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Chapel Hill Building Integrated Communitites receives national attention (2-Programs))

Chapel Hill Building Integrated Communitites receives national attention

Chapel Hill Building Integrated Communities received national recognition for its language access plan from the Migration Policy Institute (MPI). The plan was featured in the MPI report “A Framework for Language Access: Key Features of U.S. State and Local Language Access Laws and Policies“. This report identifies the common elements and unique innovations adopted across 40 states and localities. Among the common elements shared are document translation, interpretation services, ensuring accuracy, and training staff. Innovative provisions guiding agency responsibilities that seek to make language access services more durable and responsive include mandating accountability mechanisms and tracking data on Limited English Proficient (LEP) populations and usage of services. The Town of Chapel Hill’s Language Access plan includes all of the common elements and innovative provisions listed above.

The Town of Chapel Hill’s Language Access plan enabled the Town to deploy multilingual covid relief resources to immigrant residents. Chapel Hill translated vital documents, offered demand-based interpretation, and provided multilingual interpretation for community input meetings and Know Your Rights sessions. Staff also worked with Town funding recipient Habitat for Humanity to amend its policies to serve residents with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Differed Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status.

Sarah VinasIn the words of BIC liaison Sarah Osmer Viñas, Interim Director of Housing and Community, “This is an exciting opportunity for other communities to learn from us and see that even smaller cities and towns can make progress on issues like language access if they develop a good plan and have staff in place to lead implementation.”

The Language Access Plan is an outcome of a community-engaged planning process facilitated by the Building Integrated Communities initiative at the Institute for the Study of the Americas from 2017-2019. To read the full assessment and recommendations, visit our Chapel Hill Project page here (migration.unc.edu/chapel-hill-project/).

Logo for Institute for the Study of Americas and The Latino Migration ProjectThe University is committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment and to ensuring that educational and employment decisions are based on individuals’ abilities and qualifications. Consistent with these principles and applicable laws, it is therefore the University’s policy not to discriminate on the basis of age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or veteran status as consistent with the University’s Policy on Prohibited Discrimination, Harassment and Related Misconduct . No person, on the basis of protected status, shall be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to unlawful discrimination, harassment, or retaliation under any University program or activity, including with respect to employment terms and conditions. Such a policy ensures that only relevant factors are considered and that equitable and consistent standards of conduct and performance are applied.

La Universidad se compromete a proporcionar un entorno inclusivo y acogedor y a garantizar que las decisiones educativas y laborales se basen en las capacidades y cualificaciones de las personas. De acuerdo con estos principios y las leyes aplicables, es política de la Universidad no discriminar por motivos de edad, color, discapacidad, género, expresión de género, identidad de género, información genética, origen nacional, raza, religión, sexo, orientación sexual o estatus de veterano de acuerdo con la Política de la Universidad sobre Prohibición de Discriminación, Acoso y Falta de Conducta Relacionada (solo en inglés). Ninguna persona, sobre la base del estatus protegido, será excluida de la participación, se le negarán los beneficios o será objeto de discriminación ilegal, acoso o represalias en virtud de cualquier programa o actividad de la Universidad, incluso con respecto a los términos y condiciones de empleo. Dicha política garantiza que solo se consideren los factores relevantes y que se apliquen estándares de conducta y desempeño equitativos y consistentes.