Resources

The resources provided below are a sampling of links that may be useful but are not necessarily endorsed by the Department of Justice or by the Interagency Working Group on LEP.

GENERAL PLANNING TOOLS

Accessing and Using Language Data from the Census Bureau
U.S. Census Bureau

Census 2000, English Speaking Ability by Language and State (2000) US Census Bureau

Choosing a Language Access Provider (PDF printable version)
Federal Interagency Working Group on LEP

Critical Issues in Serving the Needs of Limited English Proficient (LEP) Communities
New Jersey Institute of Technology

Determining whether an entity receives federal financial assistance
Coordination and Review Section, Department of Justice. Information on federal funding sources and a chart which lists 30 federal agencies that provide federal financial assistance and the types of entities they fund. Community organizations and individuals served by federally funded entities can use the chart to determine where complaints of discrimination can be filed.

Executive Order 13166: Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency - Coordination and Review Section, Civil Rights Division, Department of Justice

Executive Order 13166 Limited English Proficiency Resource Document: Tips and Tools from the Field (PDF) - Coordination and Review Section, Civil Rights Division, Department of Justice

Federal Language Access Survey

GSA Language Services Schedule -- Federal Supply Schedule

Language Access Publications and Materials
Asian American Justice Center

Language Assistance Planning and Self-Assessment Tool (HTML) (PDF) Coordination and Review Section, Civil Rights Division, Department of Justice

Limited English Proficiency: What Federal Agencies and Federally Assisted Programs Should Know About Providing Services to LEP Individuals


Top Tips from Responses to the Survey of Language Access Strategies used by Federal Government Agencies (MS Word) Federally Conducted Committee, Federal Interagency Working Group on Limited English Proficiency

COMMUNITY-BASED AGENCIES

Empire Justice Center, Language Access Resource Center (LARC)

The Empire Justice Center LARC provides information and resources about the rights of Limited English Proficient (LEP) individuals. The sections describe the Federal and New York State laws prohibiting discrimination of LEP individuals and the LEP obligations of agencies that receive Federal funding.

Increasing Access to Justice for Limited English Proficient Asian Pacific Americans: Report for Action, May 2007
National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA)

Language Portal: A Translation and Interpretation Digital Library
Migration Policy Institute, National Center on Immigration Integration Policy

Massachusetts Legal Services Multilingual Tools

CORRECTIONS

Letter from Deputy Assistant Attorney General Loretta King to State Departments of Corrections, 7/15/08

Language Services for Limited English Proficient (LEP) Offenders State of Washington Department of Corrections

Planning Tool for Creating a Language Assistance Policy and Plan in a Department of Corrections (MS Word format) - Coordination and Review Section, Civil Rights Division, Department of Justice

COURTS

Access to Justice: Limited English Proficiency (LEP) and Access to Protection Orders - National Center for State Courts

Bilingual Resources for Court Officials - North Carolina Court System

Courts Resources: Washington State Coalition for Language Access

Executive Order 13166 Limited English Proficiency Resource Document: Tips and Tools from the Field (PDF) - Coordination and Review Section, Civil Rights Division, Department of Justice

Frequently Asked Question: What impact does Title VI have on court interpretation?

Guidelines for Determination of Eligibility for Court-Appointed Interpretation and Translation Services - Supreme Judicial Court, State of Maine
It should be noted that, unlike the definition of limited English proficiency contained in the Department of Justice LEP Guidance, which derives its definition of LEP persons as "those individuals who have a limited ability to read, write, speak or understand English" from Title VI of the Civil Rights Act (which prohibits recipients from discriminating on the basis of race, color or national origin, and contemplates a close nexus between one's national origin and one's language), the Maine Judiciary definition of LEP includes individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. For further information on legal issues involving the deaf or hard of hearing community, please visit ADA.gov, the website of the Disability Rights Section of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.

