Oregon correctional facilities not meeting needs of adults, youth with limited English

Nearly one in six Oregonians speak a language other than English at home, a diversity reflected even in the state’s correctional systems. From 2022 to 2025, the number of people whose primary language was recorded as “unknown” was over 20% at the Department of Corrections, and almost 50% at the Youth Authority. 

The audit looked at the agencies’ close-custody facilities, where correctional staff conduct a 30-day intake process. These locations have 24/7 security and a combined capacity for more than 14,000 people. 

“People in state custody with limited English proficiency should not receive worse care simply because they can’t communicate as well with the people responsible for their health and safety,” Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read said in a statement. “If Oregonians are able to get the treatments and rehabilitation they need in custody, we all benefit when they return to their communities.”

Agencies should track language needs earlier, audit finds

Neither agency sufficiently tracks an incarcerated person’s language needs early enough in the intake process, the audit found. 

During that process, incarcerated youth can identify their primary language in a cultural services questionnaire, but only English, Spanish and Russian are listed. Adults going through intake at the corrections department do not fill out forms or undergo any procedures to identify their language needs.

And while a growing number of youth in custody only speak Spanish, more adults in custody in Oregon speak less common languages, such as Chuukese, a language spoken in the Pacific islands of Micronesia, according to the audit.

Auditors recommended the agencies document a person’s language needs during the intake process as staff are already conducting fingerprinting and medical and mental screenings. Auditors also suggested adding “I Speak” signs in key locations throughout its facilities that allow people to point to the language they speak. 

Auditors emphasize language support in healthcare settings

Auditors emphasized the need to improve language support in healthcare settings as language barriers often result in a person delaying or not getting services. 

The agencies should train staff around language access in healthcare settings, creating clear guidelines for when staff can and should interpret in medical settings. 

The Youth Authority has a contract requiring interpreters to be on Oregon’s certified medical interpreter’s registry. The Department of Corrections does not have this requirement. 

Even though both agencies offer a bilingual pay differential, bilingual staff should not act as healthcare interpreters, auditors said. Auditors said the agencies should determine whether they would benefit from policies like Washington’s, where bilingual correctional staff are required to be certified in medical settings. 

The agencies also aren’t sufficiently documenting interpreter needs in correctional healthcare settings, which makes it difficult for auditors to understand the extent to which the agencies are providing accurate and timely language services. 

Among other recommendations, auditors said the agencies should establish a formal process for how staff shares information about a person’s language needs. Emails, personal notes and verbal updates aren’t enough, and agencies should designate specific staff to monitor the language needs for incarcerated individuals. The agencies should also determine which key documents it should translate into other languages. 

Both of the agencies’ directors agreed to all the auditors’ recommendations, and committed to completing them during the next year. 

The Department of Corrections is already addressing some of the language access issues, Director Mike Reese said in a response letter to auditors.

“For as long as the (department) has been in existence, individuals with limited English proficiency have been sentenced by the courts to our custody,” Reese said. “Although they make up a very small percentage of the overall incarcerated population, their ability to complete assessments, understand processes and participate in programs are no less important.”

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