FLAGSTAFF — This public notice is to inform City of Flagstaff Housing Section stakeholders of the complete revision of the Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Implementation Plan. The plan is now called Limited English Proficiency Language Access Plan (LEP LAP) and is open for stakeholder input from the date of this notice through August 31, 2023.
The complete revision was undertaken by Housing Section staff at this time primarily to continue to ensure meaningful access for LEP persons to all Housing Section programs and activities. Additional reasons include:
- The current LEP Implementation Plan was last revised in 2010;
- U. S. Census Bureau demographic data changes; and
- To address Protect 3.2 from the 10-Year Housing Plan, which requires an examination and
update, if needed, of the City of Flagstaff Housing Section’s Housing Limited English Proficiency Plan.
The changes reflected in the new LEP LAP comply with Executive Order 13166, a federal order, as well as the guidance document provided by the Department of Justice. The most notable changes include utilizing a Four-Factor Analysis to determine the extent and adequacy of assistance to LEP persons, expanded procedures to identify a LEP person and how to inform them of the language services available to them, additional resources to the Language Access Measures, staff training procedures, procedures on the monitoring and updating of the LEP LAP, and a Language Access Plan Coordinator is identified.
It is important to note the changes will not affect current applicants, nor those who apply prior to the effective date of the change. There are no changes to rules that clients are expected to follow, nor to procedures that have been practiced. Instead, the revision will greatly expand the Housing Section’s efforts and commitment to equity.
As recommended by Executive Order 13166, the City of Flagstaff Housing Section encourages stakeholders to provide input on the updated LEP LAP document in the next thirty (30) days through a public comment period prior to implementation. The full Draft LEP LAP is available on the Housing Section’s webpage: https://flagstaff.az.gov/DocumentCenter/View/77009/Housing-Section-LEP-LAP- 2023—FINAL-for-Public-Comment. Comments must be submitted by email to Adriana Fisher at AFisher@FlagstaffAZ.gov or mailed to City of Flagstaff Housing Section, ATTN: Adriana Fisher, 211 W Aspen Ave, Flagstaff, AZ 86001 by August 31, 2023.