New language access resource for states

[Harold Schiffman]

New language access resource for states

All agencies that receive federal funds are required to comply with
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964  to take reasonable steps to
provide limited English proficient (LEP) individuals with meaningful
access to their programs, activities, and services. This includes most
agencies that administer child care and early education programs,
including school districts, state government agencies, and Head Start
programs. Yet, inadequate language access remains a significant
barrier to accessing programs for many families with young children.

Ensuring language access may include the use of competent
interpreters, hiring of bilingual staff, translation of materials, and
the use of telephone language line services. Agencies may conduct
assessments to review their language access policies and to create
plans for improving service delivery to LEP individuals.

The Migration Policy Institute (MPI) has created a language access
portal, which is a digital library of hundreds of resources for state
and local social service agencies. The portal includes federal and
state laws and guidelines, service models, and related research on
language access and LEP populations. It also includes information on
policies such as bilingual pay differentials, contracting for
translation services, and best practices for interpreters. Finally,
the portal includes a searchable database of state and local documents
that can be used to find examples of translated materials and
applications, policy guidance, and other resources. The database is
searchable by state, service area, and languages.

http://childcareandearlyed.clasp.org/2008/03/language-access.html

-- 
**************************************
N.b.: Listing on the lgpolicy-list is merely intended as a service to
its members
and implies neither approval, confirmation nor agreement by the owner
or sponsor of
the list as to the veracity of a message's contents. Members who
disagree with a
message are encouraged to post a rebuttal. (H. Schiffman, Moderator)
*******************************************