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

Testing and Training Volunteer Translators and Interpreters
Many municipalities have a volunteer language bank made up of bilingual staff who are called upon to provide translation and interpretation services. While it is cost-effective to use in-house volunteers compared to a paid vendor service, it may be more challenging to ensure the quality of the language services provided. This column examines the NYCertified program that tests and trains bilingual employees in providing interpretation and translation services.

Practitioners’ Corner Archive

• 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 in 2011 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