Multilingual Issue Committee Meeting Minutes

June 3, 2004, 8:00am-Noon & 1:00pm-5:00pm EDT-“Day One”
June 4, 2004, 8:00am-Noon-“Day Two”
Brooklyn, NY

Thursday, June 3, 2004- “Day One”

Quorum= 3 Total Members Present= 6 (for both days)

Designated Federal Official (DFO)

• Nancy L. Ferree

Panel Members Present

• Linda Bader, Chesterfield, MO
• Elizabeth Brodbine Ghoniem, Winchester, MA, Vice-Chair
• Delford Jones, Griffith, IN
• Joseph Meissner, Cleveland, OH
• Sharon Lassar, Miami, FL
• Bruce Twomley, Juneau, AK, Chair

TAP Staff and IRS Program Owner

• Bernie E. Coston, TAP Director, June 3, 2004
• Inez E. De Jesus, TAP Program Analyst and Scribe
• Raymond G. Mills, MLI Program Owner

Guests

• Randy Swartz, Director, Low Income Tax Clinic (LITC), June 3, 2004
• Alan M. Goldberg, LITC, ESL Program Manager
• Sally Sandy, Educator, St. Louis, MO
• Joyce Heller, South Brooklyn Legal Services, June 3, 2004
• James Logan, South Brooklyn Legal Services, June 3, 2004
• Mike Haber, South Brooklyn Legal Services, June 3, 2004
• Carl Callender, Director, Queens Legal Services, June 3, 2004
• Cindy Katz, Queens Legal Services, June 3, 2004
• Andrea Kim, Queens Legal Services, June 3, 2004
• Gia-Hoa Ryan, Cleveland, OH, LITC, Friendship Foundation, June 3, 2004
• Shyconia Burden-Noten, Dept. of Homeland Security, NYC of Citizenship & Immigration Services, June 4, 2004

Chair’s Welcome and Announcements

Chair opened the meeting by welcoming everyone, and he expressed delight that the TAP Director was present. He also thanked the staff for their efforts in organizing this meeting.

TAP Analyst- Roll Call-Confirm Quorum

Analyst Inez E. De Jesus took the roll call and quorum of 3 was met; all committee members and Designated Federal Official were present.

TAP Director, Bernie Coston, Opening Comments

TAP Director Bernie Coston began by sharing that he will be present during today’s session, and that he was attempting to attend as many face-to-face meetings as humanly possible. He also shared that within the next couple of days, he will be attending the Area 1 face-to-face committee’s meeting in Portsmouth, NH.

Coston continued by providing an update on the current Recruitment efforts:

• 970 applications have been received nationwide, including Puerto Rico.
• 20 IRS employees have applied but are not eligible since IRS employees are exempt from applying.
• 10 Human Resource experts are available to assist during the interview process.
• All the applications are ranked and by order by State based on the ranking cut-off score.
• Plans as of now are to start the interviews during the weeks of June 21st, , June 28th, then begin again a week after July 4th, week of July 12 and July 19th, 2004.
• Twenty different locations nationwide have been selected for the interviews.
• The Chairs have been asked to request for volunteers to participate with the interviews.
• During the interviews, plans are to have one TAP Member present, one representative from the TAP office, either Bernie, Nancy or Inez, and one TAP Advocate, most likely the DFO or Local Taxpayer Advocate who are site neutral. The best cost effective measure will be considered as well.
• 300 Persons will be interviewed.
• The process of fingerprinting has been improved; the “ink and roll” process has been replaced with the “live scan” process.
• Tax checks will also be conducted.
• The goal is to have the new members attend the Annual Meeting from November 4-6, 2004 in the Hamilton Crowne Plaza Hotel, in Washington, D.C.
• There are 52 slots to fill and we go by States.
• Alternates will also be filled at this time; Coston shared that “we did not do a good job in the past; we have to do a better job in this area.”
• There is a need to eliminate background checks on folks who already have government background checks.
• There is currently a one-third turnover rate on a yearly basis- plans are to extend the membership to a 3-year term. Coston shared that he will be contacting Treasury to obtain their approval.
• The National TAP Office has taken an active role with the recruitment process this year, as well as Steve Berkey’s position, National Office Program Analyst, has helped to take the load off the field offices which in turn can better provide support to the panel members.
• The TAP Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) is currently being worked on since the TAP Director’s goal is to have all TAP offices working in alignment; there will be a consistent flow across the board on how tasks are done. Coston hopes to have the draft SOP for internal operations by the August/September 2004 timeframe.

