Behind the Scenes: Mapping How State and Local Governments Implement Language Access Measures

Across the United States, a growing number of states, counties, cities, and individual agencies within state and local governments are developing language access measures. These measures aim to ensure that individuals with limited proficiency in English—of whom there were more than 27 million in 2023—can access public information and services for which they are eligible, such as through the use of interpreters, multilingual staff, and translation of written documents.

The proliferation of language access measures reflects both longstanding obligations under federal civil rights law and regulations and a practical acknowledgment that state and local governments need to be able to effectively communicate with all members of the communities they serve.

This report offers one of the first in-depth examinations of how state and local governments and their component agencies design, implement, and sustain language access measures. Drawing from interviews with state and local government staff, the study finds that while there is no one-size-fits-all approach for implementing language access, there are many lessons that can be learned from efforts to date and strategies that governments can adapt to their own contexts, needs, and capacities.