f. AbIlIty of funded agenCIes to prOVIde serVIces and
outreach to SpanIsh-speakIng residents.
3. CounCIl direct CIty staff to contInue to mOnItor progress In
this area and prOVIde an update on serVIces to the LatIno
communI t y in December, 1985.
Such an update will Include
the ld entlflcatlon of CIty departments Whl ch would benefIt
from a multI-year plan of actIon and the goal s of such a
plan.
Prepared By: ViVIan Rothstein
CommunIty LIaison
(Latrptx)
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