Bernie Coston then opened the floor for questions from the panel. Members wanted to know the locations for the interviews, and Coston responded, the interview sites chosen are in Brooklyn, Seattle, Dallas, Laguna Niguel, Atlanta, Fort Lauderdale, D.C., Richmond, and Kansas City. Coston stressed that these locations are central and convenient to bring the interviewees into. He reminded everyone that he would be available all day, and is open to hear from everyone.

Coston went on to inform the panel that they were doing an excellent job! The Multilingual Initiative Issue is one that everyone encounters in all neighborhoods and the English as a Second Language is a hot issue today.

Chair –Review/approve minutes from May 21, 2004

Before the minutes from the previous meeting were approved, the action items noted were addressed as follows:

• Twomley shared that the invitation extended to Sharon Stetz to participate during a future MLI Issue Committee meeting was declined. (Page 2)
• The panel sent their “kiosks” questions to Raymond Mills. (Page 2)
• Ferree shared the telephone number she had for the Department of Education with Mills and he attempted to make the contact in seeking a speaker. (Page 3)
• The LITC questions were submitted timely to Mills as requested. Chair made any inquiry on who had submitted questions, and Elizabeth Brodbine Ghoniem stated that she had. (Page 3)
• Nancy did update the agenda, and kept the TAP Director informed. (Page 3)
• Ray, Nancy, and Inez did get together regarding the pre-read materials for the panel members. All confirmed that they received the information timely. (Page 4)
• Nancy confirmed that Shyconia Burden will be attending tomorrow’s session. (Page 5).
• Meissner inquired if there had been any feedback received from the H&R representative that was on the last MLI teleconference call, and the response was “No”.

The minutes for the May 21, 2004 teleconference meeting were approved by consensus.

Program Owner’s Meeting Objectives

DFO Ferree shared that due to an emergency, Program Owner Raymond Mills is expected to arrive by Noontime. The meeting objectives will be discussed later on today.

TAP Director Coston stated that it is his and the National Taxpayer Advocate, Nina E. Olson’s goal, to maintain this program as a “grassroots” committee.

Randy Swartz, Low Income Tax Clinic (LITC) Director’s Overview
Randy Swartz welcomed everyone to New York and encouraged the panel to do some sightseeing while they were here. The LITC guests all introduced themselves at this point.

Swartz distributed Publication 3319, Low Income Tax Clinic, 2005 Grant Application Package and Guidelines. The actual application is included in Publication 3319. The application may be submitted between May 1, 2004 and July 1, 2004 by 4:00 pm EDT, and it applies for grants for the period(s) from January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005.

Swartz brought to everyone’s attention the letter in the opening page of Publication 3319 from the National Taxpayer Advocate, dated April 2, 2004. He went on to suggest that the panel share LITC information with others during their outreach efforts. He also suggested that the panel familiarize themselves with the information in this publication. He also referenced page 8, “LITC Program Standards”- He emphasized that sites need to be monitored in order to make sure that they are following the guidelines, and this is currently being addressed.

Swartz also shared that LITC’s handle controversy matters concerning tax audits, and that LITC’s are not return preparers only if preparing the returns is part of the controversy. It was not Congress’ intent to have LITC’s be tax preparers. There is currently a bill in both houses requesting an additional $10 Million dollars be granted. It has passed in the Senate and needs to go to the House. Current funding is $7.5 Million; originally there were 137 clinics established, some were rejected for various reasons, and currently there are 134 clinics, and every State is being represented with the exception of one.

