WASHINGTON, DC — 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 local communities and improving the effectiveness of government programs. Providing language access is also a longstanding federal civil-rights requirement for government agencies, non-profit organizations and other entities that receive federal funding. A new report from the Migration Policy Institute’s National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy examines how one state — Colorado — provides language access across its public agencies and services, as a means of offering lessons and learnings not only for Colorado but for other states and localities. Drawing on a survey of and interviews with state agency representatives completed in collaboration with the Colorado Office of New Americans, the MPI analysis offers a picture of the provision of language access in a state that has been a growing destination for immigrants in recent decades. The report, Language Access in Colorado State Agencies: Existing Efforts and Opportunities for Expansion, reveals that while Colorado state agencies have made strides to address language barriers, their efforts are uncoordinated across agencies and could be strengthened via a variety of state actions to better meet the growing needs of the more than 300,000 Coloradans with limited English proficiency. While the 12 state agencies surveyed have all taken some steps to provide language access, the extent of these efforts varies by agency. Only a handful of the agencies examined systematically sought to address language access, and many reported that they could benefit from additional coordination, technical assistance and resources to improve their efforts to reduce language barriers. The MPI analysts, Jacob Hofstetter and Margie McHugh, offer recommendations for how the state government should move forward in addressing language access. They suggest, in particular, the eventual creation of a statewide language access policy to ensure equitable access to state services for limited English proficient (LEP) populations. This statewide policy should flow from convening of a working group of key stakeholders from state agencies to develop a framework and guide the creation of standards and an implementation plan, with a particular focus on integrating language access measures into the design of public-facing services delivered by state agencies and programs whether in person, online or through third-party providers. “These findings offer valuable lessons not only for Colorado, but for other states facing similar challenges in providing language access,” said McHugh, director of the National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy. “By using this assessment and learning from further engagement with state agencies to address language access gaps, Colorado can provide a new model for other states looking to better serve their linguistically diverse communities.” Read the report here: www.migrationpolicy.org/research/language-access-colorado. And check out a related policy brief exploring the challenges to advancing language access in federally supported programs. And for more of MPI’s language access work, click here. * The Colorado findings and innovative language access efforts in other states will be discussed during a webinar TODAY at 1 p.m. ET, featuring key state leaders from Colorado, Michigan and New York. For more information and to join, click here. | 
