Language Access Policy (LAP) Community Vision 2024:
Community Vision Capital & Consulting (“Community Vision”) is a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) with a mission to promote economic justice and alleviate poverty by increasing the financial resilience and sustainability of community-based nonprofits and enterprises. Through flexible financial products and sound advice, Community Vision creates opportunities to make socially responsible investments that revitalize Northern and Central California communities. Community Vision has carried out this mission since its founding as the Northern California Community Loan Fund in 1987.
The purpose of this Language Access Policy (LAP) is to identify and communicate Community Vision’s values and responsibilities for providing Limited English Proficient (“LEP”) individuals with meaningful access to our products and services and to establish effective guidelines, consistent with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Executive Order 13166, for our staff to follow when working with or providing services to LEP individuals.
Assessment
Community Vision works directly with borrowers within its designated Target Market(s). Using recent U.S. Census Bureau data, we have been able to determine that up to approximately 6% of the population within our Target Market in California are LEP individuals, with the predominant language among them being Spanish. As a result, the likelihood of LEP individuals interacting with Community Vision is low. This is consistent with our past experience interacting with the public.
Assistance Provided
Regardless of the number of LEP individuals in its Target Market(s), Community Vision is committed to improving accessibility of our products and services to help to ensure full participation by LEP individuals. Community Vision’s values include respecting the communities we work with, including through language access. As such, we offer the following Language Assistance Services:
- Community Vision has a designated phone extension and voice mailbox, for LEP individuals to leave messages and request a call-back in Spanish. Spanish speakers are notified of this service via our website and our automated phone tree system.
- Upon request, we will provide reasonable written translations of our written materials (e.g., applications, instructional forms, resources, etc.) into Spanish.
- Upon request, we will utilize a third-party vendor to provide reasonable verbal interpretation services to Spanish-speaking LEP individuals.
- Pending availability of interpreters or translators through our existing vendors, we will provide interpretation and translation into additional languages as requested.
Language Assistance Services will be offered free of charge. Prospective and current clients and borrowers will be notified of these offerings through Community Vision’s website and can request support by calling Community Vision and leaving a voicemail on its designated Spanish language mailbox.
Training and Monitoring
Community Vision will provide guidance and training to frontline staff and managers regarding engagement with LEP individuals. All staff will receive copies of the LAP, and the LAP and information regarding how to access translation services will be posted to the Community Vision staff intranet. Community Vision has a designated Language Access Coordinator, who will maintain and update the LAP as needed, and provide access to training and resources to staff to support Community Vision’s commitments.
Additional Measures Community Vision is Committed to Implementing during the FY25 Period:
- Community Vision is in the process of a website update, and will include relevant information on our website in both Spanish and English when the new site launches.
- Community Vision’s data team will continue to collect and analyze data, and to improve its existing data-collection systems, to keep abreast of language needs of our communities, and will make recommendations to the organization on improvements to increase language access.
- As new or amended high-visibility printed materials are prepared, Community Vision will make those materials available in Spanish.