Swartz’s presentation was followed by several questions from the panel:

• Jones inquired about what feedback has been received that confirms that clients are being served. Swartz responded that currently there are no standards established and it is an area that needs to be addressed. There are currently review intake sheets, and clinics are required to submit an annual report. Swartz emphasized that he is aware there is a need to monitor what languages are served.
• Lassar made an inquiry regarding whether there is any data available before a grant application is submitted and a panel member invests time in attempting to open a new LITC. How does one know that there is a demand for service? Swartz responded that there is a need but folks just don’t know that the LITC’s are out there; it has been a continual battle in getting the word out on LITC’s; especially in rural communities where there is a great need for them. Swartz explained that the IRS/TAS cannot advertise the LITC’s; General Counsel gave an opinion that the IRS can do very limited advertising. The Advocate cannot refer anyone to a LITC; there cannot be any specific referrals made. The LITC’s are fully an independent force.

Swartz also shared that there are posters available for the public at Taxpayer Assistance Centers with information on their local LITC’s. Swartz thought that perhaps having stuffers sent out with IRS notices might be an idea but also clinics cannot be burdened with excess traffic. There is a definite need to reach a broader audience, and Swartz suggested that panel work closely with their local Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) offices.

Guest speaker Sally Sandy shared at this point that “trust” is a commodity you cannot buy and suggested that the panel partner with Adult Education Programs (on a National level) which are free, and are already out there and its working; she has been in this business for 35 years. Guest Cindy Katz chimed in and stated that in certain States, the Department of Labor funds some of these programs.

Alan M. Goldberg, ESL (English as a Second Language) Program Manager
Goldberg began by stating that whereby Randy Swartz addressed the clinics that handle controversy issues, he will address the ESL (English as a Second Language) program which is also a component of Low Income Tax Clinics.

At this point, Goldberg distributed copies of Publication 4134, Spanish Version, which lists all the LITC’s throughout the country, and the languages they serve. Goldberg shared that as everyone knows, the immigrant community is a growing population as noted in the last Census. Goldberg stated: that currently there are 40 different languages and dialects being served by LITC’s. Some of the clinics have a toll-free number. There is not a standard way of running clinics; some are managed in the native language of the community. Clinics usually know their target communities and strengths of their volunteers and staff and what the staff is capable of doing and work accordingly. Also, trust, fears, confidentiality and privacy is top of the list of priorities at all LITC’s. Goldberg concluded by emphasizing the importance of outreach and education, financial literacy, and the networking with community based organizations. He emphasized on the importance of networking with like minded advocacy groups and non-profit charitable organizations.

Goldberg also distributed the brochure distributed by the Bentley Low Income Taxpayer Clinic, in Waltham, MA, titled: “Need Income Tax Assistance?”

This led as a lead-in to the LITC guests and their perspective presentations which followed.

James Logan, South Brooklyn Legal Services, Inc. Presentation
James Logan and Joyce Heller confirmed that they do everything Alan Goldberg shared earlier at the South Brooklyn Legal Services, Inc.; there is no need to do outreach for them since they have plenty of clients.

Logan and Heller shared that they are legal services lawyers and provide free legal services in their community. They cover 20 zip codes in the Southern and Western areas in Brooklyn, NY. They handle housing, benefits, and family law issues. This all derived from the Welfare Reform Act when their clients made a transition from the welfare to work program and then encountered that they had to learn how to file a tax return. The Brooklyn LITC does both controversy representation and ESL outreach and education through community based organizations that partner and work together with LITC’s.

The panel received from presenters copies of the outreach flyers that they use entitled: “Need Help With Tax Problems?” in English, Spanish, and Russian. This has worked as a great tool to make the community aware of services available in their own language. This LITC also has an active hot line.

Other information shared by the Brooklyn LITC Presenters:
Local politicians are contacted as well and kept informed of the needs of the community.

The clients are informed of the need to keep good records. This LITC ensures that a comfortable environment is established. Evening activities are often scheduled so that it is convenient for the clients.

The staff training is on-going and kept very simple; legal issues are made simple for the LITC volunteer staff and ESL’s individuals.

The Brooklyn Legal Services uses the community based organizations to assist them with the translations of documents, and it does not cost anything. This is very cost effective. Seventy percent of their clients are ESL.

Written evaluations to ensure folks understand written comments are also done at this site.

