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In the United States, correctional facilities are legally required to provide language access to inmates with limited English proficiency (LEP). Still, many prisons have difficulty providing adequate, equitable language services, resulting in significant challenges for prisoners with LEP. This can prevent inmates from participating in essential programs, have health implications, and isolate them from social interactions. Even worse, when prisoners are unable to communicate with other prisoners and prison staff, they also become vulnerable to mistreatment. For example, a Salvadoran prisoner in Virginia was placed in solitary confinement for more than a decade — an injustice that occurred in large part due to his LEP. His only way out of solitary confinement was a program that was offered only in English, rendering it completely inaccessible to him. While it’s an extreme example, this program is just one of many that are practically impossible for prisoners with LEP to access — other, lower stakes services include libraries, academic programs, re-entry training, GED programs, and more. In one of the country’s most linguistically diverse states, New York, 2,295 incarcerated individuals under custody or on parole were estimated to have LEP in the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision’s 2022 language access plan — that’s about 3% of the state’s overall incarcerated population. Because they make up a fairly small portion of the incarcerated population, it can be easy to overlook this group of prisoners. Additionally, a historical lack of transparency has made it difficult to gauge just how thorough language access in prisons actually is — much of the information available today is from 2021 onward, indicating that this topic is only recently coming to light. Still, language access is a human right — it’s important to ensure that these individuals are able to navigate the justice system effectively and in their own language. In this blog post, we’ll take a look at some of the challenges that prisoners with LEP face in this country, and why it’s important to enact language access measures for this group of particularly vulnerable individuals.
There are several barriers that make it challenging for prisoners with LEP to access the services and programs that they need. Here are some of the biggest ones, and how they can negatively impact prisoners in the system.
Individuals with LEP often face significant barriers in understanding their rights — particularly their right to an attorney and an interpreter, at no cost to them. This misunderstanding begins in the booking stage, and can continue through their stay in prison.  Sometimes, a prisoner’s preferred language is misidentified, often due to the lack of trained staff or the individual’s reluctance to disclose their language out of fear from previous discrimination. The intimidating environment of a correctional facility — be it the presence of armed officers or threatening inmates — may exacerbate this issue.
Correctional facilities enforce strict rules on technology use, limiting access to the internet and other tools that can be used to provide remote interpreting services. Many prisons lack the necessary technological infrastructure to support these services, further complicating efforts to ensure language access. Without reliable access to video interpreters, LEP individuals may not be able to fully participate in essential activities such as legal consultations, medical appointments, and educational programs. This technological gap may prevent them from receiving necessary support and information, ultimately exacerbating the challenges they face within the correctional system.
Language access measures in correctional facilities predominantly focus on Spanish, which is by far the most commonly spoken language other than English in the US. While Spanish-speaking inmates may be able to rely on the word of other Spanish-speaking inmates, speakers of less common languages may be totally isolated.   This, combined with a lack of resources in non-Spanish languages, leaves significant gaps for speakers of other languages, who will face even greater challenges in accessing essential services and programs. How to Provide Language Access for Indigenous Languages
Grouping inmates by shared languages for ease of communication can foster socialization, reducing the extreme isolation that many LEP individuals face. However, the legality of this practice is somewhat murky, and as a result, some prison coordinators may not place emphasis on grouping LEP prisoners of the same languages together. This results in severe isolation, ultimately hindering rehabilitation efforts.  Ensuring that LEP inmates have opportunities to communicate and socialize with others who speak their language can mitigate these harmful effects and promote a healthier, more rehabilitative environment.
Prisoners with LEP are in a particularly unique situation when it comes to language access — although federal law requires prisons to comply with many of the same language access measures that other government agencies must, prisoners with LEP tend to fall through the cracks.   Language access measures in prison have a long way to go — here are a few of the barriers LEP prisoners face today: At Avantpage, we offer translation, interpreting, and language access planning services to government agencies across the country — if you’re looking to improve language access for LEP prisoners in your system, contact us today at [email protected] or (530) 750-2040.

