San Mateo County Grand Jury
• 2019-2020
Issue There is an ever-increasing need for local governments to be able to disseminate public safety
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings and Recommendations 7 findings
F1
The enrollment data in the SMC Alert and NIXLE systems was not published public information; the Grand Jury had to request this information from the County OES. Officials of several towns/cities who were interviewed expressed interest in this data about their own residents.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
By December 31, 2020, the Office of Emergency Services should publish the SMC Alert enrollment data (by city/town) on its website, with at least yearly, preferably quarterly, updates.
F2
The County and the Cities and Towns within the County, as well as their residents, would benefit from having more residents enrolled in SMC Alert.
No recommendations for this finding
F3
Other counties in the Bay Area are taking steps to increase enrollment in their emergency alert systems beyond “opt-in” enrollment and E-911 data utilized in San Mateo County. These steps include: Enrolling residents based on public utility data. Enrolling residents based on mobile phone carrier data.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
The Office of Emergency Services staff should further investigate the option of accessing mobile phone carrier data to augment the SMC Alert database (on an “opt-out basis”) and publicly present a recommendation to the Emergency Services Council
F4
These same sources of data may be available to San Mateo County’s OES which might enable the County to achieve 50%+ plus enrollment, although each has its costs and limitations.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
The Office of Emergency Services staff should further investigate the option of accessing mobile phone carrier data to augment the SMC Alert database (on an “opt-out basis”) and publicly present a recommendation to the Emergency Services Council
F5
OES has acknowledged that one possible barrier to enrollment in the SMC Alert system is language accessibility. OES is missing an opportunity to fully provide important information to residents who cannot communicate effectively in English and/or Spanish.
Related Recommendations (2)
R3
OES should translate the enrollment materials and then provide alerts and messages in all languages spoken by more than 5% of the County’s population, including without limitation both Chinese and Tagalog, in addition to the current languages of Spanish and English, by March 31, 2021. 10
R4
The Office of Emergency Services staff should work with its member cities and the County to determine the viability of translating SMC Alert enrollment materials, alerts, and messages into other languages even if the prevalence of such languages does not meet the 5% threshold of the Dymally-Alatorre Bilingual Services Act and publicly present a recommendation to the Emergency Services Council
F6
Over 14% of the County’s residents speak Chinese or Tagalog at home, and neither the SMC Alert enrollment documentation, nor the SMC alerts themselves, are available in languages other than English and Spanish.
Related Recommendations (2)
R3
OES should translate the enrollment materials and then provide alerts and messages in all languages spoken by more than 5% of the County’s population, including without limitation both Chinese and Tagalog, in addition to the current languages of Spanish and English, by March 31, 2021. 10
R4
The Office of Emergency Services staff should work with its member cities and the County to determine the viability of translating SMC Alert enrollment materials, alerts, and messages into other languages even if the prevalence of such languages does not meet the 5% threshold of the Dymally-Alatorre Bilingual Services Act and publicly present a recommendation to the Emergency Services Council
F7
The Dymally-Alatorre Bilingual Services Act requires local government entities to translate materials into the languages which are spoken by more than 5% of the residents it serves.
Related Recommendations (2)
R3
OES should translate the enrollment materials and then provide alerts and messages in all languages spoken by more than 5% of the County’s population, including without limitation both Chinese and Tagalog, in addition to the current languages of Spanish and English, by March 31, 2021. 10
R4
The Office of Emergency Services staff should work with its member cities and the County to determine the viability of translating SMC Alert enrollment materials, alerts, and messages into other languages even if the prevalence of such languages does not meet the 5% threshold of the Dymally-Alatorre Bilingual Services Act and publicly present a recommendation to the Emergency Services Council
No Responses Found 1
Government entities assigned to respond to this report. No response documents have been linked in our database.
San Mateo County Board of Supervisors
Elected County Office