Logan and Heller also said that Brooklyn is a melting pot with a variety of cultures and languages and also some of the family structures are not seen by the IRS as traditional; there may be single fathers or grandparents taking care of children.

Based on their experiences, there is a need for clarity of IRS notices and forms. These need to be simplified. Literacy is also another issue for concern as well.

TAP Area 1 Chair Jim Grimaldi has been very engaged with the Brooklyn LITC.

In conclusion, both presenters shared that the Brooklyn LITC main problem is resources.

Cindy Katz- Queens Legal Services Presentation
Cindy Katz and Andrea Kim began their presentation by sharing that at the Queens Legal Services, similar to the Brooklyn LITC, outreach is not an issue. The community is aware of their existence and services rendered. Queens is the center of multilingual issues. More than one-third of the population in Brooklyn, and Queens are immigrants. Forty-eight percent are non-English speaking, and therefore speak in another language other than English.

Katz and Kim emphasized that this population is treated with respect and is not turned away. The Queens LITC hires a multilingual staff and also shared that Spanish is the most common language, followed by Chinese, Creole, Hindu, Korean, Russian, and Urdu.

The Queens LITC uses “I Speak” sheets, these sheets are shown to the individuals in order to be able to assist them; the individual points to the language they know, and staff person can direct them accordingly so that they are assisted in their own language. They also have use of a “language line” service that is available for the clients. The wait time for translation on this line is between 5-10 minutes. Home visits are also conducted by the staff at this LITC.

A chart was distributed titled: “English Language Proficiency of Speakers of Selected Language Groups, New York City, 2000” which indicates that the number of persons not proficient in English, as of 2000 totals: 1,768,977. Percentages of those not proficient is broken down as follows:

Other information shared by the Queens LITC Presenters:
Emphasis is made to work with community based organizations.

One cannot relate to the translation of documents alone. The problem with translation is that some of the clients may be illiterate in their native language and this is entirely another issue.

Networking is very important; some banks have incentives to open accounts for LITC clients.

Sometimes ethnic media is used as a means to get the word out of the services available at the Queens Legal Services.

Another concern has been not having enough ESL at VITA sites.

At this point, Panel Member Delford Jones made an inquiry if any organization has shared with immigrants before they come to this country what is expected of them and he received a response from one of the guests in the audience, Ms. Gia-Hoa Ryan, from the Cleveland, Ohio LITC, Friendship Foundation that provides service to a Vietnamese community. Ms. Ryan responded that “Yes” – this is a practice that her organization does. Before her clients arrive in this country, they are given an overview of the expectations and it is made clear to them that nothing comes easy here. One must work in order to earn monies and be able to take care of themselves independently.

This led to a brief discussion by the panel and the following is an action item:
Action item for the panel to address in the near future: Since agreement was made that Immigration should be made aware of alerting immigrants before they reach the USA of what is expected of them, that perhaps a letter of support to Immigration should be drafted as per TAP guidelines.

Chair Twomley expressed to all the LITC presenters that on behalf of the panel, “we are very grateful for your presentations”, and he extended an invitation that they could stick around and join the dialogue later on today with the committee if they so wish to.

Panel Member Joe Meissner shared that he noticed in on Page 7 of Publication 3319, Low Income Tax Clinic, 2005 Grant Application Package and Guidelines,that the LITC’s are required to partner with TAP multilingual tax initiatives/”workgroup service”. As a result, TAP Director Coston stated that he will follow-up on this.

Action item for Coston, Ferree, Twomley, Goldberg: will get together to define next steps based on the contractual agreement between LITC’s and TAP.

After Lunch – Afternoon Session
Chair Twomley welcomed everyone and was glad to see that the Queens LITC Representative Cindy Katz was still in attendance. He then requested that DFO Nancy Ferree provide the committee with an overview of the Program Owners “Meeting Desired Outcomes” and she did as follows:

• Develop template for annual LITC surveys one for the local LITC office directors and one for their clients;
• Develop ESL template for basic tax education that is in line with USCIS and Department of Education guidelines and can be integrated into their ESL efforts.
• Identify partnership opportunities with other Federal (Executive Order 13166) and State (we will need to see what legal mandates exist at the state level that are perhaps tied to Executive Order 13166 to understand the ability of states to partner with us) organizations that provide service to customers/clients who have difficulty speaking and understanding English.

