Transportation Planning Capacity Building Program

- Peer Program Report -

Federal Highway Administration Resource Center
Peer-to-Peer Workshop

Identifying and Engaging Low Literacy and Limited English
Proficiency Populations in the Transportation
Decisionmaking Process

I. Summary

The following report summarizes the results of a Peer Workshop held through the Transportation Planning Capacity Building (TPCB) Program, which is jointly sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA). The FHWA Resource Center hosted the Workshop, which was designed to allow planning professionals from various backgrounds the opportunity to describe innovative and effective practices that their agencies employ to improve awareness among communities and transportation planning agencies of the existence of low-literacy and limited-English-proficiency populations within their boundaries.

The Peer Workshop consisted of eight presentations followed by informal discussions and the identification of lessons learned. Information shared during each of the presentations and subsequent conversations included:

• methods used to identify whether low-literacy and limited-English-proficiency populations exist in project areas;
• techniques for engaging these populations; and
• lessons learned during the implementation of initiatives to involve them.

The public involvement and outreach methods highlighted in the Peer Workshop's case studies might be helpful in developing public involvement plans that recognize and include the literacy constraints and language diversity of project-area populations as well as in creating transportation policies, programs, and projects that are more responsive to the needs of all people.

K.Lynn Berry of the FHWA Resource Center facilitated the Peer Workshop. Peer Workshop participants included transportation professionals from the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans); Chicago Area Transportation Study (CATS) Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO); Federal Transit Administration (FTA); FHWA Resource Center; Miami-Dade Metropolitan MPO; Moore, Iacobano, Goltsman, Inc. (MIG); Neighborhood Solutions Inc.; PBS&J Consulting; Portland Tri-Met; and the Washington State Human Rights Commission. The Peer Workshop was held on May 5, 2004 in Atlanta, GA.

II. Background

On August 11, 2000, President Clinton signed Executive Order 13166, "Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency." The Executive Order requires Federal agencies to examine the services they provide, identify any need for services to those with limited English proficiency (LEP), and develop and implement a system to provide those services so LEP persons can have meaningful access to them. The failure to assure that people who are not proficient in English can effectively participate in, and have meaningful access to, a Department of Transportation (DOT) financial assistance recipient's programs and activities may constitute National-origin discrimination prohibited by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and implementing regulations.

Additionally, a DOT report entitled Non-Response in Household Travel Surveys found that according to the National Adult Literacy Survey, "the English literacy skills of nearly one-fourth of the U.S. adult population are extremely limitedⁱ." This portion of the population is able, at best, to read and understand written information when it is brief and uncomplicated. About 19 percent of these individuals, who are at the lowest level of literacy, report visual difficulties that interfere with their ability to read printed material. This results in limited understanding of how to use the transportation system, which makes it difficult to plan new facilities and services effectively.

Research has shown that many transportation agencies are unaware that low-literacy and LEP populations existed within their boundaries, and that their current "public involvement plans" had not taken into consideration the implications of low literacy or LEP. As a result, their public involvement efforts often rely on written material in English found on websites, and in newspapers and newsletters. These techniques assume that all members of the public can read English and/or afford to buy a computer or subscribe to a newspaper. Thus, large segments of the public might never be aware of projects or their opportunities to participate in the transportation decisionmaking process. The Peer Workshop helped to identify effective-practice methodologies in addressing these concerns.

III. Perspectives and Issues

The presenters assembled at the one-day Peer Workshop represent agencies that have sponsored innovative public involvement practices and outreach to low literacy and LEP populations. Summaries of their successful public involvement and outreach strategies are described below.

1. Project ANA and The Community Characteristics Program
Elizabeth Rockwell

Project ANA
The Miami-Dade County Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) is becoming a clearinghouse for the region through which all transportation-related requests are funneled. Since a majority of the communities in the region is Latino, the MPO has developed a public involvement plan that aims to reach out to the limited English proficiency public regarding Miami-Dade County's transportation system. The project, called "Project ANA," focuses on creating Awareness of alternative transportation, determining citizen Needs, and illustrating to all communities how Accessible transportation can be.

