From 3d1c0434630d35de284b734c52b6e0fcd986f730 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Toni Bonitto Date: Tue, 1 Oct 2024 14:42:49 -0400 Subject: [PATCH] Update federal-employees-speak.md Update: Federal Emergency Management Administration to Agency --- _pages/resources/quotes/federal-employees-speak.md | 2 +- 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/_pages/resources/quotes/federal-employees-speak.md b/_pages/resources/quotes/federal-employees-speak.md index 5fab3f85..e93ed1c7 100644 --- a/_pages/resources/quotes/federal-employees-speak.md +++ b/_pages/resources/quotes/federal-employees-speak.md @@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ redirect_from: Here's what front line employees have to say about plain language. -1\. As an analyst for customer satisfaction service at one of _Federal Emergency Management Administration's_ teleregistration centers, my job was to call recipients of disaster assistance to determine how satisfied they were satisfied with the way they were treated when they called to register or for assistance with the government process for assistance. One of the areas we found disturbing was the number of people who did not understand what the letters they received told them. Further research on those letters revealed their readability statistics were at the 12th grade or above, compared with the average reading levels in most states of 6th grade (or below in some cases). FEMA assistance is primarily geared to those with inadequate or no insurance. These letters were telling them they needed to have a letter from their insurance company first indicating what they would not cover. However, the design of these letters and the readability was not communicating this fact. The surveys indicated that many people just read that they were denied (based on no information regarding their insurance), and gave up on receiving any assistance, rather than submitting the required insurance information. Using the Plain Language web page and resources, this workgroup proposed revisions to the letters that would help an applicant understand what was going on with their application and how to proceed. I left the organization before the full results were implemented and cannot tell you how much difference the letter revisions made, but I cannot help but hope a better understanding of the process will result in better service to the public. +1\. As an analyst for customer satisfaction service at one of _Federal Emergency Management Agency's_ teleregistration centers, my job was to call recipients of disaster assistance to determine how satisfied they were satisfied with the way they were treated when they called to register or for assistance with the government process for assistance. One of the areas we found disturbing was the number of people who did not understand what the letters they received told them. Further research on those letters revealed their readability statistics were at the 12th grade or above, compared with the average reading levels in most states of 6th grade (or below in some cases). FEMA assistance is primarily geared to those with inadequate or no insurance. These letters were telling them they needed to have a letter from their insurance company first indicating what they would not cover. However, the design of these letters and the readability was not communicating this fact. The surveys indicated that many people just read that they were denied (based on no information regarding their insurance), and gave up on receiving any assistance, rather than submitting the required insurance information. Using the Plain Language web page and resources, this workgroup proposed revisions to the letters that would help an applicant understand what was going on with their application and how to proceed. I left the organization before the full results were implemented and cannot tell you how much difference the letter revisions made, but I cannot help but hope a better understanding of the process will result in better service to the public. 2\. The _Food and Drug Administration_ is the nation's principal consumer protection agency. Decisions made by FDA affect every American every day. In 2000, consumers spent $1 trillion—more than 20 percent of their income—on hundreds of thousands of products whose safety and effectiveness are FDA's responsibility.