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Enhancing Cultural Competency in the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission: Describing Pennsylvania’s Foreign-Born and LEP Population to Improve Outreach Effectiveness

Presented by Jon Beck, Meredith Bush,

Brian Costanzo, Kyle Leonard, Handhung

Nugroho, Erin Serre, Ayu Shoim, Laela Sifa,

and Ali Fikri Tamami

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Enhancing Cultural Competency in the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission: Describing Pennsylvania’s Foreign-Born and LEP Population to Improve Outreach Effectiveness

Presented by Jon Beck, Meredith Bush,

Brian Costanzo, Kyle Leonard, Handhung

Nugroho, Erin Serre, Ayu Shoim, Laela Sifa,

and Ali Fikri Tamami

3 of 42

Changing Demographics in the U.S.

1 in 5 Americans are immigrants
1960 Census: 10 percent were minorities
2010 Census: 34 percent were minorities
Immigration population growth expected to continue to increase
Largest minority population - Hispanics
Projection: majority-minority country before long
2000 Census: 1 in 5 Americans speak a language other than English at home

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Effect on Public Service

Diversity of needs expands
Greater need to understand cultural differences
Greater need for understanding barriers
Need for greater language assistance
Greater need for research about cultural competence in the public sector
Need to understand cultural makeup of state or local populace

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Literature Review

Overview

Findings

Barriers to public service delivery
Access important for LEP individuals

and organizations that serve them

LEP individuals face considerable discrimination

Limitations and Gaps

Lack of review of broader ranges of cultures and languages
Lack of comparison of governmental jurisdictions regarding equity
Gaps in knowledge related to Pennsylvania

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Literature Review

Barriers to Public Service Delivery

Cultural Identity and Acculturation

High levels of acculturation lead to higher

levels of recognition, tolerance, and discussion

Cultural and linguistic appropriateness important

Types of Barriers

Cultural
Affective
Value orientation
Communication
Practical

Broad Barriers to Public Service Access

7 of 42

Literature Review

Importance of Accessing Language and Culture

Need for research identifying cultural and

language barriers in areas such as law

Barriers may violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act
Exacerbation of marginalization and exclusion
Need to be effective communication to entire population

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Literature Review

LEP Discrimination in the Public Sector

Nearly 25 million people in U.S. are LEP
Over half live in states that do not require courts to provide interpreters
Increasing fear in interacting with the government
Fear is especially present in women

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Literature Review

Public Cultural and Linguistic Competence

Culture and competency should be tied together to improve service delivery
Public organizations’ ability to work efficiently, effectively, and equitably
Duty of public managers to engage, represent, and serve all individuals
Organizational challenges to increasing levels of cultural competence - agency’s ability to…

Effectively allocate resources
Redesign appropriate organizational strategies
Increase staff
Collect data

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Methods

Research questions

What are the national origins of the foreign-born populace in Pennsylvania?
Where in Pennsylvania do the foreign-born populace reside?
What are the educational levels of foreign-born populace in Pennsylvania?
What are the most common languages spoken in Pennsylvania other than English?

Operational Definition of Terms

Foreign-born
Native-born
National origin
English proficiency
LEP population

Foreign-born: The term “foreign-born” in this study refers to anyone who is not a U.S. citizen at birth. This includes naturalized U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents (immigrants), temporary migrants (such as foreign students), humanitarian migrants (such as refugees and asylees), and unauthorized migrants. The Census Bureau collects data from all foreign-born individual’s who participate in censuses and surveys, regardless of legal status.
Native born: The term “native-born” in this study refers to anyone born in the United States, Puerto Rico, a U.S. Island Area (American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or the U.S. Virgin Islands), or abroad of a U.S. citizen parent or parents.
National origin: The term “national origin” indicates the foreign country where the individual was born.
English proficiency: “English proficiency” is determined by a combination of factors. First, participants of the 2015 ACS must indicate that they speak a language other than English at home. They are then asked to indicate how well they speak English. Their English proficiency is categorized into 5 categories which are (1) Speaks only English, (2) Speaks English very well, (3) Speaks English well, (4) Speaks English but not well, and (5) Does not speak English. This study is particularly interested in the population with limited English proficiency (LEP Population).
LEP Population. In the ACS, respondents who reported that they spoke a language other than English at home were asked to self-assess their English-speaking abilities with the options of "not at all," "not well," or "well," and "very well". LEP population in this research is defined as those who reported speaking English less than “well”.