The MPO's Public Involvement Office (PIO) administers Project ANA, which has the mission of visiting all of Miami-Dade County's communities in order to have meaningful interaction with them. Through coordination with local community organizations, the PIO is allotted time on the agendas of existing citizen, business, student, and faith-based community events. From these meetings, the PIO seeks to develop an understanding of the public's transportation needs, concerns, and ideas for system improvement. The PIO anticipates the demographic (and lingual) composition of the various meetings and staffs them accordingly. With staff present who can converse in attendees' native languages, direct interaction has provided the MPO with a useful alternative to the written word. This communication helps to build among citizens a deeper trust and confidence in community planners and their decisions. The use of non-English-language radio and television outlets to inform the public of upcoming events has also been an effective means of establishing a more significant relationship between the MPO, and low-literacy and LEP populations.

Project ANA is also designed to obtain effective feedback from the public by asking them to fill out comment cards. The comment cards have been translated from English into Spanish and Creole to assure the program is adequately reaching out to diverse communities. Within roughly 10 days, the MPO then reviews these comments and responds to the public in English, Spanish, and Creole via letter. The letter thanks the individual for their comment and includes a pledge to forward the comment to the appropriate agency. In addition, staff then enters and stores all of the public comments and questions, including those received on the Internet, by letter, phone calls, faxes, and comment cards, into a database called the Public Involvement Database (PID). The PID serves as a form of documentation of MPO activities and is a tool to help plan future outreach events.

Community Characteristics Program
The Community Characteristics Project (CCP) is Miami-Dade County MPO's own best-practice tool that was created in attempts to carry the public through the entire decisionmaking process. The tool, developed jointly with Florida International University, allows a community's social, economic, and geographic characteristics to be reviewed before public involvement has started. It is comprised of a web-based geographic information system (GIS), a guide providing detailed information on effective outreach strategies for various populations, and a community background report that identifies community characteristics that may affect public involvement efforts. The tool facilitates PIO efforts to tailor its public involvement approach according to community characteristics.

Currently, the CCP has completed Phase I, which was the development of an online interactive map viewer (http://gisims2.miamidade.gov/MyNeighborhood/home.asp) that allows users to find neighborhood locations and historical information and to create a GIS report of these data. Phase II aims to expand the customized GIS report to include information on means of outreach that might be most successful in a given neighborhood. Planners will be able to select an area within Miami-Dade County, identify the target population for the area, determine the appropriate public involvement strategy for the target population, and identify any issues that may affect public involvement. When completed, the information in the application will be available to all planning organizations, making the tool a critical asset in enhancing the relationship between the State DOT, FHWA, FTA, and the public.

2. Engaging the Limited English Latino Population in California
Esmeralda Garcia

Some planning organizations across the country are seeking to address the changing needs of their evolving communities. In California, and elsewhere, the Latino population is growing, making it necessary to see that LEP and low-literacy populations are aware of and able to participate in public involvement opportunities. To do this, State agencies in California have supported an approach of first understanding the values of the community in which outreach will take place, then developing a personal relationship with citizens. Esmeralda Garcia, of Moore, Iacofano, and Goltsman, Inc., discussed strategies that California's public agencies are implementing in the area of public involvement. Ms. Garcia described the following three steps for understanding the values of Latinos in California:

1. Seek Information - By developing an awareness and baseline level of education, planners can make decisions that better match community needs and desires.
2. Take Action — Since no two communities are the same, a "cookie-cutter" approach to public involvement may not be effective. Instead, a responsive and flexible approach can make public engagement a more successful endeavor.
3. Build Trust — By understanding that members of the Latino community (1) generally support an intergenerational and matriarchal family structure; (2) respect authority and institutions such as school, church, and government; and (3) strive to be self-reliant, entrepreneurial workers; efforts to communicate with them can be more productive. If the community senses that planners are familiar with the background from which it comes, the trusting community is more likely to engage in dialogue with planners.

Three project-specific outcomes in which these steps were effective are described below:

Interstate 710 Major Corridor Study
The Corridor Study of Interstate 710 (I-710) extended from the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, in the south, to State Route 60 (SR-60), in the north. During project planning, engineers designed 12 alternatives that were presented to the impacted communities as being "good" for them. However, the proposed highway expansion would remove hundreds of low-income homes from the communities along the corridor — communities that are 98% Spanish-speaking and already burdened by two major highways.

To ensure that this large non-English speaking portion of the population had its voice heard, Caltrans identified the communities that would be most impacted by I-710 and then facilitated the establishment of Community Advisory Committees (CACs) in these communities. The CACs' role was to promote a grassroots approach to community participation, making certain that low-literacy and LEP groups in the community were aware of how they could influence decisions at various public involvement opportunities. The CACs also held bilingual workshops so that the communication process between engineers and the community was as transparent as possible.

