Language Access: Translation and Interpretation Policies and Practices

Welcome to the Language Access: Translation and Interpretation Policies and Practices project, created to assist local government administrators, policymakers, and others who are looking for ways to provide high-quality and cost-effective translation and interpretation services. This section features the resource-rich Language Portal, columns written by providers of language access services, data, and other resources.

 

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Practitioner's Corner: Advice and Insight from the Field

Advancing Language Access through State-Level Civil Rights Laws

Under civil rights law, recipients of federal funding must provide meaningful access to every person seeking to participate in their programs and activities, regardless of English proficiency. However, legal interpretations of this right largely limit individuals' ability to file lawsuits to ensure they receive meaningful access. California’s civil rights laws and regulations provide greater opportunities to utilize legal action to demand compliance with language rights requirements for the state’s nearly 6.5 million individuals with limited English proficiency. This Practitioner’s Corner details California’s language rights mandates and how advocates have used state law to foster improved language access in state programs and state-funded entities.

 

Practitioners’ Corner Archive

• Using Office Language Access Liaisons to Streamline the Delivery of Language Services
• An Innovative Model for Generating Limited English Proficient Population Estimates
• Centralizing Translation Across Agencies Through Computer Assisted Translation (CAT)
• Testing and Training Volunteer Translators and Interpreters
• Top 10 Best Practices for Multilingual Websites
• Doing More with Less on Language Access
• How to Assess the Effectiveness of Language Access Programs 
• Drafting RFP and Contracts for Language Access Services
• Tips for Testing and Certifying Multilingual Employees
• Tips for Ensuring Translation Quality

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Federal Corner

NCIIP and the Annie E. Casey Foundation hosted a unique, one-day convening on language access to assist federal agencies in the development and implementation of language access plans. The convening brought together federal agency officials and language access managers from community organizations and state and local government to discuss promising approaches to devising, implementing, and monitoring language access services. Resources from the convening include:

• MPI's federal government language access resource guide, which includes information for filing complaints of potential civil rights violations
• Evaluation results from the “Implementing Language Access Plans: What Works, What Counts?” convening
• Annie E. Casey Foundation presentation of how federal agencies communicate with multilingual audiences