E.g., 04/23/2024
E.g., 04/23/2024
Language Access

Language Access

The phrase "language access services" describes services that agencies use to bridge the communication barrier with individuals who cannot speak, understand, read, or write  fluently in the host-country language. In the United States, federal law and executive orders mandate compliance with language access requirements for any agency receiving federal funds. Explore MPI's research in this area and visit the Language Access: Translation and Interpretation Policies and Practices section for national and state-level data on LEP individuals, commentaries by service providers, and more.

Recent Activity

Educating English Learners during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Policy Ideas for States and School Districts
Policy Briefs
September 2020
Educating English Learners during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Policy Ideas for States and School Districts
By  Julie Sugarman and Melissa Lazarin
Coverthumb NCIIP HomeVisiting
Policy Briefs
August 2019
Leveraging the Potential of Home Visiting Programs to Serve Immigrant and Dual Language Learner Families
By  Maki Park and Caitlin Katsiaficas
coverthumb EL Insight LegalFramework
Policy Briefs
June 2019
Legal Protections for K-12 English Learner and Immigrant-Background Students
By  Julie Sugarman
Coverthumb ImmigrantFamiliesChildWelfare
Reports
April 2019
Immigrant Families and Child Welfare Systems: Emerging Needs and Promising Policies
By  Mark Greenberg, Randy Capps, Andrew Kalweit, Jennifer Grishkin and Ann Flagg
Coverthumb MPIE IntegrationToolkit
Reports
January 2019
Doing More with Less: A New Toolkit for Integration Policy
By  Meghan Benton and Alexandra Embiricos
_ImmCleaners4
Commentaries
March 2016
Federal WIOA Plan Requirements Ignore Opportunities to Support Equitable Access for Immigrant/LEP Adults
By  Margie McHugh
RedGreg TrainofHopeLinz Flickr
Articles
November 18, 2015
Immigrants in the Smart City: The Potential of City Digital Strategies to Facilitate Immigrant Integration
By Divia Mattoo, Corinne Goldberg, Jillian Johnson, Carolina Farias Riaño, and Aliyyah Ahad
A group of older Korean adults sitting in chairs at a Med-Cal event at the Korean Resource Center
Commentaries
October 2015
It is Time for Federal Agencies to Do More to Improve the Provision of Language Access Services
By  Margie McHugh

Pages

cover howfreeisfreemovement
Reports
February 2013
How Free Is Free Movement? Dynamics and Drivers of Mobility within the European Union
By  Meghan Benton and Milica Petrovic
cover_LEP_FactSheet_NoSGL
Fact Sheets
December 2011
Limited English Proficient Individuals in the United States: Number, Share, Growth, and Linguistic Diversity
By  Chhandasi Pandya, Margie McHugh and Jeanne Batalova
cover communicatingmore
Reports
January 2011
Communicating More for Less: Using Translation and Interpretation Technology to Serve Limited English Proficient Individuals
By  Jessica Sperling
cover langAccessservices
Reports
July 2009
Is This Working? Assessment and Evaluation Methods Used to Build and Access Language Services in Social Services Agencies In Social Services Agencies
By  Laureen Laglagaron and Jessica Sperling
cover LEPfundingformula
Reports
June 2009
Taking Limited English Proficient Adults into Account in the Federal Adult Education Funding Formula
By  Randy Capps, Michael Fix, Margie McHugh and Serena Yi-Ying Lin
cover NCIIP_EnglishInstruction
Reports
July 2007
Adult English Language Instruction in the United States: Determining Need and Investing Wisely
By  Margie McHugh, Julia Gelatt and Michael Fix

Pages

Feature
July 19, 2012
Limited English Proficient Workers and the Workforce Investment Act: Challenges and Opportunities

Though little recognized as such, the Workforce Investment Act represents one of the most important immigrant integration initiatives in the United States, assisting workers in obtaining the necessary training and language skills to advance in the workforce. Despite a steady increase of immigrants in need of these services, a decreasing share are able to access the programs to keep pace with a changing labor market.

Feature
October 1, 2006
The Second Generation in Early Adulthood: New Findings from the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study

A decade-long panel survey conducted in San Diego, California, and Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, reveals different outcomes among members of the second generation in education, employment, acculturation, incarceration, and family formation. Rubén G. Rumbaut of the University of California, Irvine and Alejandro Portes of Princeton University provide an overview of the latest results.