Avalon General Plan Visioning
During the visioning for the community of Avalon, California's General Plan, community leaders were asked questions intended to gauge how much they knew about the community's citizens. At the time, the leadership was unaware that the Spanish-speaking population had its own community leaders. Closer inspection showed that 50 percent of the community's population was Latino and that this cohort had many informal leaders. To ensure that the voices of the Spanish-speaking population did not go unheard, closed-session Spanish-language focus groups and bilingual community workshops were held. At these meetings, community values, transportation needs, and concerns were discussed.

Tri-County Non-Emergency Medical Transportation Study
During a Non-Emergency Medical Transportation Study (NEMT) in northern California, a grassroots approach was taken to identify stakeholders in poor, rural communities. Phone calls were made, door-to-door home interviews were given (by both appointment and door knocks), and meetings were held at churches and other social-service organizations. For example, the NEMT Study became a 10-minute topic on the weekly agenda for parenting classes. Bilingual focus groups and charettes were also effective. Once outreach via these methods was complete, a notice for comment was sent out to all participants.

3. Public Involvement During Interstate 70 Project Development
Jumetta Posey

Transportation planners in Denver, Colorado are currently assessing the feasibility of widening and upgrading a 26-mile corridor of elevated Interstate 70 (I-70) that runs from the Denver International Airport west toward the Rocky Mountains as well as adding a commuter rail line parallel to the highway. The proposed project is in response to a need to address more adequately traffic needs between downtown Denver and the airport. Currently traffic and congestion often stifles neighborhoods below the highway. Neighborhoods through which the corridor passes include Five Points, Globeville, Swansea, Northeast Parkhill, Montibello, Gateway, Green Valley Ranch, and the locations surrounding Denver's old airport — an area where the development of 15,000 new homes is proposed.

When the elevated highway was originally constructed in the 1950s, a time prior to the implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) which requires the review of environmental impacts on Federally funded projects, it divided some of the most ethnically and economically diverse communities in Denver. Through eminent domain, the government acquired the land necessary to build the highway, displacing many families from homes owned for several generations. This instilled in many residents a suspicion and mistrust of government decisions and actions that has persisted to today.

The project has created a convergence of interests among area neighborhoods and businesses. For the project, the Colorado Department of Transportation worked with a community-involvement firm, Neighborhood Solutions, to communicate with residents, including low-literacy and LEP populations, and businesses within affected neighborhoods. Jumetta Posey described the interview approach customized to the neighborhoods directly and indirectly impacted by I-70. For all of the directly impacted neighborhoods, "Outreach Specialists" went door-to-door interviewing residents. The goal of the door-to-door interviews, which were conducted five days a week from July 21, 2003 through the last week in November 2003, was to overcome any language barriers that may have existed.

Outreach Specialists were recruited from area neighborhoods and trained to understand the contents of Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) and to speak basic conversational Spanish since the population in the impacted neighborhoods is 40 percent Latino. They were also taught to take notes, to be courteous to all ethnicities, and to smile genuinely. By showing genuine interest in community and household level sentiment, Outreach Specialists were able to show the impacted neighborhoods that their staff was there to help and see that transportation planners fully considered the community's views.

Visibility helped Outreach Specialists acquire familiarity within the communities. Flyers — copied and printed in the impacted neighborhoods - were posted announcing the times and dates that door-to-door interviews would take place. The information provided on the flyers was written in both English and Spanish. Outreach Specialists, all given nametags, were also outfitted in bright yellow shirts branded with a distinct 1-70 Corridor logo. Communities soon began to associate the yellow shirts and nametags with the people who were there to help.

To ensure that additional trips to the same household were not necessary, bilingual teams of two Outreach Specialists would go to each home to conduct the surveys. One team member would ask the questions while the other recorded the residents' answers. The surveys, which avoided personal questions, were intended to get neighborhood residents to talk about their transportation concerns and preferences. Example questions include: Where do you go and how do you get there? Would you want to go to a certain place and how would you want to get there? Conversation was encouraged and all answers were treated and recorded as data; non-transportation information was later shared for free with the appropriate agencies. Roughly 14,000 out of 18,000 homes in the impacted area were interviewed.