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Methods

Data Collection Method

American Community Survey (ACS), 5-year period from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2015
American FactFinder and the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS)

Data Analysis Techniques

Data were collected and examined using Microsoft Office Excel 2016
Geographic Information System (GIS) map is used to illustrate the geographical distribution and location of the foreign-born population as well as language spoken in Pennsylvania

Limitations

Reliance on secondary data
Data selected is not the most recent populations statistics available

This research uses a quantitative approach based upon secondary data, so we did not collect data through survey or interview, but used secondary data and findings from other sources. Additionally, this research is exploratory in nature.

Limitations:

First, reliance on secondary data raises concerns. The operationalization of variables is limited to the constraints of the original study. Additionally, the aggregation and display of the secondary data prevents this study from providing specific individualized county-level data for certain variables. Lastly, the researchers have no control over the quality of the secondary data collected for the 2015 ACS.
The second major limitation is that the data selected is not the most recent population statistics available. The most recent ACS occurred in 2016, but education level data is unavailable for that year. Even though the other information is available, the researchers chose to use the 2015 data for consistency purposes.

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Analysis and Results

National Origins of the Foreign-Born Population in PA

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Location of the Foreign-Born Population

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Education Level of PA’s FBP (18 years and older)

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Languages Spoken in Pennsylvania

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Location of Speakers of Languages other than English

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LEP Population in Pennsylvania (18 years and older)

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Conclusion and Summary

National Origins of foreign born individuals in Pennsylvania

Indian, Chinese, Mexican, Dominican, Vietnamese, Korean

Locations of foreign born populations

Philadelphia, Montgomery, and Allegheny counties

Education level of foreign-born population

21% highschool, 18% bachelors, 10% masters, 10% some college

Most common languages spoken other than English

Chinese, Spanish, Russian, Vietnamese, Korean

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Recommendations

Translate documents and website into high priority languages

Links to change the website’s language, user friendly visual cues

Targeted outreach programs in high priority areas

Face to face contact is the most valuable form of outreach
Be sensitive to the particular needs of each individual culture

Provide quality interpretive services
Create a language access plan

Provide notice and information that services are available in other languages

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Disclaimers

Due to the time constraints of this study, all information is of a general nature and should be expanded upon by the PHRC
The information provided is a foundation from which to develop additional research, especially in regards to cultural barriers

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Questions? Comments?

Thank you!

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References

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Changing Demographics in the U.S.

1 in 5 Americans are immigrants
1960 Census: 10 percent were minorities
2010 Census: 34 percent were minorities
Immigration population growth expected to continue to increase
Largest minority population - Hispanics
Projection: majority-minority country before long
2000 Census: 1 in 5 Americans speak a language other than English at home

24 of 42

Effect on Public Service

Diversity of needs expands
Greater need to understand cultural differences
Greater need for understanding barriers
Need for greater language assistance
Greater need for research about cultural competence in the public sector
Need to understand cultural makeup of state or local populace

25 of 42

Literature Review

Overview

Findings

Barriers to public service delivery
Access important for LEP individuals

and organizations that serve them

LEP individuals face considerable discrimination

Limitations and Gaps

Lack of review of broader ranges of cultures and languages
Lack of comparison of governmental jurisdictions regarding equity
Gaps in knowledge related to Pennsylvania

26 of 42

Literature Review

Barriers to Public Service Delivery

Cultural Identity and Acculturation

High levels of acculturation lead to higher

levels of recognition, tolerance, and discussion

Cultural and linguistic appropriateness important

Types of Barriers

Cultural
Affective
Value orientation
Communication
Practical

Broad Barriers to Public Service Access

27 of 42

Literature Review

Importance of Accessing Language and Culture

Need for research identifying cultural and

language barriers in areas such as law

Barriers may violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act
Exacerbation of marginalization and exclusion
Need to be effective communication to entire population

28 of 42

Literature Review

LEP Discrimination in the Public Sector

Nearly 25 million people in U.S. are LEP
Over half live in states that do not require courts to provide interpreters
Increasing fear in interacting with the government
Fear is especially present in women

29 of 42

Literature Review

Public Cultural and Linguistic Competence

Culture and competency should be tied together to improve service delivery
Public organizations’ ability to work efficiently, effectively, and equitably
Duty of public managers to engage, represent, and serve all individuals
Organizational challenges to increasing levels of cultural competence - agency’s ability to…

Effectively allocate resources
Redesign appropriate organizational strategies
Increase staff
Collect data

30 of 42

Methods

Research questions

What are the national origins of the foreign-born populace in Pennsylvania?
Where in Pennsylvania do the foreign-born populace reside?
What are the educational levels of foreign-born populace in Pennsylvania?
What are the most common languages spoken in Pennsylvania other than English?