Most recently, Executive Order 13126, “Increasing Opportunity and Improving Quality of Life of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders” is also being addressed by the MLI Program Office.

There is a lack of basic tax obligations/responsibilities out there.

Pending projects are shared later on by Program Owner Raymond Mills:

• The IRS Spanish Website is currently being worked on by Mills and will soon be available to the public.
• The MLI Program office is also addressing a Spanish free-file service.
• The LITC Grantee survey put together at the National LITC Conference, December 2003 will be discussed later on today or tomorrow.
• Bi-lingual brochures with English and Spanish, side by side.
• There are currently 7 brochures on “Why do We Pay Taxes” but it is not available to be shared.

Cindy Katz suggested that space be made available on the bi-lingual brochures so that LITC’s and VITA’s (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) can piggy back on or use for contact information.

Reminder was made that all brochures need to be sanctioned by the IRS.

Terminology used: STP= Standarized Translation Process and
VTO=Virtual Translation Office.

Sally Sandy, Educator from the Parkway Area Adult Education Literacy-ESL Program - St. Louis, MO
Before introducing Ms. Sandy to the group, DFO Ferree shared Ms. Sandy’s resume and background as an educator that has been teaching ESL students for many years and is currently the Director at Parkway Adult Education and ESL Program in St. Louis since July 2003.

Ms. Sandy began her presentation by sharing how Missouri is organized, there are 43 Program Areas, and 7 school districts that have the ESL components which she is responsible for. There is a large Bosnian population in this area, and she has had students drive one and a half hours one way to attend ESL classes. She went on to explain the funding process (Federal and State funding) which is based on a combination of student attendance and progress.

Ms. Sandy emphasized “needs based” method she uses which is that as you teach language skills include taxes. Explaining the “why they are paying taxes” is crucial in the learning process so that they also learn compliance and be more understanding of why they are paying taxes. One must always keep in mind that students are in different stages of learning. The goal of the program is that the student needs to walk out with language skills they did not have before they walked in the classroom. ESL classes are taught in a variety of ways.

Ms. Sandy wrote the following up on a chart for all to view:

Ms. Sandy recently requested a grant and anticipates that she will be funded by next summer in order to teach students civics.

Ms. Sandy shared the following information with the panel:

• School’s website: www.parkway.k12.mo.us/all/
• Chart: Parkway Area Adult Education Literacy/English as a Second Language Program- “Countries Represented in FY 2003-2004”
• Basic Tax Vocabulary- (teaching tool)
• Multi-level Dictation- Income Tax –(teaching tool)

Ms. Sandy also shared how she met Panel Member Linda Bader at the school and worked with her in creating the “Outline of Proposed ESL Tax Curriculum” which is currently a recommendation that this committee has elevated to the IRS MLI Program Owner and is in pending status.

Panel Member Sharon Lassar asked “Is there a standardized way to measure progress?” Sandy’s response was that some things on the test are not practical and in essence the response was “No”.

Ms. Sandy concluded by stating that marketing is very important and that she sees that the next step may be a “health literacy” program being the focus on a national level.

Cindy Katz shared that to her knowledge the Consumer Bankruptcy & Credit Company handles financial literacy issues and the NY State Department of Banking does also and neither of these are available for ESL’s.

Meissner suggested that a partnering with other entities may be necessary.

Chair Twomley expressed gratitude on behalf of the panel to Ms. Sandy for sharing her experiences with all.

Wrap-Up Day One
Tomorrow’s meeting will begin at 7:30am instead of 8:00am as previously scheduled.

Friday, June 4, 2004- “Day Two”

Recap Day One
Chair Twomley opened the meeting by welcoming everyone and turning the meeting over to Sharon Lassar.

National Women’s Law Center Discussion Document-How to Improve Services for LEP Tax Filers- Lassar shared that she has a history with this organization going back to previous comments on their EITC initiative.

Lassar stated that although she agrees with a lot of the work this group has done, she is still uncertain about the argument regarding the translating of documents. If “IRS was to translate all important tax forms and publications into Spanish and other languages for limited English Proficiency (LEP) Tax Filers” would these documents be used?