During an interview, participants were asked to host a "Block Meeting," to which they could invite their neighbors. These meetings, advertised by bi-lingual flyers, were conducted in parks and backyards, and typically had 10-15 attendees. The Block Meetings focused on the EIS process and the transportation concerns that particular block had voiced during the door-to-door interviews. After Block Meetings were held, neighborhood meetings were planned. Up to 125 residents attended these meetings. It was here that the Outreach Specialists described any current developments in the EIS process and the overall neighborhood's transportation concerns as well as corridor- and region-wide perspectives and trade-offs, helping to overcome myopic views of I-70 expansion. Finally, corridor-wide meetings, sometimes with over 300 residents, were held at two locations at each end of the corridor. Here, attendees were allowed to write on corridor maps and further discuss their I-70 desires and anxieties. These techniques allowed the communities to develop a sense of project ownership and to discover how they might empower themselves. To help ensure the attendance of as many residents as possible, translators, meals, and childcare were provided at all three levels of meetings.

4. Overcoming Challenges to Reach Low Literacy and LEP Populations
Marc Brenman

The mission of the Washington State Human Rights Commission (Commission) is to eliminate and prevent discrimination through the fair application of the law, the efficient use of resources, and the establishment of productive partnerships in the community. The work of the Commission aims to prevent and eliminate discrimination by investigating human-rights complaints and providing education and training opportunities throughout the State.

The Commission has encountered several challenges in attempting to accomplish this mission. These challenges, however, have led to the development of innovative ideas that, when realized, can help reduce the occurrence of discrimination. The challenges, as they relate to transportation decisionmaking and actions to overcome them are summarized below:

• The Challenge of Transience - Washington is a heavily agricultural State that has recently experienced a considerable increase in the immigration of farm workers. These laborers are predominately low literacy and/or LEP populations from Mexico. Many of these populations are becoming settled, but many still migrate within the State. Similarly, roughly 70 percent of the Native American population in Washington lives outside reservations. Farmworker transience has caused the Commission to be less than successful in a number of discrimination cases. By the time the Commission gets the chance to investigate a case, the individuals concerned may have moved.
• The Challenge of Changing Definitions — A growing number of the population are functionally illiterate, but in part the numbers may be due to a changing definition of "literacy." This can lead to the misconception that low literacy populations are ignorant and incapable of adding value to public meetings. Some low literacy people do have learning disabilities, and low-literacy is highly correlated with poverty. There are also rising needs for technological knowledge.
• The Challenge of Transportation Concepts — There is a conceptual obstacle to the idea that infrastructure must go through some place. With a lack of understanding of how transportation infrastructure works and what it is designed to do, low-literacy and LEP populations, among others, may be hesitant to become involved in the decisionmaking process.

Transportation, itself, has also been an obstacle to eliminating discrimination. Low-literacy and LEP populations might not understand how to use existing transportation services and/or might not have the money to afford their own transportation. Since transportation decisions are made on the basis of values — what people want, talk about, and do with their time — it is important to hear from as much of the community as possible and take these values into consideration as vehicles for reaching these populations. The values and considerations of low-literacy and LEP populations are often excluded from involvement opportunities because they lack access to or awareness of the meeting.

Transportation can also be seen as part of the problem, by causing congestion, injuries, over-development, and high prices. One cannot expect any community to be enthusiastic about something that might be detrimental to it. Furthermore, transportation can appear to be ephemeral, with popular projects appearing suddenly. Choice needs to be provided, so LEP and low literacy populations do not feel coerced. The "No Build" alternative should always be a real possibility.

Overcoming these Obstacles — To lower the barriers preventing equitable involvement, several recommendations were made:

• Those responsible for coordinating outreach opportunities should go to where low-literacy and LEP populations actually are and where they get information — places such as community centers, faith-based organizations, buses, and non-English television outlets. Schools, which are often under-utilized, can also be key places for conveying information about transportation infrastructure, community issues, and upcoming public meetings. Through interaction at home, children, equipped with a broad understanding of transportation and related projects in the community, can raise their parents' awareness of these projects.
• Transportation can move beyond the problem of low literacy and LEP by using pictures, images, figures, icons, and color-coding. Symbols can be easily recognizable and understandable alternatives to words.
• The definition of literacy could be reframed. With a consistent definition of literacy and how it affects approaches to outreach, support for environmental justice issues as related to transportation services might be more easily gained. Furthermore, environmental justice might then be viewed more widely as a chance to bring people together to affect outcomes instead of a hurdle that can stop projects.
• Over-reliance on the Internet as a source of public involvement information for low literacy and LEP populations should be avoided. When the Internet is used, websites should include many images understandable regardless of native language and literacy.
• Use a "Pull-Push-Clear the Path" approach to public involvement. Pull — the market audience must be attracted. Push — public campaigns promoting issues and/or involvement opportunities must be undertaken. Clear the Path — the path to meaningful and continuing involvement and interaction must be cleared for low literacy and LEP populations.
• Use marketing concepts. Know your message, your audience, and what they believe. Decide what media will best reach this audience and what contexts are most familiar. Show how transportation is the route to fulfillment of people's desires.
• Show respect for the public by building rapport and trust. Build on the cultural strengths of the communities and help people with low literacy avoid embarrassment and social stigma.
• Ask questions and then act on the responses rather than discarding them.
• Obtain support from other governmental entities by framing LEP and low literacy issues as ones of safety, security, and health. People have a right to be safe, secure, and communicated with in a way they understand and on which they can act.