Legal Glossaries in Arabic, Armenian, Hmong, Mien, Mong, Punjabi, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Urdu and Vietnamese - Superior Court of California, Sacramento County Courts

Letter to Indiana Courts - Coordination and Review Section, Civil Rights Division, US Department of Justice,
February 4, 2009

Letter dated April 22, 2005 from Assistant Attorney General R. Alexander Acosta to state court administrators with information about new LEP materials

Letter dated December 1, 2003 to state court administrators from Deputy Assistant Attorney General Loretta King regarding LEP Guidance PDF

Maryland Court Interpreter Rule

Memorandum of Understanding between the United States of America and the State of Maine Judicial Branch - Press Release

Minnesota Judicial Branch Court Interpreter Program

Video entitled The Role of Interpreters in the Legal System
Supreme Court of Ohio

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS

Disaster Preparedness in Urban Immigrant Communities

Language Briefing Book

Katrina Case Study

Protecting Your Family from Earthquakes -- The Seven Steps to Earthquake Safety Department of Interior, U.S. Geological Survey (available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean)

HEALTH CARE

A Patient-Centered Guide to Implementing Language Access Services in Healthcare Organizations
Office of Minority Health, US Department of Health and Human Services

Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Health Care Services for Virginians Resource Guide: Language Needs Assessments of Virginia's Health Districts - Virginia Department of Health

Effective Communication in Hospitals Initiative
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights

HHS' Office of Civil Rights and Hawaii Department of Human Services Sign Title VI Voluntary Agreement, Press Release of September 2, 2008

Initiatives Worksheet
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights

Language Access: Giving Immigrants a Hand in Navigating the Health Care System - National Conference of State Legislatures - NCSL State Health Notes, volume 23, number 381, October 7, 2002)

Limited English Proficiency Plan, Health and Human Services Departments
Hennipin County, Minnesota

Opportunities Under TANF for Serving Refugee and Immigrant Families: A Checklist for State and Local Policymakers - the National Conference of State Legislatures. The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program provides states with significant flexibility to help low-income families obtain and maintain employment and to improve their economic circumstances. A population that is facing significant hurdles in the new TANF program are legal immigrant and refugee families, due to language and cultural barriers and the new federal bars and limits on assistance. In the fall of 2000, NCSL's Immigrant Policy Project conducted an informal survey to identify state initiatives in providing or adapting TANF-funded services and programs for refugees, immigrants and/or non-English speaking clients.

Oral, Linguistic, and Culturally Competent Services Guides for Managed Care Plans - Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) - information for managed care health organizations on developing a language services plan to meet the needs of customers, including assessing cultural competency. Although geared to health care providers, the information has value to any recipient interested in finding out more about meeting the language needs of customers.

Speaking Together for Better Care: How Effective Medical Interpretation Can Improve Quality of Care (streaming video)
George Washington University Medical Center and Robert Woods Johnson Foundation

IMMIGRATION

Spanish-English Glossary of Immigration Terms - Executive Office for Immigration Review, US Department of Justice

LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT

Language Access Presentation - March 2008
Office of Language Access, Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, State of Hawaii

Eastbay Works - Connecting People with Opportunities for Employment The purpose of EASTBAY Works is to advance the economic well-being of the region by developing and maintaining a skilled workforce. This will be accomplished through a customer-focused collaboration of employment, training, economic development and educational partners working together to meet the needs of employers, job seekers and workers. Includes multi-lingual community resources.

Factsheets in Other Languages - Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry Employment-related brochures in several languages

LAW ENFORCEMENT

Executive Order 13166 Limited English Proficiency Resource Document: Tips and Tools from the Field (PDF)

Frequently Asked Question: What are the pros and cons of giving non-bilingual police officers cards with pictures and bilingual descriptors to help get a description of a fleeing suspect from witnesses and suspects on the scene?

Language Identification Card created by the State of Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services, the National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators, the SummitCounty Sheriff's Office, and the American Translators Association.

Lost in Translation: Limited English Proficient Populations and the Police by Bharathi A. Venkatraman, Attorney, Civil Rights Division, Coordination and Review Section, US Department of Justice.

Memorandum of Agreement between USA and Lake Worth, FL Police Department - Civil Rights Division, Coordination and Review Section, US Department of Justice

One Example of a Plan for a Law Enforcement Agency (PDF) - Office of Justice Programs, Department of Justice. This example will not necessarily be appropriate to address the language access needs of every community or law enforcement agency and does not represent the entire implementation process of the city. It is posted merely as an additional resource.

