Int. No. 251-A

By Council Members Dromm, Palma, Chin, Constantinides, Koo, Levine, Mendez, Richards, Levin, Van Bramer, Lancman, Menchaca, Vacca, Rodriguez, Ferreras-Copeland, Koslowitz, Torres, Vallone, Lander, Dickens, Kallos, Treyger, King, Reynoso, Cohen, Greenfield, Williams, Rosenthal, Cumbo, Johnson, Rose, Eugene, Garodnick, Gentile and Barron

A Local Law to amend the New York city charter, in relation to the collection of demographic data regarding ancestry and languages spoken

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

 Section 1. Legislative findings. New York City’s diversity is one of its primary strengths, but existing data often do not provide City government and others with full information about the demographics of the individuals served by City agencies. Detailed information about the ancestral/ethnic and linguistic makeup of an agency’s client population can help agencies and community organizations to make ongoing adjustments to their outreach and service delivery models. This legislation will help the City and its partners to better understand and serve residents of all backgrounds and identities. 

§ 2. Section 15 of chapter 1 of the New York city charter is amended by adding a new subdivision i to read as follows:

i. 1. The department of social services, the administration for children’s services, the department of homeless services, the department of health and mental hygiene, the department for the aging, the department for youth and community development, the department of education and any other agencies designated by the mayor that directly or by contract collect demographic information via form documents from city residents seeking social services shall provide all persons seeking such services with a standardized, anonymous and voluntary demographics information survey form that contains questions regarding ancestry and languages spoken.

2. The questions shall include options allowing respondents to select from:

(a) at least the top 30 largest ancestry groups and languages spoken in the city of New York based on data from the United States census bureau; and

(b) “other,” with an option to write in a response.

3. Such survey form shall be created by the office of operations and office of immigrant affairs and may be updated as deemed necessary by those agencies based on changing demographics.

4.  Beginning no later than six months after the effective date of this local law, and annually thereafter, the office of operations shall conduct a review of all forms issued by the agencies described in paragraph 1 of this subdivision and any other agencies so designated by the mayor that: collect demographic information addressing the questions contained on the survey form, are completed by persons seeking services and contain content and/or language in relation to collecting such information that is within the administering city agency’s authority to edit or amend. The office of operations shall submit to the council, within 60 days of such review, a list of all forms reviewed and all forms eligible for updating, and for forms not eligible for updating an explanation of why such forms are not eligible for updating, and indicate which forms shall be updated. When practicable, when such forms are updated they shall request voluntary responses to questions about ancestry and languages spoken. All forms identified as eligible for updating during the review required pursuant to this paragraph shall be updated to invite responses to questions about ancestry and languages spoken no later than five years from the effective date of the local law that added this section. All forms not eligible for updating shall be provided in conjunction with the standardized, anonymous and voluntary demographics information survey form as established by subdivision i, paragraph 1 of this local law.

5. Beginning no later than 18 months after the effective date of this local law, and annually thereafter, the office of operations shall make available to the public data for the prior fiscal year that includes but is not limited to the total number of individuals who have identified their ancestry or languages spoken on the survey form described in paragraph 1 of this subdivision and any forms updated pursuant to paragraph 4 of this subdivision, disaggregated by response option, agency and program. Such data shall be made available to the public through the single web portal provided for in section 23-502 of the administrative code.

6. Each agency that provides the survey form required pursuant to paragraph 1 of this subdivision shall evaluate its provision of services in consideration of the data collected pursuant to this local law and the office of operations shall submit to the council a report on any new or modified services developed by any agencies based on such data.  Such report shall be submitted no earlier than 18 months after the effective date of the local law that added this paragraph.

7. No information that is otherwise required to be reported pursuant to this section shall be reported in a manner that would violate any applicable provision of federal, state or local law relating to the privacy of information respecting students and families serviced by the New York city department of education. If any category requested contains between 1 and 5, or allows another category to be narrowed to between 1 and 5, the number shall be replaced with a symbol.

§ 3. This local law takes effect 180 days after it becomes law.

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LS 929

10/5/16, 6:22pm