1. Language Access Responsibilities
Overview for DHS Employees
[ Insert IMAGE ]
Presented by:
Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
U.S. Department of Homeland Security

2. Limited English Proficiency
DHS personnel across the agency encounter and serve Limited English Proficient (LEP) individuals every day in the course of carrying out their duties.
An LEP person is someone who does not speak English as his or her primary language and has a limited ability to read, speak, write, or understand English. A person who learned English as a second language or speaks another language fluently may not necessarily be LEP.
LEP status may be context specific. In other words, an individual may have sufficient English language skills to communicate basic information (name, address etc.) but may not have sufficient skills to communicate detailed information (e.g., medical information, eyewitness accounts, information elicited in an interrogation, etc.) in English.

3. LEP in the U.S.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, 20.6% of the population in the U.S speaks a language other than English. Of that percentage, 42.4% speak English less than “very well.”  
DHS personnel also routinely encounter LEP individuals arriving in the U.S. (e.g., at the airports and land borders).

4. Languages Other Than English
Languages other than English most frequently encountered vary greatly by Component, within divisions, and by activity and region.
Examples of languages encountered across various DHS Components include:
Arabic
Chinese (Simplified, Cantonese, and Mandarin)
French
Haitian Creole
Korean
Portuguese
Russian
Spanish
Vietnamese
DHS Components encounter less common languages. A few examples include:
Kinyerwanda from Rwanda
Tigrinya from Eritrea                        
Assyrian from Iraq
Hassaniya from Mauritania
Kyrgyz from Kyrgyztan
Mandinka from Gambia
Wolof from Senegal, Mauritania, and Gambia
Mam from Guatemala
Quiche from Guatemala
Malayam from India
Solami from Somalia
Soninke from Mali
Toishanese or Taishanese from China
Pa Oh dialect from Burma

5. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and Executive Order 13166
Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Executive Order 13166, Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency (August 2000):
DHS and those receiving assistance from DHS must take reasonable steps to ensure that eligible LEP persons have meaningful access to the programs, services, and information provided.
While Executive Order refers to providing access to “services,” agency responsibilities extend to DHS law enforcement encounters, screening, processing, detention, and similar DHS activities.
Executive Order 13166, Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency, signed in 2000, directs federal agencies to:
- Publish guidance on how their recipients can provide access to LEP persons (DHS published this guidance in April 2011).
- Improve the language accessibility of their own programs.
- Break down language barriers by implementing consistent standards of language assistance across federal agencies and amongst all recipients of federal financial assistance.

6. DHS Policy on Language Access
It is the policy of DHS to provide meaningful access for individuals with limited English proficiency to operations, services, activities, and programs that support each Homeland Security mission area by providing quality language assistance services in a timely manner.
DHS Components, therefore, should incorporate language access considerations into their strategic and business planning, identify and translate crucial documents into the most frequently encountered languages, provide interpretive services where appropriate, and educate personnel about language access responsibilities and how to utilize available language access resources.
   
U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Language Access Plan (February 2012)
The DHS Language Access Plan establishes DHS language access policy to set standards, operating principles, and guidelines to govern the delivery of language services to ensure meaningful access to programs, services, and activities by LEP individuals.
It also requires Components that interact with the public to develop individual DHS Component Language Access Plans in These will serve as management documents to outline and define Component tasks, set deadlines and priorities, assign responsibilities, allocate resources necessary for implementation and compliance with language access requirements, and explain to employees how to access and deliver language services to LEP persons encountered.
The DHS Language Access Plan applies to all DHS Components that interact with members of the public via any medium, including, but not limited to, the internet (including but not limited to social media), , phone, and in-person contact.

7. The DHS Language Access Plans and Procedures
DHS Language Access Plan Requirements:
Individual Component Plans: Components will develop individual language access plans that reflect their own needs and priorities as well the populations they encounter or serve and are likely to encounter and serve.
Procedures: Components are also required to develop procedures for staff as to how to identify individuals with LEP, gather data, and to obtain available language services.
Component plans must be drafted in 2012.

8. When Should Interpretation and Translation Be Provided?
In developing individual Language Access Plans and establishing priorities for language access, Components should consider using the following four-factor analysis:
The number or proportion of persons with LEP eligible to be served or likely to be encountered;
The frequency with which persons with LEP come in contact with the program (and what languages they speak);
The nature and importance of the program, activity, or service provided; and,
The resources available and the costs of providing language services.   
This four factor analysis can assist Components in prioritizing when to translate documents and provide interpretation (and determine languages).
The provision of meaningful access often begins with this assessment but must be accomplished by taking proactive steps, including:
Identifying most commonly encountered languages and LEP populations through demographic assessments;
Providing the necessary language assistance services;
Training staff on policies and procedures; and,
Providing notice of language assistance service

9. Examples of DHS Activities that Support Meaningful Access to persons with LEP
Increasing the provision of interpretation and translation services as a regular part of conducting programs and operations
Increasing outreach to populations with LEP to provide information on homeland security programs
Tracking encounters with individuals who have LEP to identify current and future needs for language services
Utilizing CRCL “I Speak” materials to facilitate identification of the languages spoken by LEP persons encountered
These and other activities are included, by Component, in the DHS Language Access Plan.

10. Types of language assistance services There are two primary types of language assistance services: oral and written.
INTERPRETATION is an ORAL
language assistance service.
TRANSLATION is a WRITTEN language assistance service.

