E.g., 03/22/2019
E.g., 03/22/2019

Language Access: Translation and Interpretation Policies and Practices

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.
 

Featured Resource—Language Portal

MPI's Language Portal is a digital library of translation and interpretation information, offering one-stop access to thousands of state and local agency documents—including contracts, planning reports, and translated material—used to provide services to LEP individuals. Use the database to find resources by state, language, document type, area of service, and more.

 

 
Additional Resources
 
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
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:

Recent Activity

Commentaries
October 2015
It is Time for Federal Agencies to Do More to Improve the Provision of Language Access Services
By Margie McHugh
Multimedia
March 18, 2015
Cross-Cutting Needs and Opportunities: Language Access, Funding, Multi-Level Partnerships, and Planning for the Long Term
Multimedia
September 19, 2012
Making It Work: Lessons in Collaboration on Language Access Contracting
Multimedia
May 8, 2012
Federal Update: A Conversation on Language Access with the U.S. Department of Justice
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
Multimedia
October 6, 2011
Language Access and Schools: Federal Requirements and School Experiences
Multimedia
September 21, 2011
LEP Workers & Access to Workforce Services: Perspectives on Current Barriers to Access and Prospects for Improvements Under WIA Reauthorization
Multimedia
August 3, 2011
Proactive Engagement: Two Strategies for Providing Language Access in Workforce Development Services

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Reports
January 2011
Communicating More for Less: Using Translation and Interpretation Technology to Serve Limited English Proficient Individuals
By Jessica Sperling
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
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
Video, Audio
March 18, 2015

Cross-Cutting Needs and Opportunities: Language Access, Funding, Multi-Level Partnerships, and Planning for the Long Term

Part of a series exploring issues likely to be addressed by the new National Integration Plan, this webinar, with perspectives from the cities of New York and Seattle and others examines possible recommendations on federal coordination of local government immigrant integration initiatives, including language access. 

Audio
September 19, 2012

Making It Work: Lessons in Collaboration on Language Access Contracting

A webinar on language access contracting for federal, state, and local officials, agency administrators, and community stakeholders concerned with the oversight and implementation of language access provision.
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.
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.
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.

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Recent Activity

Commentaries
October 2015

It is Time for Federal Agencies to Do More to Improve the Provision of Language Access Services

Whether driven by pragmatism, local laws, or federal civil-rights provisions, state and local governments and agencies across the United States increasingly have designed and implemented language access services (i.e. translation and interpretation) in response to growing Limited English Proficient populations. This commentary argues it is time for the federal government to follow suit.

Video, Audio, Webinars
March 18, 2015

Cross-Cutting Needs and Opportunities: Language Access, Funding, Multi-Level Partnerships, and Planning for the Long Term

Part of a series exploring issues likely to be addressed by the new National Integration Plan, this webinar, with perspectives from the cities of New York and Seattle and others examines possible recommendations on federal coordination of local government immigrant integration initiatives, including language access. 

Audio, Webinars
September 19, 2012

Making It Work: Lessons in Collaboration on Language Access Contracting

A webinar on language access contracting for federal, state, and local officials, agency administrators, and community stakeholders concerned with the oversight and implementation of language access provision.
Audio, Webinars
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.
Fact Sheets
December 2011

Limited English Proficient Individuals in the United States: Number, Share, Growth, and Linguistic Diversity

The number of U.S. residents deemed Limited English Proficient (LEP) has increased substantially in recent decades, consistent with the growth of the U.S. foreign-born population. This brief offers analysis on the number, share, growth, and linguistic diversity of LEP individuals in the United States from 1990 to 2010 at the national, state, and metropolitan-area levels.

Audio, Webinars
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.
Audio, Webinars
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.
Audio, Webinars
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.

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