5. Chicago Area Transportation Study Outreach Approaches
Don Kopec

The Chicago Area Transportation Study (CATS) Policy Committee is designated as the MPO for the northeastern Illinois region. The MPO, which encompasses six counties and 271 suburban municipalities, is comprised of 20 different agencies that all deliver transportation services in some manner. Each of the agencies and municipalities, along with some private community organizations, has a representative seat on the Policy Committee Board. This large committee structure ensures that citizens, interest groups, elected officials, and public and private agencies are included in the transportation planning process. The planning process culminates every three years, when CATS delivers a Long Range Plan that creates a vision and prepares for the development of safe, efficient, and affordable transportation systems in the Chicago metropolitan area.

To ensure that low-literacy and LEP populations are involved in the creation of these plans, CATS has employed several approaches. First, CATS holds several meetings within the six-county MPO boundary. CATS works closely with community organizations in the counties to determine community needs, the identity of community leaders, places where the most people might be reached, and, thus, the most appropriate locations for meetings. As an incentive to attend the county meetings, CATS provides free food.

CATS has also produced videos describing the transportation planning process and Chicago's metropolitan planning process. The videos are broadcasted on both standard and cable television. Currently, CATS uses non-English television broadcasts only during the final stages of community outreach. The MPO intends to begin using this outlet earlier and more often in the planning process.

To accompany the videos, CATS has embraced the use of images and symbols in an effort to minimize word use. For example, the MPO has designed a foldout pamphlet describing the planning process through many images and charts. The colorful and image-driven brochure is likely understandable by low-literacy and LEP populations. CATS also held a poster contest for all students up to the 6th grade. The students were asked to draw images of the region's transportation options. CATS, which created a calendar of the winning entries, anticipated that students would go home and talk about the contest, thus, indirectly teaching their parents about the area's transportation systems. CATS also distributed a transportation planning-based lesson plan to some of the region's schools. Teachers were encouraged to use the lesson plan across curriculums. This successful interaction has made schools and their communities more receptive to CATS' efforts to involve and ask questions to them.

6. TriMet Second Language Services
Kim Duncan

Portland, Oregon's TriMet transit agency, which serves 575 square miles of the Portland metropolitan area, recently completed construction on and began operation of a 5.8-mile extension to its light rail system (MAX). The new rail line, called the Yellow Line, is accompanied by increased bus service on nine lines. Both of these new services travel to and through North and Northeast Portland, some of the city's most ethnically diverse and economically disadvantaged neighborhoods.

During planning of the Yellow Line, TriMet sent bilingual (English and Spanish) mailings to all homes along the alignment, asking for public involvement and comment. Residents were urged to attend meetings so that their needs and concerns could be voiced. TriMet also organized a lunch bus service advertising the proposed Yellow Line. Trucks decorated with TriMet project logos would deliver lunch to many workers in the impacted neighborhoods. The logos helped TriMet become familiar to workers and citizens who may not have been able to read, while the daily interaction with TriMet allowed the community to begin to develop a sense of ownership over the transit project. This sentiment was strengthened by TriMet's advertising campaign, which used minority press outlets. Here, TriMet was able to consistently purchase ads that showed the faces of local, community-based contractors, helping citizens to see that people like themselves, people impacted by the project, were performing the planning work.

To celebrate the opening of the new line, TriMet coordinated a community parade and street festival featuring local performers, food, and arts and crafts. The success of the event - over 25,000 citizens attended — was evidence of the community trust and sense of credibility TriMet gained through decisionmaking involvement and inclusion of all of Portland's citizens.

