Providing Assistance

The Township of Jefferson Dial a Ride staff at all levels will be provided with annual training on the Title VI policy and are aware of the need to reach out and provide information to Limited English Proficient (LEP) persons who rely on the transit services the Township of Jefferson Dial a Ride manages. In order to ensure that new staff members receive Title VI policy training and understand this need, supplemental training will be provided as part of the Township of Jefferson employee orientation and annual training programs.
Particular attention will be given to the training of the staff people who receive requests. Additionally, staff who receive and respond to passenger requests for service changes, complaints, and other needs, shall be trained to openly receive the information from LEP and low-literacy riders, and distribute the information to the appropriate section of the Township of Jefferson or to the operator of the Dial a Ride service.

Services & Interpreters List

All of the individuals in these groups will be made aware of the regularly updated Morris County Office of Social Services Interpreters List and services. The Township of Jefferson Dial a Ride staff and the operator of the Dial a Ride program should be trained so that they may recognize the specific needs of each LEP community, and how to assist transit-dependent LEP or low-literacy persons in using the service and having their requests or complaints addressed.        

Providing Notice to Limited English Proficient Persons

As a matter of policy, all vital documents related to The Township of Jefferson Dial a Ride services are printed in English and Spanish. Service changes brochures and flyers, which advertise service adjustments and emergency information, are also printed in both English and Spanish. On-board signage, advertising of the Township of Jefferson Dial a Ride services are also printed in English and Spanish. All planning activities and notices that are advertised to the press are shared with news sources that serve a variety of the Township of Jefferson’s service area LEP communities.

Public Involvement Plan (PIP)

The Township of Jefferson Dial a Ride planning program adheres to the Public Involvement Plan (PIP) as adopted by the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), on September 22, 2014. MPO’s PIP made the following commitment: To better achieve its outreach efforts, MPO has developed five desired goals for its public involvement activities:

  1. Educate the public about the transportation planning process and how they can get involved
  2. Effectively involve the community, including those who have been traditionally underserved and underrepresented in the planning process
  3. Engage the public and all stakeholders through timely notice of meetings and events and increased opportunities to provide input
  4. Enhance outreach tools and techniques to engage the many diverse regional constituencies
  5. Ensure that public participation methods, mechanisms and opportunities are clearly defined and accessible

Other Languages Translation Services

MPO’s public involvement efforts strive to bring varied stakeholders into the process – in dynamic and significant ways – and enhance the level of collaboration and meaningful input.

While the Township of Jefferson Dial a Ride program has the greatest capabilities to assist LEP persons who speak Spanish, there may be instances when activities will necessitate the provision of information and notices in languages other than English or Spanish. For example, if activities conducted affect a community in which there is a large population of LEP individuals who speak other Indo-European languages or Asian languages, the Township of Jefferson may rely on other county resources for translation services.

Outcomes - Monitoring, Evaluating & Updating the Plan

The Township of Jefferson conducts periodic ridership, origin-destination and marketing surveys. The Township of Jefferson Dial a Ride program will continually work to acquire updated LEP and spoken language data so that accurate profiles of transit riders could be established and measures could be taken to reach out to the LEP population to plan accordingly.
To ensure this LAP will continue to be implemented successfully, the Township of Jefferson will develop a committee to evaluate all information received from focus group meetings, outreach efforts, staff contact and trainings. The committee will review the plan annually for updates as needed, while also developing new concepts for implementation in the next plan. The committee will monitor the following statistics, at minimum:

  • Annual review of local Census data
  • Assessment of the Civil Rights Act Title VI Program
  • Effectiveness and usage of written translated documents
  • Ongoing collaboration with community partners
  • Statistics kept on LEP contacts