Operational Definition of Terms

Foreign-born
Native-born
National origin
English proficiency
LEP population

Foreign-born: The term “foreign-born” in this study refers to anyone who is not a U.S. citizen at birth. This includes naturalized U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents (immigrants), temporary migrants (such as foreign students), humanitarian migrants (such as refugees and asylees), and unauthorized migrants. The Census Bureau collects data from all foreign-born individual’s who participate in censuses and surveys, regardless of legal status.
Native born: The term “native-born” in this study refers to anyone born in the United States, Puerto Rico, a U.S. Island Area (American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or the U.S. Virgin Islands), or abroad of a U.S. citizen parent or parents.
National origin: The term “national origin” indicates the foreign country where the individual was born.
English proficiency: “English proficiency” is determined by a combination of factors. First, participants of the 2015 ACS must indicate that they speak a language other than English at home. They are then asked to indicate how well they speak English. Their English proficiency is categorized into 5 categories which are (1) Speaks only English, (2) Speaks English very well, (3) Speaks English well, (4) Speaks English but not well, and (5) Does not speak English. This study is particularly interested in the population with limited English proficiency (LEP Population).
LEP Population. In the ACS, respondents who reported that they spoke a language other than English at home were asked to self-assess their English-speaking abilities with the options of "not at all," "not well," or "well," and "very well". LEP population in this research is defined as those who reported speaking English less than “well”.

31 of 42

Methods

Data Collection Method

American Community Survey (ACS), 5-year period from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2015
American FactFinder and the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS)

Data Analysis Techniques

Data were collected and examined using Microsoft Office Excel 2016
Geographic Information System (GIS) map is used to illustrate the geographical distribution and location of the foreign-born population as well as language spoken in Pennsylvania

Limitations

Reliance on secondary data
Data selected is not the most recent populations statistics available

This research uses a quantitative approach based upon secondary data, so we did not collect data through survey or interview, but used secondary data and findings from other sources. Additionally, this research is exploratory in nature.

Limitations:

First, reliance on secondary data raises concerns. The operationalization of variables is limited to the constraints of the original study. Additionally, the aggregation and display of the secondary data prevents this study from providing specific individualized county-level data for certain variables. Lastly, the researchers have no control over the quality of the secondary data collected for the 2015 ACS.
The second major limitation is that the data selected is not the most recent population statistics available. The most recent ACS occurred in 2016, but education level data is unavailable for that year. Even though the other information is available, the researchers chose to use the 2015 data for consistency purposes.

32 of 42

Analysis and Results

National Origins of the Foreign-Born Population in PA

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Location of the Foreign-Born Population

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Education Level of PA’s FBP (18 years and older)

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Languages Spoken in Pennsylvania

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Location of Speakers of Languages other than English

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LEP Population in Pennsylvania (18 years and older)

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Conclusion and Summary

National Origins of foreign born individuals in Pennsylvania

Indian, Chinese, Mexican, Dominican, Vietnamese, Korean

Locations of foreign born populations

Philadelphia, Montgomery, and Allegheny counties

Education level of foreign-born population

21% highschool, 18% bachelors, 10% masters, 10% some college

Most common languages spoken other than English

Chinese, Spanish, Russian, Vietnamese, Korean

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Recommendations

Translate documents and website into high priority languages

Links to change the website’s language, user friendly visual cues

Targeted outreach programs in high priority areas

Face to face contact is the most valuable form of outreach
Be sensitive to the particular needs of each individual culture

Provide quality interpretive services
Create a language access plan

Provide notice and information that services are available in other languages

40 of 42

Disclaimers

Due to the time constraints of this study, all information is of a general nature and should be expanded upon by the PHRC
The information provided is a foundation from which to develop additional research, especially in regards to cultural barriers

41 of 42

Questions? Comments?

Thank you!

42 of 42

References