TriMet is now faced with the challenge of sustaining these accomplishments. To do so, the agency attempts to maintain close interaction and clear communication with low literacy and LEP populations. One example of outreach to these populations involves bus and light rail operators. TriMet has bus and light-rail operators who work alongside outreach workers from the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization to educate newly arrived immigrants on how to use the transit services provided. Operators also receive on-going Spanish-language tips called "Farebox Spanish." The tips include phrases that operators might use daily, such as answering fare questions, providing directions, encouraging safe behavior, and informing customers of transfer points. In addition, bus operators are provided with a language paddle that provides operators with key transit phrases in Chinese, Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese. Customers are also encouraged to use the Customer Service Call Center, where operators work alongside a contracted local interpretation agency to provide second language services for 17 different languages.

Information on TriMet's website is provided in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Russian, and Chinese. Due to particularly high demand for Spanish-language services, TriMet created an online Spanish trip-planner and a call-in translation services. To promote and market the services, TriMet has formed partnerships with key leaders of community organizations advertising specifically to the Spanish-speaking community. Outlets have included print media, radio, television, health organizations, and the Hispanic Chamber. These relationships have helped TriMet to ascertain how to best reach its target audiences.

To help ensure that these services can continue to be provided, TriMet partners with regional organizations to concur on transit plans. When TriMet requests Federal funds, the agency can then be confident that it is united with its partners and stakeholders on a vision for the region. With interagency buy-in, TriMet believes it can continue to achieve its goals: have a service that is simple to understand and easy to use; and that is reliable, innovative, and friendly.

7. California Department of Transportation Public Involvement Approach
Norman Dong

California's population is expected to double by 2040. Much of this expansion is due to the large number of immigrants entering the State. In the 2000 Census, some California communities were the first ever that could not be identified as having an ethnic majority. This growth and diversity has created many challenges for planners in the State. One challenge in particular has been determining how to identify low-literacy and LEP populations within communities and how to get these populations to attend public meetings to become involved in decisionmaking processes.

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has viewed the impacts associated with the changing demographics not as a question of whether it will respond, but instead how quickly it will respond. Understanding that demographic diversity is now inherent to California, Caltrans is attempting to implement environmental justice at all levels. To do so, Caltrans became the first State department in California to create a formal policy on environmental justice. Since implementing the policy, other State departments have consulted with Caltrans to learn about why Caltrans began the policy and how it went about doing so. Caltrans also has an Environmental Justice Grant Program to provide planning grants, such as for developing Transportation Safety Plans, which aims to separate vehicle and pedestrian traffic in several California communities. For example, in San Diego's Barrio Logan or in the Chinatown community of Oakland, there is a high incidence of pedestrian injuries and fatalities from heavy trucking. In the State, Latinos have the highest injury and fatality rates for pedestrians. One planning grant will also help planners relocate a train station in the Bayview-Hunters Point area in San Francisco, so that low-income populations do not have to walk across dangerous and active train tracks to access services.

However, Caltrans faces several challenges in extending these environmental justice initiatives and in involving low-literacy and LEP populations in the transportation decisionmaking process. Some of these challenges include:

• A lack of studies on these populations.
• Improving the level of cooperation between State and regional agencies on outreach and public involvement.
• An unclear understanding of the numbers of low-literacy and LEP persons. These populations do not always readily identify themselves; and
• Incomplete information. Information gathered from community-based organizations can be used to a certain extent, but because these organizations only work with a slice of the low-literacy and LEP populations for certain services and issues, additional resources to conduct research on these populations would be helpful.

Caltrans now attempts to develop a gradual, multi-faceted approach to low-literacy and LEP public involvement that is customized to the community. The Department also works to identify funding sources, research opportunities, and ways in which outreach between State and local government agencies, and community organizations can be ongoing. Currently, Caltrans is exploring the use of ethnic media to provide low-literacy and LEP populations with information, especially in densely populated inner cities where the most market opportunities exist. Research by the New California Media group in San Francisco shows that 84% of the ethnic communities in California rely on ethnic media to get their primary news and information. Caltrans is also looking for ways to institutionalize outreach programs, in the face of a limited State budget, so that they can be more easily sustained.