Navigating the legal system can be tricky enough as it is for native English speakers — for those with limited English proficiency (LEP), it’s an even bigger struggle.  Luckily, there are rules and regulations in place to provide language access to LEP defendants, plaintiffs, witnesses, and others involved in the legal system. But while courts must provide LEP folks with an interpreter at no cost to the individual, this is often easier said than done. From correctly identifying the language an individual speaks to finding an available interpreter in a low-resource language, there are several language access challenges that can hamper the court’s efforts to seek justice.  Here are six of the most common challenges we’ve identified in our work with courts across the United States, as well as how court systems can work to overcome them.
Individuals with LEP may not know that language services are available to them for free. If this is the case, this could slow down your court case, as they may have difficulty navigating the legal system in English and may attempt to communicate in English despite struggling to do so effectively. Upon recognizing that an individual has LEP, inform them that they can work with an interpreter at no cost to them. It’s also important that the courts make an effort to advertise the fact that language services are available to folks with LEP. Make sure signage is placed in highly visible areas, notifying folks that services are available and how to access them — this signage should be written in multiple languages that are spoken commonly in your jurisdiction. It’s also important to place such notices online as well, so that individuals can access them before they get to the courtroom.
At times, it can be a challenge to determine what language an LEP individual speaks. While you may be able to figure out their nationality simply by looking at documentation on hand, it’ll take a little bit more work to figure out their preferred language. For example, while Spanish is the official language in most Central American countries, many immigrants and asylum seekers from these countries speak indigenous languages — that is, you can’t simply assume you’ll need a Spanish interpreter for an LEP individual from, say, Guatemala. If you contract a Spanish-English interpreter for a Q’anjob’al speaker, for example, you could negatively impact the outcome of their case, as they will likely not be able to effectively communicate through the interpreter. If you can’t easily determine which language somebody speaks by asking them, there are other ways to do so. Language identification cards can be a useful tool to determine which language an individual speaks. It’s also a good idea to identify languages that are in high-demand and how often certain languages are misidentified — this way, you can take a data-oriented approach to language identification.
Legal interpreting is a highly specialized field — just because somebody works as an interpreter doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re qualified to interpret in a court setting. Be sure to seek out experienced interpreters who are qualified to interpret in a legal setting. Checking an individual’s credentials and certifications can be a good start, but note that not all languages have legal interpreting certifications. When seeking out interpreting services, it’s a good idea to keep a reference guide outlining the qualifications needed for different languages and legal situations, which should make it easier for court staff and lawyers to find the right interpreter fast.
Securing qualified interpreters for legal proceedings is essential but can be challenging due to the limited availability of certified professionals. Courts can address this challenge by proactively planning ahead and requesting interpreter services well in advance of scheduled proceedings.   In addition to proactive planning, courts can enhance interpreter availability by establishing partnerships with language service providers. These partnerships can provide access to a consistent pool of qualified interpreters, helping to meet the demand for language services more effectively.
Depending on the details of your court case, you may need to work with more than one interpreter — more complicated proceedings that take up a long period of time may need a team of two or more interpreters. Cases that involve sign language may require one interpreter for the proceeding and another table interpreter, meaning that lengthy cases could require a team of up to four interpreters.   And if the LEP individual speaks an especially uncommon language, you may need to do what’s known as “relay” interpreting — one interpreter will interpret between the LEP individual’s preferred language and a more common language such as Spanish or Chinese, and another will then interpret that into English. Be sure to communicate as many details of the case as you can to your language service provider, so they can give you an idea of how complex the interpreting services will be. If multiple interpreters are needed, they’ll help you get things sorted out without slowing down the case.
