Filipino Language Access Report "Speaking Up Speaking Out" Press Conference

Join us in a press conference with Supervisor Matt Haney on the Filipino Language Access Report, "Speaking up Speaking Out," this Friday, October 25 at 10:30 a.m. at City Hall Room 278.

In partnership with SOMCAN and the Office of Civic Engagement and Immigrant Affairs (OCEIA), the press conference will relay the important findings of the new report by Dr. Valerie Francisco-Menchavez, "Speaking up Speaking out," that had found that five years after Filipino Language Certification in San Francisco, Filipinos are still in dire need of Language Access Services.

The new report include the findings that there are institutional barriers at play and that community workers are bearing the brunt of interpretation and translation services for San Francisco residents.

On April 2, 2014, the OCEIA officially certified Filipino as San Francisco’s third language spoken by a “Substantial Number of Limited English Speaking Persons.” All City Departments providing information or services to the public were expected to fully implement required Filipino Language Access Services by December 31, 2015.

Dr. Francisco-Menchavez and her team of researchers who assessed and evaluated the existing and emerging barriers and needs of Filipino LEP (Limited English Proficient) residents, and made multi-pronged recommendations to address the needs, was recently awarded the Excellence in Scholarship ward by SFSU’s College of Health and Social Science.