WASHINGTON, DC — Even though removing language barriers for people interacting with federally funded programs has been a requirement for more than half a century, it remains a distant goal rather than a reality. A new policy brief out today from the Migration Policy Institute’s National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy explores the challenges to advancing language access in federally supported programs, including through translation and interpreting, for speakers of languages other than English. The policy brief also examines potential next-generation solutions and strategies to address these challenges. Despite longstanding civil-rights requirements that all recipients and sub-recipients (i.e., sub-grantees) of federal funding provide language access in their programs, language barriers persist for many of the more than 25 million U.S. residents with limited English proficiency when they try to access public services or information. The issue is particularly acute in federally supported programs—that is, programs and services that are supported at least in part with federal funds but are delivered by state and local entities. Myriad public, private and not-for-profit entities are the main touchpoints where many federal programs and funds ultimately reach the general public. They include, among many others, the thousands of local school districts to which federal funds flow, state agencies managing unemployment insurance and federal job training and workforce programs, county human services offices overseeing the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and other safety-net programs, and private hospitals receiving federal funds when treating Medicare and Medicaid patients. In Expanding Language Access in Federally Supported Programs: Practical Solutions for Persistent Problems, Jacob Hofstetter and Margie McHugh examine the challenges to the provision of language access in federally supported programs. They also offer several strategies for the federal government to improve language access in federally supported programs, including: - Developing program- or sector-specific guidance on language access compliance for federal funding recipients.
- Embedding language access requirements in routine processes such as funding applications, awards and program reviews.
- Dedicating new or existing staff to coordinate language access efforts not only at the agency level but also within major agency sub-offices or programs.
- Providing sufficient resources for civil-rights offices to investigate possible violations.
- Implementing an expanded cross-agency approach led by the Justice Department to strengthen coordination, learning and quality control of these new language access measures.
“If designed and implemented strategically, these next-generation strategies will help federal agencies and their state and local funding recipients more effectively diagnose and reduce language barriers, boosting the effectiveness of numerous federal programs and helping families and individuals across the country access services and information that are critical to their and their communities’ public health, safety and well-being,” Hofstetter and McHugh conclude. The policy brief is available at www.migrationpolicy.org/research/language-access-federally-supported-programs. For all of MPI’s language access work, visit: www.migrationpolicy.org/programs/language-access-translation-and-interpretation-policies-and-practices. *** The findings and practical solutions to the provision of language access will be discussed at a webinar at 2 p.m. ET TODAY. To learn more or to register, click here. | 
