What are the best ways to contact low-literacy andlimited-English-proficiency populations? How to Engage Low-Literacy and Limited-English-Proficiency Populations - Planning

Attend scheduled and special events

Being a part of scheduled and special events, and fairs provides an opportunity for exposure to a broader cross-section of the public and a larger number of people. In urban and rural areas, local school sporting events draw large, diverse crowds. In addition swap meets, rummage sales, flea markets, and farmers' markets are effective places to rent space and conduct interviews.

...downtown weekly concerts

The website for the city of Mebane, NC, provided a schedule of their Friday night downtown weekly summer concert series. The City Manager was contacted and gave the project team permission to pass out project information across the street from the bandstand. A table was set up and a map of the alternatives was taped to the side of a building. As citizens walked toward or away from the bandstand, they were given a fact sheet and project newsletter, and asked to provide their names and addresses for the project's mailing list. Local business owners and the general public reviewed the alternatives' map, asked questions, and completed interviews. In addition, a local newspaper reporter stopped by, interviewed the project team, and wrote an article about the project.

...Mid-State fairs

For the California Statewide Transportation Plan, California DOT and AMTRAK formed a partnership. They set up an information booth at the Mid-State Fair in San Luis Obispo and raffled off an AMTRAK round-trip ticket from San Luis Obispo to San Diego. To be eligible for the raffle, the public had to fill out a questionnaire. As a result, 450 people completed the California Statewide Transportation Plan questionnaire. In addition, California DOT took pictures of children wearing a hardhat and orange vest, and gave these to them.

Watercolored photo of people viewing a project map attached to the exterior wall of a building.

A map of the alternatives was taped to a wall near the bandstand before the concert.

...voter polling places

During the week of the 2000 presidential election, the project team was in the field in Maysville, NC. The county Voter Registrar was contacted and identified three polling places in the project area. During the previous election more than 70 percent of those eligible to vote had voted in each of these polling places. At each polling place, a staff member was positioned at a table with chairs, project signs, maps of alternatives, newsletters, and questionnaires. For those completing questionnaires, cookies and soft drinks were provided. In addition, information was also distributed about the dates and time for upcoming meetings. At one of the polling places, members of the National Black Caucus directed voters to visit the project table. More than 80 interviews were conducted that day.

...mud sales

In Pennsylvania, "mud sales" are events that attract farmers and local citizens. This is a colloquial description for auctions that are typically held in the spring during mud season to benefit the local fire companies. The project was assigned a booth right next to a farmer selling horse manure. Project maps were displayed, a little banner was hung, and team members talked to attendees about the project. In addition, project articles were sent to the Amish newspaper and to local organizations that had their own newsletters.

Watercolored photo of two people sitting across a table from one another conducting a interview.

Residents were interviewed outside of the polling places after they voted.

Visit Laundromats, grocery stores that accept Food Stamps, and discount stores. Low-income populations often shop at discount stores and grocery stores that accept Food Stamps, and do their wash at coin-operated Laundromats. Wal-Mart has a history of being community-oriented and has been willing to work with local groups. Non-franchised national chains and independently owned local grocery stores also have a history of being civic minded.

...Laundromats

As part of the project's reconnaissance, the only Laundromat in Mebane, NC, was identified. On Saturday morning, team members visited the Laundromat to conduct interviews. Because of the length of the wash and dry cycles, everyone had time to be interviewed. As the day wore on, the customer base began changing from English-speaking Whites to Spanish-speaking Hispanics. This was unexpected since the Census information had not identified any Hispanic population. Having no interpreter present and no translated materials, the team was unable to interview any of the Hispanic customers. However, the English-speaking customers identified several mobile home parks where Hispanics lived and described a growing Hispanic presence.

...Independent Grocery Association stores

A survey of the project area revealed that the Independent Grocery Association store in Maysville, NC, was the only grocery store that accepted Food Stamps. The manager was familiar with his customers' shopping habits, and identified both the days and actual times of the month when Food Stamp recipients generally shopped. He provided a table and chairs, and allowed staff members to display and hand out project information just inside the store's entrance near the produce section. This location insured that almost all of the store's customers would pass by the display table.

Watercolored photo of a woman interviewing another woman at a laundromat.

Residents at a Laundromat were interviewed as they waited for their clothes to wash.

Some customers had children waiting outside in the car or someone at home waiting for a meal and did not have time to complete questionnaires. However, most of them did have the time to answer a few questions. It was possible to determine who had received the project newsletter and whether or not they had heard of the project. Many of the elder shoppers took the time to be interviewed. Staff members were able to hand out information about an upcoming meeting, add names to the mailing list, and schedule times for one-on one interviews. In addition, the store manager agreed to place a project newsletter in every customer's bag. He also asked for a project map and displayed it on the wall outside his office at the store's other entrance.

...major discount stores

Wal-Mart allowed Missouri DOT to place a questionnaire on a kiosk in front of a store. The kiosk received 1,000 hits per week during the 2 months it was in operation. One of the questions asked was how had the person heard about the project. Almost every single person who responded said they had not heard about the project before filling out the questionnaire. Using Wal-Mart's huge drawing power provided an opportunity to introduce a large number of people to the project.

