Mississippi Administrative Code › Title 18 - HUMAN SERVICES › Part 6 - Division of Family and Children's Services › Chapter 1 - DFCS Policy Manual › Section 18-6-1-I - Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Policy › Section 18-6-1-I-III - PROCEDURES

Current through June 25, 2024
A.
MDHS-DFCS Shall Provide All LEP
				  Clients with any Language Assistance Needs
Pursuant to MDHS-DFCS policy, MDHS-DFCS is committed to
					 providing competent language assistance at no cost and in a timely manner to
					 LEP individuals to ensure meaningful access to and an equal opportunity to
					 participate fully in the services, activities, programs or other benefits
					 administered by MDHS-DFCS. This includes ensuring effective communication
					 between MDHS-DFCS staff members, contractors, and/or sub recipients and LEP
					 individuals.
MDHS-DFCS also recognizes that child welfare services are
					 necessary for the protection of life and safety of children. To that end,
					 MDHS-DFCS is committed to ensuring that children in mixed-status or immigrant
					 households have equal and meaningful access to child welfare programs and
					 services administered by MDHS-DFCS.
B.
Identifying LEP Persons and Their
				  Language
MDHS-DFCS shall identify the language and communication
					 needs of the LEP person. Staff will use a language identification card and/or
					 posters to determine the language. If the LEP person does not read or recognize
					 any of the languages included in one of the methods described above, DFCS staff
					 shall use a telephone interpreting service to identify the individual's primary
					 language then contact the MDHS-DFCS interpreter assigned to their specific
					 region for further assistance.
If an LEP individual requests an interpreter, one shall be
					 provided.
Under no circumstances shall a staff member deny a
					 request for an interpreter based solely on whether an LEP individual can answer
					 short questions by nodding or through the use of questions to which the answers
					 are simply "yes" or "no"
.
Regardless of the type of
					 language assistance provided, the language assistance provider,
					 bilingual/multilingual staff, contract/volunteer interpreter, language
					 telephone interpreting service and/or community organization, shall be
					 competent to interpret or translate.
1.
Documentation
The primary language of each LEP individual shall be
					 documented in MACWIS and in a conspicuous location in the individual's record
					 to alert staff that language assistance services must be provided. In addition,
					 when records are kept of past interactions with clients or family members, the
					 language used to communicate with the LEP person will be included as part of
					 the record. Coordination between all MDHS-DFCS departments concerning language
					 assistance needs will be handled through, but not limited to, telephone, email,
					 or written communication.
2.
"I Speak" Cards
To serve as an aid to the LEP population, "I Speak" cards
					 have been developed for Spanish and Vietnamese speaking clients and are
					 available to all county offices and are also posted on the DFCS connection
					 website. These cards may be used by clients to introduce themselves to county
					 staff and indicate their need to have interpreter services. The cards provide
					 the person's name and a reference to Federal regulations regarding language
					 assistance. As LEP clients are served in county offices, workers should provide
					 the cards to these clients for future use when requesting services.
See
Appendix A.