A barrier to accomplishing these goals concerns the demographic profiles of immigrant populations. For example, the growing Latino population in California is characterized by immigration at relatively younger ages. High numbers of these immigrants, particularly those from Mexico, left their home country before completing secondary school and often obtain entry-level jobs for economic survival. In major urban areas, such as Los Angeles, this has created a widening income gap between white and Latino populations. This income gap, along with escalating home prices, has often made it difficult for Latino families to purchase homes. Economic survival, inadequate housing, and an inability to purchase a car or medical care are factors influencing a person's ability to participate in transportation forums. In attempts to incorporate the key interests and priorities of Latino communities into the message to participate, Caltrans is asking whether community participation can translate into better economic opportunities and eventual home ownership.

The second fastest growing ethnic population in California is Asian. A large number of Southeast Asian immigrants and refugees in California are in economic situations similar to some Latino immigrants. Many of the Southeast Asian refugees, because of their refugee experience, do not readily embrace the idea of working closely with governmental agencies. Local agencies, through social service organizations, often find it necessary to work slowly to educate communities and gain their trust before they participate in public forums.

8. Peer Workshop Overview
Anne Morris

At the close of the Peer Workshop, Anne Morris of PBS&J Consultants gave a presentation on how her firm has identified low-literacy and LEP communities and then reviewed the lessons learned from the experiences of the previous presenters. To summarize, low-literacy and LEP communities might be identified through the following:

• Census data
• Federal programs
• National Institute for Literacy Documentation
• National Center for Educational Statistics
• National Institute for Literacy Documentation
• Community advisory committees
• Websites
• Personal interaction - meeting people one-on-one in their homes, at laundromats, Parent Teacher Association (PTA) meetings, grocery stores, etc.

Census data, while it does not address literacy per se, does provide information about the number of individuals and families that live below the poverty level. In many cases, although not all, there is a correlation between low income, low educational attainment, and low literacy. Because of this correlation, poverty has become an important element in the initial identification of those who may have low literacy.

As the complexion and mobility of residents in the United States changes, there is a need to collect up-to-date information on impacted communities. Some sources of current information are Federal programs such as the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Free Meals and Reduced Price Meals Programs and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Subsidized Housing (Section 8) Program. Both of these agencies use poverty as the determining factor for eligibility in their programs. Eligibility for the Free Meals and Reduced Price Meals Programs is updated in August, at the beginning of the school year, by each public school in the nation. Information about eligibility for both of these programs is never more that 12 months old and is defined by the attendance boundary of each school. This information can be helpful when dealing with projects that may be in rural areas, as many of the elementary school attendance boundaries are geographically smaller than Census boundaries. Information on race and ethnicity of students is also now available annually on each State's Department of Education website under a program known as Report Cardⁱⁱ.

The HUD website provides information on the location of subsidized apartment complexes and number of units in that complex that accept Section 8 vouchersⁱⁱⁱ. The addresses of the apartment complexes and the phone numbers of their managers are also provided.

In 1993, the US Department of Education asked the National Institute for Literacy to undertake a nationwide study to define the literacy level within each of the 50 States, each county within those states, and each municipality within those States with a population of more than 5,000. This study, The State of Literacy in America: Estimates at the Local, State and National Levels^iv, was published in 1998.

Citizen Advisory Committees, school principals, and faith-based organizations can be helpful in providing local knowledge of those who may have low literacy and limited English proficiency as well as those individuals who may be gatekeepers to recent immigrant groups that may not speak English. In many cases, recent immigrant populations may not only be unable to speak and read English, they may be unable to read their own native language. Often immigrant populations lived in poverty within their country and demonstrated low literacy there.

Use of websites and newspaper media to reach and communicate with low-literacy and LEP populations may have limited success. Because many of those in these populations are poor, they cannot afford to own a computer or subscribe to a newspaper. In addition, these media, and the newsletters on which many projects depend, typically require the ability to read and understand English. Media such as radio and television may be more appropriate and, thus, reach larger and often well-defined segments of a population. For example, call-in shows can offer a way to provide information to and engage these populations in two-way dialogue, dispel rumors, supply reliable information, and identify community gatekeepers. In addition, one-on-one surveys conducted and recorded by someone who reads and speaks these populations' languages can be a way to remove the barrier of low literacy and limited English proficiency.

Another important consideration in trying to engage these and other populations is to go to these populations rather than to ask them to leave their communities to participate. Locations that may be considered safe and convenient by those who schedule meetings may not be safe or convenient to all populations. Some buildings and locations may discourage immigrant populations from attending meetings. To encourage participation, it may be helpful to have meetings where these populations live, feel secure, can bring their families, and do not require transportation. In addition to location, consideration should also be given to the day of week and time of day or night meeting will be held. While evenings may be convenient for those who work first-shift jobs, they can conflict with the schedules of low-income populations who have second jobs or jobs on other shifts.

