Establishes Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (DMH) standards and procedures regarding interpreter services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community seeking mental health services.

Contracted agencies shall develop an internal policy and associated procedures that are consistent with their organizational practices and meet the requirements set forth in this policy.
 

II.  DEFINITIONS
 

Sign Language: A system of communication using visual gestures and signs. With signing, the brain processes linguistic information through the eyes. The shape, placement, and movement of the hands, as well as facial expressions and body movements, all play important parts in conveying information. It is not a universal language – each country has its own sign language, and regions have dialects, much like the many languages spoken all over the world.

American Sign Language (ASL): The sign language used in the USA and Canada.
 

ASL Appointment Scheduling After Hours: From 5:01 pm to 7:59 am on weekdays and all day on weekends and holidays. 

ASL Appointment Scheduling during Business Hours: From 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday; excluding holidays. 

Departmental Language Access Plan (DLAP):  As the countywide language access policy from the Board of Supervisors, the DLAP ensures that all consumers, family members and community members have equitable access to quality language assistance services (LAS) at any point of contact with the Department inclusive of translation of key documents, interpreter services, and American Sign Language (ASL).   The DLAP contains detailed procedures for the LACDMH workforce on how to access LAS, language equity policies and procedures, implementation and reporting requirements, and relevant glossary of terms.

Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD): An electronic device for text communication over a telephone line that is designed for use by persons with hearing or speech difficulties.

Teletypewriter (TTY): A device like a typewriter that has a small readout. It is a special device that lets people who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, or speech-impaired use the telephone to communicate by allowing them to type text messages. A TTY is required at both ends of the conversation in order to communicate and can be used with both land lines and cell phones. Unlike text messaging, it is designed for synchronous conversation, like a text version of a phone call. A modern digital cell phone must support a special digital TTY mode in order to be compatible with a TTY device.
 

III.  POLICY
 

Sign language interpreter services coordinated by DMH shall be available at no cost to clients who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
 

IV.  PROCEDURES
 

V.  AUTHORITIES