Objective

To assess the extent of implementation of the five recommendations included in our initial audit report, Language Access Services (Report 2022-S-38).

About the Program

New York State Executive Law Chapter 18, Article 10, Section 202-A (Executive Law), which took effect on July 1, 2022, codified and expanded the State’s language access policy requiring translation of vital documents into the 12 most common non-English languages. The Executive Law also required Executive agencies to publish a Language Access Plan (Plan) that sets forth the actions the agency will take to ensure meaningful access to their services for Limited English Proficiency (LEP) New Yorkers.

The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV or Department) is one of the agencies required to develop and follow a Plan. DMV issues licenses, non-driver identification cards, vehicle titles, and vehicle registrations; conducts road tests; monitors driver training; and performs regulatory, adjudicatory, and other enforcement activities. DMV conducts more than 20 million customer transactions annually and operates 31 public-facing offices (State DMVs). In the remaining counties, there are 100 public-facing office locations operated by the County Clerks (County DMVs), who act as agents of the DMV pursuant to Vehicle and Traffic Law Title 2, Article 2, Section 205 (Vehicle and Traffic Law). Counties are not subject to the Language Access Law.

DMV’s Plan was last updated on October 1, 2024 and outlines procedures that State DMVs are expected to follow to provide services to individuals with LEP. The Plan includes procedures for the translation of various vital documents, utilization of language posters to help identify a customer’s language, training of staff, and tracking of languages encountered by analyzing language assistance data. The Plan also indicates that customers will be informed about the availability of free interpretation services and that the use of a family member, friend, or minor as an interpreter is limited to emergencies or routine matters such as obtaining information about office location, hours of operation, or rescheduling an appointment. When the interaction occurs at State and County DMVs and where customers are permitted to use an interpreter of their choice in these limited circumstances, they must complete a written waiver form.

The objective of our initial audit, issued October 26, 2023, was to determine if DMV was adequately serving the needs of individuals with LEP. The audit covered the period from October 2020 through April 2023. Overall, State and County DMVs were not following aspects of DMV’s Plan. For example, 22 County DMVs and one State DMV we visited were not using Language Line for interpretation services. However, we also determined that, due to gaps in the law, DMV did not have sufficient authority to enforce its language access policies at County DMVs despite these offices accounting for over 75% of the total customer-facing DMV offices. Furthermore, DMV relied only on Language Line data to assess additional language needs and did not track any statistics of LEP customers served outside of those Language Line calls.

Key Finding

DMV officials made some progress in addressing the problems we identified in the initial audit report. Of the initial audit report’s five audit recommendations, two were implemented, and three were partially implemented.

Key Recommendation

DMV officials are requested, but not required, to provide information about any actions planned to address the unresolved issues discussed in this follow-up within 30 days of the report’s issuance.