IV. Lessons Learned/Recommendations

Participants to the TPCB Peer Workshop gave presentations highlighting considerations and techniques that their respective agencies have found especially effective when engaging and involving low-literacy and LEP populations. Therefore, a list of lessons learned was generated throughout the Peer Workshop. These lessons and next steps include:

• Establish trust — Attempt to understand the history, values, and cultural nuances of a community in order to establish trust incrementally. With the confidence of communities, they are more likely to be receptive to those who ask them questions. Good places to begin building trust and familiarity include community-based organizations, health centers, schools, and faith-based organizations. In engaging these populations it is important to realize that a low-literacy or limited-English-proficiency person may be more than a person who cannot read or speak English. In many cases, there are other underlying conditions such as poverty and/or cultural differences that affect their ability to participate.
• Look closely for data — Rather than being critical of its validity, understand the limitations of data from various sources. Demographic data can be collected at places such as schools (free lunch program/teacher hirings), faith-based organizations, and refugee centers.
• Identify leadership in various communities - By identifying the key individuals in a community who know the pulse of the residents, the likelihood of meaningful involvement of low-literacy and LEP populations is increased. However, it is important to not stop at developing relationships with only community leaders. These figures, who can act as "gatekeepers," may not want planners in the community. Move beyond the gatekeepers to get to know individuals.
• Reach people where they are now — Approaches to involving low-literacy and LEP populations must take into consideration the fact that it can take a long time for a person to overcome a language and/or literacy barrier. Outreach efforts must focus on where these populations are in terms of language in the present, not where they can be after learning to read or speak English.
• Tell Stories — Using repetitive, simple language can be a very effective approach to conveying information to low-literacy and LEP populations, among others. Pictures, images, icons, symbols, and multimedia tools that accompany stories are also helpful communicative alternatives to words. Utilizing color to differentiate between alternatives under consideration, rather than lengthy written descriptions of those alternatives, can promote effective communication.
• Use incentives — Some citizens may think that going to a public meeting cannot fit into their daily schedule. By providing incentives to be present at the meeting, such as food or childcare, more people might be more willing to attend.
• Use experts that are familiar with the local context — Local experts, contractors, schools, universities, community groups, not-for-profit agencies, and other local and regional agencies have vested interests in projects, other than simply finishing them. They likely want to improve the quality of the places they work and live, and, thus, develop a sense of ownership over a project.
• Maintain relationships after project's end — Once a community discovers how it can empower itself through project-specific public involvement, continue to cultivate relationships by encouraging future participation. One way to begin doing this is to stay abreast of issues emerging in various communities. It may also be beneficial to future relationships to give people feedback on what has happened as a result of their input and why.
• Set realistic expectations — The low-literacy and LEP publics are not obstacles. They are customers with travel needs and stakeholders that may be harmed in the development of a public good or service. Identify the roles that planning organizations and the public can and will play, then follow through with promises made to the community. Setting realistic expectations is an important step in earning and maintaining the community's trust.

VI. For More Information

Key Contact(s) for host agency(s):

VII. Attendees List

VIII. Additional Materials

Garcia, Esmeralada. Engaging the Limited English Latino Population: Planning by Embracing the Latino Culture. Powerpoint Presentation.

Morris, Anne. Knock! Knock! Who's There? Finding Out Who Your Publics Are. Powerpoint Presentation.

Posey, Jumetta. EIS Outreach I-70 East Corridor Overview. Powerpoint Presentation.

Standards for Creating Multimedia Learning Modules for Low Literacy and Limited English Proficient Adult Learners, California State University Institute www.cyberstep.org/pdfs/multimedia_standards.pdf

Endnotes

ⁱKirsh, I.S., Jungeblut, A., Jenkins, L., & Kolstad, A. (1993). Adult Literacy in America: A First Look at the Results of the National Adult Literacy Survey. Washington, D.C.: National Center for Education Statistics.

ⁱⁱNational Center for Education Statistics. Report Card. http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/

ⁱⁱⁱUS Department of Housing and Urban Development. Subsidized Apartment Search. http://www.hud.gov/apps/section8/index.cfm

^ivNational Institute for Literacy. http://www.nifl.gov/reders/reder.htm