Overcoming Language Barriers: Solutions for Law Enforcement --Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Program, US Justice Department, and the Vera Institute of Justice

Philadelphia Police Department Limited English Language Proficiency Directive 71

Planning Tool for Creating a Language Assistance Policy and Plan in a Law Enforcement Agency (MS Word) - Coordination and Review Section, Civil Rights Division, Department of Justice




MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT

Biennial Language Access Plan
Language Access Program, D.C. Office of Human Rights

Language Access Act of 2004
Language Access Program, D.C. Office of Human Rights

Language Access Act Fact Sheet
Language Access Program, D.C. Office of Human Rights

Executive Order 9-08: Access to City Programs and Activities for Individuals with Limited English Proficiency
City of Philadelphia

Summary of Equal Access to Services Ordinance
Office of Language Services, City of San Francisco

Equal Access to Services Ordinance
Office of Language Services, City of San Francisco

Memorandum of Agreement between DOJ and the Town of Mattawa, Washington

Resolution for the Provision of Interpreter Services
Town of Mattawa, Washington

Executive Order 9-08: Access to City Programs and Activities for Individuals with Limited English Proficiency
City of Philadelphia

Managing Director's Directive No. 62: Language Access Policy and Plan for City Operating Departments
City of Philadelphia

Philadelphia Language Access Policy and Plan

This is a sample language access umbrella directive for numerous city agencies. The Managing Director of the City of Philadelphia has authority akin to a chief operating officer, with oversight of the commissioners in charge of key city operating departments such as police, fire, health, licenses and inspections. In December 2007, following extensive discussions with language access advocates, the Managing Director issued Directive 62.

Summary of Equal Access to Services Ordinance
Office of Language Services, City of San Francisco

Equal Access to Services Ordinance
Office of Language Services, City of San Francisco




NUTRITION ASSISTANCE

Food and Nutrition Service Toolkits on Cultural Competency

Food Stamp Outreach and Nutrition Education Materials in English and in Spanish

Food Stamp Outreach Materials in three dozen languages plus
"I Speak" survey




TRANSPORTATION

Making Public Transit Work for You
A multilingual video on using public transit

WORKPLACE SAFETY AND HEALTH

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) - OSHA's website provides a wealth of safety and health information for LEP individuals, including Hispanic employers and workers.
• OSHA en Espanol is a Spanish version of essential information on OSHA's Web site.
• Compliance Assistance: Hispanic Employers and Workers Web page, designed for English-speaking or bilingual users, provides links to OSHA's compliance assistance resources for Hispanic employers and workers, including Spanish-language publications, public service announcements, training resources and the Agency's toll free number (800-321-OSHA) with a Spanish-language option.



MULTILINGUAL MATERIALS



Affirming Access to LEP Persons in Programs Assisted and Conducted by NASA - (Spanish) - National Aeronautics and Space Administration


Fact Sheets about National Origin Discrimination in Arabic, Chinese, Haitian Creole, Korean, Russian, Spanish, Vietnamese, and other languages -- Equal Employment Opportunity Commission




Factsheets on Anti-Discrimination Laws, Department of Health and Human Services

Polish
Chinese
Korean
Russian
Spanish
Tagalog
Vietnamese

Federal Protections Against National Origin Discrimination Brochure
US Department of Justice

Arabic (PDF)
Cambodian (PDF)
Chinese (PDF)
English (HTML) (PDF)
Farsi (PDF) (4.7 MB file)
French (PDF)
Haitian Creole (PDF)
Hmong (PDF) (3.1 MB file)
Hindi (PDF) (2.1 MB file)
Korean (PDF)
Laotian (PDF)
Punjabi (PDF)
Russian (PDF)
Spanish (HTML) (PDF)
Tagalog (PDF)
Urdu (PDF)
Vietnamese (PDF)




Fonts for South Asian languages appropriate for the web
University of Chicago, South Asia Language Resource Center


Know Your Rights Beneficiary Brochure
Coordination and Review Section, Civil Rights Division, Department of Justice




Arabic	Cambodian	Chinese	Creole	English
Hmong	Korean	Russian	Spanish	Vietnamese




Language Identification Card created by the State of Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services, the National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators, the SummitCounty Sheriff's Office, and the American Translators Association.

Language Identification Flashcard (PDF)
From the Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, the "I Speak" Language Identification Flashcard is written in 38 languages and can be used to identify the language spoken by an individual accessing services provided by federally assisted programs or activities.

Legal Glossaries in Arabic, Armenian, Hmong, Mien, Mong, Punjabi, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Urdu and Vietnamese - Superior Court of California, Sacramento County Courts

Limited English Proficiency Video: Breaking Down the Language Barrier: Translating Limited English Proficiency into Practice. Available upon request through Contact the Webmaster.

Medline Plus Health Information in Multiple Languages
National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health

Resources Available in Other Languages
US Department of Education

Voting Rights for Language Minority Citizens - Department of Justice, Voting Rights Section

Spanish

Chinese

Japanese

Korean

Vietnamese

Tagalog

You have a right to an interpreter - Massachusetts Legal Services