After the panel reviewed the letter received, there was agreement that most of the issues that are being addressed are all in the process of being done by the IRS, and perhaps we should share recommendations elevated by this committee already. Also any questions to the organization will be incorporated in the response. An invitation for them to attend future teleconference meetings was also suggested. Mills volunteered to draft the response to this group, and Lassar will attempt to help but currently has other obligations. Several suggestions were shared.

Action item: Mills will prepare first draft and forward to Chair Twomley by June 18, 2004.

Chair Twomley will then review first draft and then share with the entire committee by June 25, 2004. Twomley will attempt to share with panel and Lassar prior to her trip to China on July 18th.

By July 2nd, 2004, the committee is to review and provide their input.

Kiosk Discussion
Mills shared that he was not able to get response from the Wage & Investment Project Manager but promised to follow-up on this. Action item for Mills: to address questions previously submitted on the kiosks and get back to the committee.

Mills was able answer a few questions, e.g.

1. How many kiosks are there in operation today? Response: 37 kiosks.
2. Kiosks look like ATM Machines.
3. Regarding the costs of kiosks, Mills should have this information by next week.

Delford Jones shared that his area committee visited one and learned that these are very expensive and there was a problem with the printing of documents. The area committee made a recommendation.

Mills agreed that there are funding issues to consider. Mills emphasized that electronic means vs. paper versions are less expensive and also a great way to meet the needs of LEP’s.

DFO Ferree reminded everyone that the connection this panel has with kiosks is the multilingual perspective. Bader shared that she visited the kiosk in Cincinnati and she was able to obtain prints both in English and in Spanish. Bader recalled asking Program Owner Cross if there was any way to know the hits and Cross had said no, but Bader claims that this information is available.

Kiosks are not useful to immigrants as they are now. Mills shared that initially the purpose of kiosks was to provide services in under-represented locations/rural areas.

Lassar shared that when she was chair of this committee she had the opportunity to attend a MLI Executive Board meeting and learned a lot of what the MLI Project Office deals with.

Shyconia Burden, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS)
Ms. Burden is a Community Liaison Officer from the Department of Homeland Security and she began her presentation by thanking DFO Ferree and the panel for inviting her and she hoped to be able to take back with her information from the panel. The concept of both agencies partnering and working together in ways to address LEP’s is quite welcome she said.

Ms. Burden shared information regarding on how USCIS checks to be sure that information on marriage applications are accurate. This is basically a concern when a person with a “green card” requests to be married to an American Citizen whereby their status changes.

Ms. Burden also shared that an “Immigration Orientation Guide” is currently being developed for immigrants. The purpose of this is to provide high level information and refer the immigrants appropriately; she believed that it contains some information on the IRS and how to obtain a Social Security card.

In respect to a “Naturalization Examination”, Ms. Burden stated that this too is in re-design form and will be available in different languages. Most likely it will not be ready until Fiscal Year 2006. (Languages: English, Spanish, Creole, French, Russian, and another language she could not recall at the time). This briefly will tell what their responsibilities will be in this country.

Educating immigrants on their responsibilities is a common initiative that USCIS and the IRS can continue a dialogue on. In New York there are about 1 Million illegal persons and they are working. These individuals are referred to community based organizations that may be able to help them. When applicable, these individuals are referred to the IRS Website.

There was a discussion between Ms. Burden and the panel regarding the clarification on sharing of information and Disclosure issues specifically when USCIS requests a copy of a tax return and then asks the person to obtain IRS transcripts in order to compare information. Immigrants do not have the resources to check all the information that is out there. There is a lot of fraud out there Ms. Burden stated. There is a “moral character clause” out there which is another matter. “Employment Card” was also briefly discussed.

Delford Jones inquired if USCIS received more monies when the merger occurred and the response was “No”. Ms. Burden said that Congress does not support Immigration and the Office of Citizenship. Their fees recently were increased and this is what pays salaries. The majority of the monies go to pay for enforcement. This is a major issue for this agency.

