Dallas County provides critical language services with Google Public Sector

Dallas County’s mission is to provide exceptional services that promote a thriving community. As the second most populous county in Texas and the ninth largest in the country, they serve over 2.6 million constituents in the Dallas, Texas area. The county population is diverse with a large number of both English and non-English speakers. According to the latest census data, the Latino population comprises 41% of Dallas County, followed by White (27%) and Black (22%), plus a significant Vietnamese population.

Realizing that the services they offered were not easily accessible to everyone in the community, Dallas County set out to create more language-inclusive systems. They worked with Google Public Sector to create two language-support programs to promote equitable access to services across the county. This initiative was built on their existing foundation of innovation and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Using innovation to support equitable access

In April 2023, Dallas County began using Contact Center AI (CCAI) and Enterprise Translation Hub (ETH) to provide critical language services to constituents. Both solutions, powered by Google Cloud and SpringML, enable the County to extend services to many more of their constituents effortlessly. Their ETH program translates existing service documents. Spanish speakers can also use the county’s CCAI-powered virtual assistant for self-service access.

Translating existing documents from English to over 130 different languages used to require a large amount of resources and excessive time and effort for staff to make them fit in the existing format. ETH can now translate existing documents, forms, County Commissioner newsletters, etc into over 130 different languages without the original meaning of the document getting lost in translation , saving Dallas County resources and preserving the constituent's ability to follow along with each document as intended.

The new virtual assistant helps constituents find what they’re looking for when visiting the Dallas County website. SpringML helped design and build a custom virtual assistant trained on county data to provide answers to constituent questions, working with Dallas County to align on the top 25 most frequently asked questions based on website and call center statistics. The virtual assistant provides support through instant message conversations available in Spanish and English. This assistant, which is available 24/7, can save users a significant amount of time by providing helpful answers to commonly asked questions and contact information like email addresses, phone numbers, and locations. Both projects allow the county to communicate better by providing resources in their constituents’ native languages, bringing language access to 90% of the population.

Helping the community thrive

Within the first week of the ETH program, seven departments operating within Dallas County have enrolled to have their documents translated. Forms are already being rolled out in both Spanish and Vietnamese. In that same timeframe, the virtual assistant has held more than 2,000 conversations, covering a wide range of topics. Both are bringing services to non-English-speaking populations quickly and effectively, making it easier for individuals, companies, and community partners to conduct business with Dallas County.

This is just the start of Dallas County's goal to use innovative technology solutions to improve people's lives. The county is already looking to expand its use of Google Cloud solutions to build even more accessible services. 

To learn about how Google Public Sector can help state and local governments transform the way they serve their communities, visit   Google Cloud for State and Local Government , and read about Dearborn's digital service transformation on the blog page for another example of these solutions in action.