Language Access and Cultural Competency Reports

The 2020-21 Budget Act included $16.7 million in ongoing funding for regional centers to improve and promote Language Access and Cultural Competency (LACC) to better support the language needs of individuals with developmental disabilities, their caregivers, and their family members.

The primary purpose of these funds is to improve consumer and family experience and to facilitate more consistent access to information and services for multi-lingual, monolingual, and diverse cultural groups.

Welfare and Institutions Code §4620.4 requires that the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) implement this initiative through its contracts with regional centers.

For additional details regarding LACC funding, please visit the Department of Developmental Services LACC page.

 

Regional Center of Orange County’s LACC report

Project Duration

FY 25/26: July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2026

Allocation amount

$ 935,462.00

Project Summary

RCOC LACC Plan is designed to enhance community engagement and support for diverse populations through a series of key initiatives.

RCOC will recruit a Training Support & LACC Coordinator to manage activities related to the LACC fund.

RCOC aims to improve accessibility by providing translation and interpretation services tailored to the specific needs of the local community.

Additionally, RCOC will implement Self-Paced Cultural Humility Training for its vendor staff, fostering a more inclusive environment.

To support early intervention, RCOC plans to contract with the Family Support Network for in-person developmental screenings for Early Start, Provisional to Lanterman, and Lanterman services. The project will also include hosting a range of cultural community events, such as celebrations for the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, Hispanic Heritage, Korean New Year, and various festivals, all aimed at promoting cultural awareness and advocacy. Educational videos in multiple languages will be developed for virtual distribution to families.

RCOC will collaborate with grassroots Community-Based Organizations to effectively reach diverse communities and conduct crisis training for local police and sheriff departments, ensuring better support during critical situations.

Ethnicities and Languages

Ethnicity: Asian, Black/African American, Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Hispanic, Middle East
Languages: American Sign Language, Arabic, Farsi Persian, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, Vietnamese

Approved Activities (from GrantVantage)

  1. Hiring bilingual training support and an LACC Coordinator to manage activities connected to the LACC fund.
  2. Coordinate the production of a series of short educational videos to be available in multiple languages
  3. Conduct outreach targeted to diverse communities (Multicultural Autumn Festival, Deaf/Hard of Hearing Resource Fair, Multicultural Summer Fun Carnival, Multicultural Symposium on IDD, Hispanic Heritage, New Year’s Gathering, etc.)
  4. Produce culturally-responsive translations of materials
  5. Provide interpreting services for diverse communities
  6. Provide training to persons served, families, community partners, service providers, and RC vendor staff
  7. Conduct 15 in-person developmental screenings in diverse regions/areas of Orange County (Contract with Family Support Network-FSN)
  8. Conduct Cultural Competency Training for RCOC vendor staff to ensure equitable and effective service delivery to our diverse community (in partnership with Circle Up)
  9. Provide crisis training to local Police and Sheriff’s Departments to better engage with IDD/diverse communities