Ms. Burden’s primary duty is to deal with “illegal aliens”- and attempts to assist them in obtaining legal status. Some can get a green card if their employer supports them. Citizenship is currently partnering with ESL.

Ms. Burden discussed the fear that is encountered and what she does is provide information to help the immigrants become more cognizant of immigration laws. She too, deals a lot with LEP’s and in situations like this she brings a translator with her. The headquarters office is working with the Census Bureau to determine languages they should be addressing.

Touch screen kiosks are soon to be available.

A brief discussion was made on H2B Visa, temporary work visa for skilled workers with degrees, and also there are visas for unskilled, Visitors Visa. Many try to circumvent the law issue. Since September 11, 2001, Immigration monitors the students with a “J” visa and exchange students.

Ms. Burden concluded by saying that the key factor is to get information to this audience.

It was agreed, that any recommendation this committee decides on will be written to the IRS requesting that contact be made with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Website: www.uscis.gov was shared with all as well as Ms. Burden’s direct telephone number and email address. Since members requested to know who was their local community liaison officers, Ms. Burden said that she can be contacted directly and she will provide this information upon request.

Powerpoint Presentation: Office of Citizenship and Information about I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification was shared and discussed with the panel.

The panel expressed their thanks to Ms. Burden and looked forward to be working with her in the near future.

Workshop/Discussion
Finalize drafts of surveys and ESL template- not completed during this meeting (see comments below)

Workshop

1. Finalize template for ESL curriculum outline- not applicable at this time*
2. Strategic plan outline/timeline for development, dissemination and implementation

Continued Workshops/Discussion
This was on-going and captured separately.

Workshop (discuss issues brought up by speakers)

• Develop Annual survey to hand out to LITC’s (external stakeholders) Due to the time constraints, Mills shared that since he already has a draft survey already created, he will share this with the panel. Action item for Mills: share “Draft LITC Survey” with panel by June 7, 2004 and panel is to respond back to him by June 11, 2004.
• Develop Annual survey for LITC clients (taxpayers)
  This one needs to be developed. In December 2004, Mills said “we will know which LITC’s have been awarded”-(the ESL’s might not be able to be done this year) No deadline on this survey

Identify/Discuss ESL Partnering Opportunities with stakeholders
Elizabeth Brodbine Ghoniem asked Linda Bader if Sally Sandy had received sanction from headquarters, whoever that is, and Linda responded that the grant is expected sometime in July. The pilot will most likely be developed by September. Action item: After Sandy is funded, get information and share with this panel. Linda will take lead with the ESL project.

Mills suggested that Sally Sandy be invited to attend the LITC National Conference in December 2004 and Linda reminded everyone that she will not be here in December since she is not extending her term as a volunteer TAP Member.

TAP Elevated Recommendation Discussion
Mills shared that the response to the elevated recommendations submitted by the panel back in October 2003, cannot be shared yet since it is in draft form and has not been signed yet.

He shared that this panel has been a valuable source to provide input to assist LEP’s taxpayers.

DFO Ferree requested to know if the panel has further work to do specifically regarding the “Outline of Proposed ESL Tax Curriculum”* which was number 5 of the elevated recommendations, and Mills responded, “No, it’s in the IRS’ court now”. He stated that most likely this part of the recommendation will be forwarded to the IRS Units, and TAS, from the MLI Executive Council. The team will be called upon since this will be a process; the product is not finished yet. Mills said that work with on a Federal level with the Department of Education will most likely occur. Mills stated that by the week of June 7, 2004, MLI Program Manager, Mary Davis’ response should be available and Mills will officially share with the panel. Action item for Mills: to share “elevated recommendations” responses with the panel as soon as they are available to be shared.

Elizabeth Brodbine Ghoniem stated that there should not be any duplication of efforts.

Wrap-Up/Next Steps
Mills stated that he would like to see what Federal funding will be available so that we can model after format Sally Sandy uses.

Action item for Mills: To share Global Hue Report with the panel by June 7, 2004. (This determines needs and gives insight on quality information)

Action item for Ferree: To Remind Mills to send her the PDF file on the Global Hue Report.

The OMB, Office of Management and Budget as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act was briefly mentioned.

Mills also shared that a disclaimer should be placed on surveys to determine ESL.