Feature
February 1, 2005
Bilingualism Persists, But English Still Dominates

Richard Alba of the Mumford Center for Comparative Urban and Regional Research at SUNY Albany examines English-language usage among the second and third generations.

Pages

archive >
_Education
Audio
May 8, 2012

Federal Update: A Conversation on Language Access with the U.S. Department of Justice

This MPI webinar features U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) officials discussing the department’s efforts to improve communications with Limited English Proficient (LEP) communities in federal and federally-funded programs and activities.

_ImmigrantStudents3CROP
Audio
October 6, 2011

Language Access and Schools: Federal Requirements and School Experiences

This is the latest in NCIIP’s language access webinar series exploring the policy and program implementation imperatives for government and community agencies serving Limited English Proficient (LEP) populations.

_SkillsTraining4
Audio
September 21, 2011

LEP Workers & Access to Workforce Services: Perspectives on Current Barriers to Access and Prospects for Improvements Under WIA Reauthorization

In this webinar, experts discuss barriers immigrant and LEP individuals face in accessing the WIA system, how a revitalized WIA could address these barriers, and the extent to which the current Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee's WIA reauthorization proposal addresses these barriers.

_SkillsTraining1
Audio
August 3, 2011

Proactive Engagement: Two Strategies for Providing Language Access in Workforce Development Services

This interactive language access webinar, one in a series offered by the Migration Policy Institute's National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy, examines how New York and Illinois have broken down some of these barriers to proactively engage LEP communities to obtain workforce services.

Pages

Recent Activity

Video, Audio, Webinars
October 12, 2022

Ensuring Effective Language Access Services and Policies in Early Childhood Programs

Language access policies and services are critical to promoting the equitable participation of Dual Language Learners and their families in early childhood programs, yet there are persisting participation gaps. This webinar outlines federal and state efforts to implement language access policies in the early childhood field, along with opportunities to improve language services.

Fact Sheets
October 2022

Dual Language Learners: Key Characteristics and Considerations for Early Childhood Programs

How many Dual Language Learner (DLL) children live in your state, and what share do they comprise of all children under age 5? What languages are most commonly spoken in their households? Answers to these and other questions that are critical to the design and implementation of early childhood programs that reach all children equitably are presented in a series of state-level data fact sheets.

Policy Briefs
October 2022

Overlooked but Essential: Language Access in Early Childhood Programs

Dual Language Learners (DLLs)—young children with a parent who speaks a language other than English at home—benefit greatly from early childhood programs, but they also enroll at lower rates than their peers. This policy brief looks at federal and state language access policies that aim to make such programs more accessible to DLLs’ families. It also examines persistent gaps in participation and ways to address them.

Commentaries
May 2022

Schools Should Engage Diverse Community Stakeholders to Promoting Equitable Allocation of Historic Funding to Reimagine Education

As school districts across the United States move to allocate their federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds, it is essential that they engage with multilingual and diverse community stakeholders, in part given English Learners have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. The track record suggests many districts are struggling to effectively engage these communities.

Video, Audio, Webinars
October 21, 2021

Translating Into Success: Key Features of U.S. State & Local Language Access Laws and Policies

On this webinar, MPI researchers examine common features and notable areas of innovation they found in a scan of state and local language access laws and policies in more than 40 states, along with practical insights that local governments can employ as they face growing linguistic diversity in their communities. 

Reports
October 2021

A Framework for Language Access: Key Features of U.S. State and Local Language Access Laws and Policies

Many states and localities have language access laws and policies to ensure people who are Limited English Proficient (LEP) have effective access to essential public services and institutions. This report explores a wide range of common and unique features of these language access laws, highlighting how different jurisdictions have approached issues such as translation, interpretation, agency oversight, technical assistance, and community involvement.

Articles
September 17, 2021

The Changing Concepts around Immigrant Integration

Immigrant integration is a complicated process that cannot fully be measured by any single metric. Understandings of immigrant integration have changed over time, and this article explores how the methods of measuring integration outcomes have evolved alongside these changing frameworks.

Articles
January 7, 2021

Faith and Mental Health Help Shape the Integration of Muslim Refugees in Germany

Faith plays a significant role in the mental health and social integration of refugees and asylum seekers. Yet in Germany, concerns about Islam and migrants from Muslim-majority countries have complicated social cohesion efforts, particularly in the wake of the 2015-16 refugee and migration crisis.

Pages