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

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	Policy Briefs June 2019 Legal Protections for K-12 English Learner and Immigrant-Background Students By Julie Sugarman
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	Reports January 2019 Doing More with Less: A New Toolkit for Integration Policy By Meghan Benton and Alexandra Embiricos
Commentaries March 2016 Federal WIOA Plan Requirements Ignore Opportunities to Support Equitable Access for Immigrant/LEP Adults By Margie McHugh	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
Commentaries October 2015 It is Time for Federal Agencies to Do More to Improve the Provision of Language Access Services By Margie McHugh	Articles July 8, 2015 The Limited English Proficient Population in the United States in 2013 By Jie Zong and Jeanne Batalova

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Reports February 2013 How Free Is Free Movement? Dynamics and Drivers of Mobility within the European Union By Meghan Benton and Milica Petrovic	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
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
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	Reports July 2007 Adult English Language Instruction in the United States: Determining Need and Investing Wisely By Margie McHugh, Julia Gelatt and Michael Fix

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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.

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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.

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.

Recent Activity

Policy Briefs

August 2019

Leveraging the Potential of Home Visiting Programs to Serve Immigrant and Dual Language Learner Families

Home visiting programs for young families are growing in popularity across the United States, and have demonstrated their effectiveness in supporting maternal health and child well-being. At the same time, more infants and toddlers are growing up in immigrant families and households where a language other than English is spoken. Why then are these children under-represented in these programs? This brief explores common barriers, ways to address them, and why it is important to do so.

Policy Briefs

June 2019

Legal Protections for K-12 English Learner and Immigrant-Background Students

A complicated web of laws, policy guidance, and court rulings affect how English Learner (EL) and immigrant-background students are educated across the United States. This EL Insight sorts through them to highlight seven key ways the U.S. government protects the rights of these students to a K-12 education. It also highlights who can enforce these rules and how they can be seen in action.

Reports

April 2019

Immigrant Families and Child Welfare Systems: Emerging Needs and Promising Policies

With the children of immigrants a growing share of all U.S. children, and federal immigration enforcement and other policies undergoing significant change, some state and local child welfare agencies are developing new ways to improve how they work with immigrant families. This report examines key cultural, linguistic, and legal challenges, and how agencies are adjusting staffing, training, placement, and other policies to tackle them.

Reports

January 2019

Doing More with Less: A New Toolkit for Integration Policy

Across Europe, policymakers responsible for immigrant integration are dealing with a rapidly evolving set of challenges—from the diversification of new arrivals and changing European labor markets to rising anti-immigrant sentiment and tight budgets. This report explores promising strategies from other policy areas that could be used to develop, fund, evaluate, and make the case for investing in integration.

Commentaries

March 2016

Federal WIOA Plan Requirements Ignore Opportunities to Support Equitable Access for Immigrant/LEP Adults

As states move to implement the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), which provides the national framework for workforce training and adult education services, the Obama administration recently missed a prime opportunity to ensure that immigrants and refugees receive equitable access to the law’s services, as this commentary explores.

Articles

November 18, 2015

Immigrants in the Smart City: The Potential of City Digital Strategies to Facilitate Immigrant Integration

The digital era offers opportunities for cities to improve access and outreach to residents, including immigrants and minority groups, through online tools and apps. This feature article explores ditigal-inclusion strategies in "smart" cities New York, London, and Barcelona, as well as the creative use of new technologies in response to the European refugee crisis.

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.

Articles

July 8, 2015

The Limited English Proficient Population in the United States in 2013

In 2013, more than 25 million people in the United States reported limited English proficiency (LEP), an 80 percent increase since 1990. The LEP population, the majority of which is immigrant, is generally less educated and more likely to live in poverty than the English-proficient population. This Spotlight explores key indicators of the LEP population, both U.S. and foreign born, including geographic distribution, language diversity, and employment.

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