11. Language Services at DHS (i.e., interpretation and translation):
Language services may be provided in a number of ways, including:
Use of qualified bilingual staff
Contracts for interpretation and translation
Agreements with other agencies for interpretation and translation
Components can meet their language needs in-house or through contracts or other agreements to provide language services.
The quality of the language assistance service provided is critical in order to avoid serious consequences to the LEP person and the agency program.

12. Principles for Use of Bilingual Staff
Among the principles that will help ensure quality language services:
When using bilingual staff for interpretation:
Assess staff language ability
Provide staff training on interpreter ethics and standards
When using bilingual staff to communicate directly with LEP persons: 
Obtain information that demonstrates proficiency in the language
Use staff who have knowledge in both languages of specialized DHS/Component terms or concepts specific to the program or activity
Familiarity with the culture of the LEP person may also be helpful in many cases.
Principles for use of bilingual or contracted personnel who serve as interpreters (cont.):
Demonstrate proficiency and ability to communicate information accurately in both English and in the other language
Identify and employ the appropriate mode of interpreting (e.g. consecutive, simultaneous, summarization, or sight translation)
Have knowledge in both languages of any specialized terms or concepts peculiar to the agency’s program or activity and of any particularized vocabulary and phraseology used by the LEP person
Understand and follow confidentiality, impartiality, and ethical rules to the same extent the agency’s employee for whom they are interpreting and/or to the extent their position requires; and,
- Understand and adhere to their role as interpreters without deviating into a role as counselor, legal advisor, or other roles.
At times, an interpreter may need to employ alternative or simplified terminology (e.g., if the LEP person has a low level of education).

13. The First Step in Providing Meaningful Access: Identifying LEP Persons
Identifying a person with LEP can be accomplished in a number of ways, including the following:
Self-identification by the LEP individual or identification by a companion
Documents available to DHS that indicate that the individual has LEP
Verification of foreign language proficiency by qualified bilingual staff or interpreter (in-person, telephonically, or through video interpretation services)   
For many DHS employees, identifying LEP persons is both routine and “second nature.” For others, for whom encounters with LEP persons are less frequent, keeping in mind these methods for identifying LEP persons will be helpful.
Staff at the point of first contact with an individual must determine whether that person is LEP, must determine his/her primary language, and then must procure the appropriate language assistance services available.
These procedures can be set forth in handbooks, intranet sites, desk references, reminders at counters, notations on telephone references, and similar.

14. “I Speak” Materials
I Speak…Language identification Poster and Pocket guide allow DHS personnel to readily identify the languages spoken by literate individuals who are not proficient in English, and then obtain available language services.
Poster Booklets
An I Speak Job Aid is also available. This includes country flags and a map of the world cross-referenced to the country’s major languages.
“I Speak” is a set of three tools designed by the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties for use by DHS personnel who work directly with the public and who may need to identify the language of the person with whom they are interacting.
Upon request, the CRCL Institute will provide Components customized, digital versions of these tools to be printed. Contact the CRCL Institute at for digital copies of the materials or a copy of the “I Speak” poster.
These materials, which include more than 85 languages, are available as a hyperlink on the DHS Language Access Plan at

15. Considerations for Using Interpreters
Confidentiality
Competency
Impartiality
Accuracy
Sensitivity to Potential Conflict

16. Ways to Facilitate Interpretation Through an Interpreter
Address the LEP person directly, not the interpreter.
Choose your words carefully and avoid idioms. 
Speak clearly, and when necessary, speak slowly. 
Ask straightforward questions and avoid making statements disguised as questions. 
Keep questions clear and simple, asking specific questions one at a time. 
Break down what is to be said into reasonable amounts of information. 
Ask the LEP individual to break his or her statements into short segments so the interpreter can interpret accurately. 
Repeat the question/statement slowly or rephrase it if the interpreter does not appear to understand.  
Speak with both the interpreter and the LEP person as soon as it appears that there is a problem in interpretation. 
Remind the interpreter of his or her role when necessary during the interview.  
These and other principles for facilitating interpretation are already covered in several Component manuals or training materials.
In addition, these tips for telephonic interpretation may also be helpful to keep in mind:
- Perform a “sound check” to make sure the interpreter can hear all parties properly before proceeding
- Speak clearly and at a slower rate of speech
- Ask parties to speak near the phone so that the interpreter can hear
- Ask parties to speak in brief segments for easier interpretation
- Direct parties when to pause, so that the interpretation can be rendered
Adapted from the National Association of Judicial Interpreters
(NAJIT) Position Paper: Telephone Interpretation in Legal Settings

17. Tips for Facilitating Interpretation (cont.)
When possible, before the meeting/interview using an interpreter:
Familiarize the interpreter with the context or purpose of the meeting/ interview with the LEP person.
If there is written material, consider providing it in advance to the interpreter.
Familiarize the interpreter with DHS/Component terms.

18. Other Resources
LEP.gov ( the website of the Federal Interagency Working Group on LEP
US Census Bureau Information on Language Use and Quick Facts
Questions or More Information:
US Census Bureau Information on Language Use: Provides information on language use, English-speaking ability, and linguistic isolation data that are currently collected in the American Community Survey.
US Census Bureau Quick Facts: Quick Facts tables are summary profiles showing frequently requested data items from various Census Bureau programs. Profiles are available for the nation, states, counties, and places.