Does Language Access Work?

By Claudia Castillo

The CCD’s efforts to develop a Language Access (LA) policy and program is an integral part of ensuring that the City of Denver is an inclusive city that integrates social equity, race, immigrant integration, and social justice into policies, practices, programs, and budgetary decisions. This program is key in ensuring equitable communication and distribution of information, programs, services, activities, and resources offered to all Denver residents regardless of English proficiency. This program aims to serve the 37 percent of Limited English Proficient (LEP) Denver residents who identify as speaking English “less than very well”. 

DOIRA began LA work in 2015 based on the needs voiced by the immigrant and refugee community, which led to the development of a working group comprised of eight city agencies that would establish a way forward in formalizing LA within the city. From 2015 to 2020, agencies continued respective LA work informed by the immigrant and refugee communities through listening sessions. In 2020, COVID made it extremely clear to all leadership that a LA professional was needed on staff to ensure LEP residents received critical information in their preferred language.  

In December of 2022, the first ever LA Executive Order 150, based on Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987, was approved by then Mayor Michael Hancock. This order provides all city agencies under the purview of the mayor a systematic process on how to offer LEP individuals meaningful language access, meaning all communications from the City are accurate, timely, effective, and offered at no cost. Adherence to LA EXO 150 by city agencies ensures equitable communication, distribution of information, access to programs, services, and resources administered by City agencies for all CCD residents regardless of English proficiency.  

DOIRA created a city guide in 2021 with information on how to access City services, programs, and information focused solely on the specific needs of immigrant and refugee communities. Information included in the guide was based on direct requests from the immigrant and refugee communities during listening sessions. Therefore, it is not a complete guide of all city agencies, but the information most frequently requested by the community included 311 and CCD website language and agency requested data.  

The city guide was translated into Vietnamese, Spanish, Amharic, French (Western and Central Africa), Arabic, and Lingala, but a community engagement plan to get it into community was critical. Community outreach in immigrant and refugee communities is best received through direct interaction but DOIRA however had limited capacity to conduct such a robust outreach plan. Part of this outreach plan was to determine the impact of providing the immigrant and refugee community with information in their preferred language. Would information in their preferred language encourage residents to access or inquire about City social services and programs? 

Through my alma mater – the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver – and Center for Immigration Policy & Research (CIPR) co-director Dr. Rebecca Galemba, I learned about opportunities to collaborate with CIPR through their Semillas grants. This grant, which provides seed funds for community partner and DU projects serving the immigrant community, aligned well with our intent to equip the immigrant and refugee community with access to specific public services and programs that improve the overall wellbeing and economic health of the community. My research of City data showed that most City agencies translate information into Spanish but not into all the other languages that are prevalent in CCD, so it focused on engagement of LEP residents except Spanish speakers. The city guide project tried to answer one question, “Does Language Access work?” See Figure 1 for languages that are the most prevalent in CCD as dictated by the census and city agency data. 

Figure 1: CCD Top 13 languages  

The Semillas project was a perfect fit for the DOIRA and the LA team to provide in-person engagement with immigrants, immigrant-serving organizations and LEP residents in coordination with DU students. We advertised to DU students who were multilingual and were fortunate enough to hire ones that spoke an array of languages, including Spanish, Arabic and Urdu. Selection of DU students for the DOIRA and Semillas project was based on their previous experience working with immigrant and refugee communities, their cultural sensitivity, and their desire to assist the community. DOIRA also provided the students with an interpreter application, which gave them immediate access to interpreters of over 100 languages, if needed. 

The five students employed by the Semillas grant were assigned to the East Colfax, Kennedy, Ruby Hill, Villa Park, and College View S Platte neighborhoods, and were tasked with visiting all community-based organizations to distribute city guides, provide abbreviated “know your right” training on language access to employees of the community-based organizations and residents, and attend community meetings.  

At the conclusion of the three-month project executed from April through June of 2023, collectively the students visited over 20 organizations, distributed 1,500 city guides, and attended several community events. Student feedback informed use of several areas where community desired more assistance, including adding languages such as Pashto, Dari, and Chinese. These have since been added to DOIRA’s group of translated guides. They also identified specific organizations that wanted to partner with DOIRA for future events, and organizations that DOIRA should be engaging with to foster a better relationship with the community. 

The students worked on building trust, resulting in organizations and community members that are better informed of their right to ask for interpretation and translation services at no cost to them from city agencies. The students focused on explaining Headstart, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and the Temporary Rental and Utility Assistance program, services where non-Spanish speaking LEP communities are underserved based on City agency data. The current data for these programs indicates that LEP residents except Spanish speakers are not taking full advantage of the services these city agencies provide. This project reaffirmed that the best way to engage with the immigrant and refugee community is in person, as it built trust and solidified relationships that cannot be built by just advertising online or on social media.  

To try and answer, “Does Language Access work?” we will analyze Q4 2024 city agency enrollment data of the targeted services to determine if there was an application increase by members of Amharic, Arabic, Vietnamese, Lingala, and French-speaking communities. We hope to continue collaborations with DU and CIPR to expand language access education that informs the immigrant and refugee community of essential programs that enhance their wellbeing. We hope that by providing information in the top LEP CCD languages, we will encourage and embolden the immigrant and refugee community to engage with city agencies. The language access team in DOIRA will continue to emphasize that equitable communication is essential to the prosperity of the City and County of Denver and all its residents.  

Claudia is the LA Program Manager for CCD and works in DOIRA, HRCP where she manages and guides the city’s efforts in providing meaningful access to Denver’s LEP residents. Prior to joining CCD in December 2020, Claudia worked as an asylum paralegal and as a Legal Assistance Coordinator for the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition. After serving ~20 years in the Army in Korea, Germany, Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, Kuwait, and Honduras, Claudia retired in 2016 and pursued her master's degree in international human rights at the University of Denver, where she graduated in 2018. It was at DU where Claudia rediscovered her passion for advocating on behalf of immigrant populations and comprehensive immigration reform, including on LA related issues. While working for the DU Just Wages project with Dr. Galemba, Claudia conversed with day laborers about their experiences and struggles which confirmed her desire to continue helping the immigrant and refugee community. Claudia understands first-hand how LA affects immigrant communities, as she was her parent’s own translator and interpreter from the age of six. Claudia prioritizes the ability of Denver’s immigrant and refugee residents to receive LA services and knows how life-changing receiving critical information in one’s preferred language can be. She strives to bring this kind of change to Denver and all residents regardless of English proficiency.