Behind the Scenes: Mapping How State and Local Governments Implement Language Access Measures
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Highlights
More than 27 million U.S. residents had limited English proficiency in 2023; state and local governments offer varied models for delivering language access.
- More than 27 million people in the United States had limited English proficiency as of 2023; state and local governments have built structured language access programs driven by civil-rights obligations, demographic shifts, and community advocacy.
- Effective programs rely on layered processes: language access plans, coordinator networks, vendor contracts, staff training, and centralized or decentralized funding structures, each with distinct trade-offs.
- Monitoring tools such as reporting requirements, complaint procedures, and secret-shopper spot checks are important but often underused, partly out of concern for penalizing partner agencies.
- Leadership support, organizational culture, and embedding language access into routine government processes are key to sustainability; cross-jurisdictional learning offers valuable lessons.
Across the United States, a growing number of states, counties, cities, and individual agencies within state and local governments are developing language access measures. These measures aim to ensure that individuals with limited proficiency in English—of whom there were more than 27 million in 2023—can access public information and services for which they are eligible, such as through the use of interpreters, multilingual staff, and translation of written documents.
The proliferation of language access measures reflects both longstanding obligations under federal civil rights law and regulations and a practical acknowledgment that state and local governments need to be able to effectively communicate with all members of the communities they serve.
This report offers one of the first in-depth examinations of how state and local governments and their component agencies design, implement, and sustain language access measures. Drawing from interviews with state and local government staff, the study finds that while there is no one-size-fits-all approach for implementing language access, there are many lessons that can be learned from efforts to date and strategies that governments can adapt to their own contexts, needs, and capacities.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 The Implementation of Government and Agency Language Access Programs
A. How Governments and Agencies Designed Their Language Access Programs
B. How Governments and Agencies Operationalized Their Language Access Programs
C. How Governments and Agencies Monitored, Evaluated, and Sustained Their Language Access Programs
3 Key Lessons for Language Access Implementation
A. Promising Practices and Key Considerations
B. Conclusion
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.
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