Best Practices for Language Access in Public and Community Meetings

Why Language Access Matters in Community Meetings

When considering why language access in community meetings is so important, many points spring to mind. Perhaps the most pressing is the legal requirement to ensure accessibility. On top of that, organizations, public officials, and community leaders will want to get the best results for the people they serve. That means promoting inclusivity.

Equitable participation doesn’t just happen by accident, though. You’ll need to take deliberate steps to meet obligations and remove barriers. It begins with understanding the legal and ethical reasons for considering language access. From there, it’s about developing the right tools. Considering training and outreach will also enable continuous improvement within your organization.

Read on to explore the challenges faced at community meetings and how to address them. With these best practices, you’ll be well on your way to understanding and implementing language access for your public meetings.

Understanding Legal Requirements and Guidelines

To understand the legal requirements for public meeting language access, it’s necessary to know the relevant laws and who they apply to. There are three key laws to be aware of: Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the ADA, and Section 508 Standards. They apply to in-person and virtual meetings, including seminars, live classes, and other types of meetings.

The Section 508 Standards apply to federal agencies. Title II of the ADA applies to state and local programs. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act applies to programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance. That means that many organizations need to ensure they’re compliant. 

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination against someone based on their race, color, or nationality. As a result, government agencies and public entities are responsible for bridging the communication gap for attendees who have limited English proficiency (LEP). 

Effective communication is also part of Title II of the ADA. That applies in all sorts of settings; an example listed by the ADA includes attending town meetings. People with disabilities must be given an equal opportunity to benefit from services, programs, and activities. Effective communication is one factor. Another is making reasonable modifications to ensure access.

Fortunately, there are guidelines for language access services. The Section 508 Standards outline specific guidelines for creating accessible meetings. They cover elements such as announcements and invitations, and venues. There’s also information about audio, video, and visual content, materials, and interactive elements.

Common Language Access Challenges in Community Meetings

Knowing the legal requirements helps you to plan accessible public meetings. Recognizing the most common challenges also improves your understanding of communication gaps. Once you know them, you can consider how language access in community meetings can bridge them.

To achieve language equity in meetings, it’s worthwhile to be aware of the following:

• Diverse language needs and dialects

Translation and interpretation are necessary when ensuring equitable access at community meetings. What can become challenging is when the language needs of the attendees are diverse. Simultaneous interpretation into several languages requires careful thought around the solution. For communication to be effective, you’ll also need to consider dialects.

• Limited resources and budget constraints

Meeting diverse needs comes with costs and the need for resources. When planning solutions, you’ll need to consider the time and materials you have available. It also involves reviewing how much of your budget you can allocate.

• Technology barriers

Solutions to bridge communication gaps often rely on technology. It has its advantages, but that can also introduce new barriers. It’s essential to consider how user-friendly the solutions are. To address this challenge, making training part of the solution is paramount.

Best Practices for Providing Language Access

Incorporating language access into your approach is the best way to ensure accessible public meetings. The aim is to encourage interactions and engage with participants. How you go about it is the challenge. Implementing these best practices will help ensure inclusivity at every stage of the process. 

Planning and Needs Assessment

You’ll already have a planning process for your public meetings. The key to adapting it is to include a needs assessment to identify actions you need to take. This process involves assessing the current state. Following that, you can set targets and develop the appropriate solutions. After identifying the needs, you’ll need to review aspects like the venue and your communication tools. 

Choosing Between Interpretation and Translation

It’s not always a case of either/or when it comes to interpretation and translation. You might need both. Considering the method of communication and its purpose will help guide you. If you’re disseminating information mostly in written form, then translation is key. If the meeting is more of a spoken discussion, then interpretation will play a bigger role.

Scheduling and Managing Interpreters

When planning language access services, it’s crucial to think about the resources you need and how to manage them. It’s useful to consider these points: 

• How often will you need interpreters
• How much notice can you give them
• Whether there’s a reliable company you can work with 
• Which interpreters will you need, for example, ASL or which languages
• Whether they’ll need expertise in a particular area.

Technology Solutions to Support Language Access

You can make technology part of the solution. There are several multilingual communication tools that you can rely on. The good news is that there are tools to fit different circumstances. For example, if you have multiple speakers at a meeting, real-time captioning and translation tools can be beneficial for ASL users and people with limited proficiency in English.

Depending on the format, your community meeting interpretation might work better without a physical presence. In those cases, you can rely on different tools. Remote interpretation platforms offer options like video remote interpreting (VRI) and over-the-phone interpretation.

Having the option for hybrid meetings can allow you to lean on technological resources to improve accessibility. You can use services with accommodations. They can include real-time transcription, the ability to use assistive listening devices, and chat features with translation. It also makes it easier to explore alternative formats that can aid communication.

Training and Community Outreach

Planning isn’t the only component that ensures accessible community meetings. Training plays a significant role. Calling in the experts helps, but everyone involved needs to understand the importance of accessibility. Circulating policies and getting to grips with any new software and equipment are essential for all involved.

Training doesn’t only equip people with knowledge. One of the key benefits is increasing awareness. That also leads to a greater understanding of the barriers people face. As this case study from the National Recreation and Park Association shows, an ASL course can provide insight into what inclusivity means and feels like.

Educating staff and volunteers on language equity is a starting point. It should run alongside multilingual community engagement. That involves engaging with community leaders and advocates. Those conversations will help you get closer to understanding their needs. It will also create a two-way conversation to ensure feedback. Most importantly, it fosters inclusivity.

Measuring Success and Continuous Improvement

Speaking of feedback introduces the last component. Language access isn’t static. It’s something that needs attention and review. This guide to creating a language access program can help. Build your program with milestones in mind, and think about how to measure your progress. 

Those milestones can include review periods and success measures. Crucially, you’ll need to have a way to gather feedback from participants. It helps to focus on specific aspects and how they worked. You can also look at the overall outcome. Set up your language access outcomes in advance. It makes it easier to monitor and report on them.

For example, you implement a community meeting interpretation. After the meeting, check whether it met the need you identified. Use the feedback and data you gather. It could point you toward another solution. Alternatively, you might need to fine-tune what you’re already doing. 

Be Proactive

Language access is achievable. Adhering to best practices makes multilingual community engagement possible. It begins with understanding the legal requirements. Then, consider the ethical aspect of inclusivity as you act.

You can put the right components in place. Plan, assess needs, and choose and manage the right tools. Adding technology, training, and measuring success keeps you on the right path. With tools in place, get the feedback you need to keep improving.

You don’t have to do it alone. Language interpretation services play a central role. You can be proactive by partnering with a reliable provider. Language Network can help. Reach out if you need to find a qualified ASL interpreter.

Services include:

• Translation
  • Document
  • Manual
  • Technical
  • Website
  • Social media

• Interpreting
  • On-site
  • ASL 
  • Video remote 
  • Over-the-phone 

Language Network has experience in multiple industries. Expertise includes government and non-profit organizations. Talk to the team to explore your needs.