Another issue the IRS is dealing with, said Mills, is the use of minors to translate information. This is a reason why bi-lingual brochures will be very helpful and effective tool to be assimilated into programs. Mills liked the idea of side by side-languages with English on one side, and all agreed that this would be very effective. Also, there is awareness that certain terms are not translated. (Bader had shared earlier the pamphlet entitled: “Your Voice, Your Vote”- which is published by the Office of the Secretary of State, Missouri, Elections Division, with English on one side and Bosnic on the other.

Mills promised that the panel will have input for the upcoming IRS Spanish website.

Currently there is no LITC website.

Lassar asked if the LITC can be on TAP website based on NTA’s comments last year.

Jones mentioned a “Talking Language Machine” which may be applicable to where you may need it.

Mills mentioned IRS’ “OPI” Over the Phone Interpreter service similar to the “I Speak” cards previously mentioned by the Queens LITC Presenters. On OPI, there are 144 languages already available.

Elizabeth shared her preference for the Bentley LITC model and suggested that Ms. Sandy work directly with Bentley College and Linda did not agree with this idea. Elizabeth thought that getting the best practices from a variety of sources would be most effective. Mills said: “We can pilot from the best”. Bader shared with Mills her copy of the Bentley Model.

DFO Ferree reminded everyone that the IRS has the Outline ESL Tax Curriculum and it has been accepted. It is not the TAP Mission to develop the product. This is a great success for the panel. Ferree continued by saying that there may be a need for follow-up once Ms. Sandy gets funding and we can see her model.

DFO Ferree also took this opportunity to inform the Program Owner that it is time that the panel be given another project to work on by the MLI Project Office. Perhaps “Citizenship” connected with the ESL portion, with outreach, may be an idea. The panel can elevate the new issue to the IRS and then the IRS to Immigration.

Mills stated that he envisions a template, Office of Citizenship, with the critical parts to give a person with basic tax knowledge.

DFO also requested that a MLI panel member be invited to attend the next Executive MLI Initiative Council meeting on August 26, 2004, in Crystal City, Outside Washington, DC. Action item for Mills to follow-up and ensure that it happens.

Meissner inquired about the results from last year’s Annual LITC Conference.

All were reminded to fill out the Meeting Satisfaction Survey.

Chair Twomley expressed his appreciation again to the staff for all their efforts in coordinating this meeting; Chair then adjourned meeting and reminded everyone that the next teleconference meeting will be held on Friday, July 16, 2004 at 1:00 pm ET, same dial-in number and participant’s code will be used.

List of Flyers, etc Received by the Presenters/Speakers

1. The Bentley Low Income Taxpayer Clinic Brochure
2. The Brooklyn Low Income Tax Clinic-“Need Help With a Tax Problem?” Flyer in several languages.
3. The Brooklyn Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic –“Taxpayer Education Workshop-Evaluation Form” in several languages
4. The Brooklyn Low-Income Tax Clinic’s List of CBO’s (Community Based Organizations) in partnership with the Brooklyn Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic
5. The Brooklyn Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic- “Need Help With a Tax Problem?- Want to Learn More About Your Tax Rights?”
6. Allan M. Goldberg- ESL Program Manager (LITC)- New York City’s –Highlights of the 2000 Census Information.
7. Low Income Taxpayer Clinic List, Publication 4134 (Spanish)
8. Chart: “English Language Proficiency of Speakers of Selected Language Groups- NYC 2000 (Queens LITC)
9. TAP MLI’s Outline of Proposed ESL Tax Curriculum prepared by Linda Bader
10. Parkway Area Adult Education Literacy- ESL Program- Sally Sandy- List of Countries Represented in FY 2003-2004
11. Sally Sandy’s example of “Tax Vocabulary” list
12. Multi-level dictation: Income Tax Information
13. National Women’s Law Center- May 27, 2004- Comments to the TAP MLI Issue Committee regarding: “How to Improve Services for Limited English Proficiency Tax Filers”
14. Office of Citizenship Information
15. About Form I-9-Employment Eligibility Verification
16. 2003 Low Income Tax Clinic (LITC) Conference Survey