Language Access in Colorado State Agencies: Existing Efforts and Opportunities for Expansion
Related Content
Highlights
Colorado state agencies offer uneven language access. Creation of a statewide policy and cross-agency coordination would improve the provision of information and services to Limited English Proficient residents.
- Colorado lacks a statewide language access policy; among 12 surveyed state agencies in 2024, only four had a formal plan, fewer than half had a dedicated coordinator, and monitoring of grantees’ language access efforts was largely absent.
- All 12 agencies relied on contracted language services, but capacity ranged from well-established centralized programs to agencies just beginning to plan, with limited resources constraining the scope of services.
- Agencies identified additional funding, statewide technical assistance, a dedicated coordinator, and a centralized state office as top needs to improve services for Limited English Proficient (LEP) Coloradans.
- MPI recommends that Colorado establish a cross-agency language access working group, appoint a statewide coordinator, and adopt a formal policy with clear standards, monitoring mechanisms, and flexible implementation support.
Providing language access—that is, ensuring that language barriers do not impede access to government information and services—is a key concern for advancing the equitable delivery of public services, supporting the successful integration of immigrants into U.S. communities, and improving the effectiveness of government programs. It is also a longstanding federal civil-rights requirement. This can be done, for example, via the use of remote or in-person interpreters for spoken language or the translation of written and online content.
Colorado has grown as a destination for immigrants in recent decades, and so too has the importance of ensuring language access in state programs. This report assesses the state of language access measures in Colorado state agencies, analyzing the results of a survey and interviews with agency representatives. It also offers recommendations for how the state government should move forward in addressing language access via strategic and coordinated cross-agency processes, and potentially a statewide language access policy.
With many other states and localities facing similar language access implementation challenges, this research and the strategies recommended are relevant beyond Colorado. The findings offer important questions, considerations, and lessons for others seeking to better understand and improve language access in their own jurisdictions.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 An Overview of Colorado’s LEP Population and Federal Language Access Requirements
A. Colorado’s LEP Population
B. Language Access as a Federal Civil Rights Requirement
3 Language Access in Colorado State Agency Programs
A. Existing Agency Language Access Efforts
B. Gaps and Limitations in Agency Language Access Efforts
C. Agency Perspectives on Needed Statewide Supports
D. Agency Perspectives on the Utility of a Statewide Language Access Policy
4 Recommendations for Next Steps
About the National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy
The Center is a national hub connecting policymakers, educators, community leaders, and service providers with evidence-informed policy research, technical assistance, and data to advance effective immigrant integration at U.S., state, and local levels.
Related Content