Watercolored photo of a woman interviewing another woman at a grocery store.

Project information was distributed and interviews conducted in a local grocery store that accepted Food Stamps.

Use word of mouth, radio, television, and newspapers

The effectiveness of word of mouth is greatly underestimated. In communities where low literacy and limited English proficiency are common, the trust associated with the carrier of the news is transferred to the news itself. Public-awareness programs and public-service announcements on local mainstream and ethnic radio, television, and cable-access channels are also major news sources

....announcements from the pulpit

Local pastors in Denver, CO, announced from their pulpits that project staff would be visiting the schools, coming through the neighborhoods, and wearing yellow shirts and name badges with "I-70" stamped on them. Special emphasis was placed on recognition of the "I-70" logo because many community residents could not read. The ministers beckoned their congregations to open their doors and complete interviews.

...radio reading services for the blind

Radio reading services, while they initially targeted the visually impaired, also serve those who cannot read and are a source of information dissemination. These services can be identified by searching on-line with the key words "reading services for the blind."

...media directories

Public relations companies, such as Gebbie Press (http://www.gebbieinc.com), sell annual State media directories that provide information on print media (all daily, weekly, African American, and Hispanic newspapers) and broadcast media (all radio, TV, African American and Hispanic radio) by format. Also, a variety of online services provide free media directories, including:

http://www.radioblack.com provides a list of African American radio stations by State and city.
http://www.shgresources.com/ resources/radio provides a list of radio stations by State, city and format.
http://www.shgresources.com/ resources/tv provides a list of television stations by State and city.
http://www.shgresources.com/ resources/newspapers provides a list of newspapers by State and city.
http://www.blackpressusa.com/ Network.asp provides a directory of local African American press websites by State.
http://www.abyznewslinks.com/unite.htm provides a list of ethnic and non-ethnic newspapers by State and city.

Watercolored photo of a cameraman covering a public hearing for a project.

Live coverage of a public hearings generated larger crowds than expected.

...radio call-in shows

During a field visit to a Maysville, NC, project area, a staff member was approached by the owner of a local African American radio station and asked if the project manager would participate in a call-in show. The project manager agreed, and the station owner initiated a conference call with the project manager located more than 2 hours away. The call-in show provided an opportunity to reach a focused audience, answer questions, discuss issues, dispel rumors, and provide information about upcoming events.

Watercolored photo of two men and two women sitting around a round table with microphones.

Involve school students

School students can serve as information conduits to their parents who may not be able to read in any language or speak English. In addition, their involvement in a project often spurs their parents' interest to participate and builds community support.

...an art contest for bridge designs

Through the Great American Teach-in event, Florida DOT asked two art classes from a Tampa high school for help in designing the aesthetics for a new roadway and bridge so it would reflect their community. The students provided 40 out-of-the-box ideas and the project engineer selected the top eight ideas based on concept. The Florida DOT's local district landscape architect and structural engineer then selected the four top designs based on the constructability and maintainability. The four student designers met with the Mayor of Tampa, who awarded a $100 gift certificate to the grand-prize winner. As a result of the design contest, community support for the project was created.

...survey design

In Bowling Green, KY, the local Kentucky Transportation Cabinet district office asked a third-grade class to beta-test a survey. The class included a number of students from low-income households, and recent Hispanic and Bosnianimmigrants. They were told about the project and given a test survey to see if they could understand it. The survey was revised to incorporate their comments. Then, they were asked to take the survey home and interview adults, such as their parents or grandparents. The next day the students returned the interviews and were shown how their information would be used in the project. Later in the process, the students were asked to conduct a second interview to verify the project was on track. The student interviews increased parent interest in the project, the number of visits to project office, and the project mailing list.

Watercolored photo of a man in front of a children's classroom.

Kentucky Transportation Cabinet staff asked third graders to beta-test a survey before it was given to their parents.

...yearly calendar design

Each year the Chicago Area Transportation Study produces a calendar illustrated with student artwork. A theme is identified, and a letter is sent to every elementary and middle school in the six-county area asking them to provide a picture that could be used for one of the months. Additional materials are sent to the schools including a transportation teaching unit and an offer to speak to a class.

..."Where Do Roads Come From?"

The principal asked the project team to make a presentation to the fourth and fifth graders as a civics lesson in how roads are planned and located. A PowerPoint presentation called Where Do Roads Come From? Was created and tested for clarity using one 11-year old. The presentation addressed three topics: the variety of professions involved, the impact categories examined, and the Federal laws that governed. At the end of the presentation, each student was given a homework assignment. They were asked to take home a map of their hometown, Pollocksville, NC, with all its environmentally sensitive areas identified, and talk to their parents about where the road should go. The next day, almost all the students returned the maps. In exchange, a certificate as a "junior environmentalist" was given to each student. This created the possibility of writing the project newsletter at the fifth-grade reading level so the students could read it to their parents if their parents could not read.

Watercolored photo of a woman in front of a children's classroom.

Third graders were asked to find out where their parents thought the road should go as a homework assignment.

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