Be careful not to underestimate the amount of time needed — interpreters book their time according to what you’ve requested, so if you request somebody from 12:00 to 2:00, they likely won’t be able to work for you before or after that. If you need the interpreter to work after that period, you run the risk of having to reschedule a second session.   While you may not be able to determine exactly how long an individual case will take, try to be as accurate as you can — we recommend partnering with a language service provider to reduce lead times on securing an interpreter and also to determine realistic cut-off times and thresholds for the interpreters you work with.
While courts are required by law to offer language services to individuals with LEP, there are a few challenges courts must overcome when addressing the linguistic needs of immigrants and other people with LEP.  If you’ve found yourself struggling with any of these challenges — or others — Avantpage is here to help. Our network of highly experienced legal interpreters in more than 250 different languages can help you deliver justice in any language. Contact us today at [email protected] or (530) 750-2040.

State departments of revenue play a vital role in our civic ecosystem — they make possible many of the public services and programs we enjoy on a day-to-day basis. From registering small businesses to offering programs for community and economic development, these entities are important beacons of financial responsibility. Still, one of our most frequent interactions with these agencies — tax season — tends to be a stressful time for many Americans. It can be difficult enough for native English speakers to wade through all the rules and regulations regarding our taxes. For taxpayers with limited English proficiency (LEP), it can be even more frustrating. While it may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of tax season, language access is key to upholding the legal rights of all taxpayers and ensuring that residents with LEP understand how to submit their business and individual taxes in an accurate and timely fashion. With tax season 2024 finally behind us, it’s worth taking a step back to look at how state departments of revenue can enact language access measures that simplify the next tax season for Americans with LEP  Here  at Avantpage, we offer translation, localization, and other language services to several different government offices and agencies that deal with taxes and revenue, such as: State departments of revenue typically seek a wide range of language services, including translation, over-the-phone interpreting, and alternative format services (braille, large print, audio recordings), just to name a few. These offices can reduce overhead and improve their efficiency by improving their language access — be it through multilingual outreach to translating vital documents and communications with taxpayers. Read on to learn a little bit more about how language access measures can help state departments of revenue across the country better serve taxpayers across the country.
It can be tricky enough for English speakers to understand what’s going on with their taxes. In order to improve your agency’s efficiency, clear, easy-to-understand communication is absolutely critical. Language access streamlines things for taxpayers with LEP, as it allows them to understand what they need to do to comply with tax rules and regulations. Multilingual outreach efforts and translating communications into high-demand languages can ultimately save you money in the long run. When LEP taxpayers can understand and fulfill their tax obligations voluntarily and accurately, it decreases the need for enforcement actions and audits which can be costly to your agency — keep in mind that the cost of translating a few vital documents is almost certain to be far less than the cost of auditing hundreds or even thousands of taxpayers. By investing in a comprehensive suite of language services, state departments of revenue can also minimize delays in funding for essential government services, directly benefiting the community they serve.
State departments of revenue benefit financially from providing language access to immigrant taxpayers. After all, if you’re not communicating rules and regulations to immigrant taxpayers in their language, they may not know or fully understand how to comply. Immigrants often pay taxes at higher rates and have higher rates of business ownership compared to their native-born counterparts, meaning that your city or state could be missing out on an important source of revenue if you’re not communicating effectively with taxpayers who have LEP. Translating relevant tax laws, regulations, and compliance requirements into multiple languages can ultimately allow revenue agencies to ensure immigrant taxpayers are contributing their fair share to the state’s revenue stream.
State departments of revenue serve to collect taxes and distribute them to government agencies that provide critical public services and programs — effective revenue collection is necessary to efficient government services and administration. By providing language access, state departments of revenue can streamline their own operations, reduce administrative burdens, and enhance overall efficiency. This enhanced efficiency ultimately enables more effective redistribution of funds to support statewide goals, such as economic development, education, and public safety.
State departments of revenue play a crucial role in fostering compliance with tax laws and ensuring the availability of revenue to fund government programs. By prioritizing language access, you can unlock three key benefits: At Avantpage, we’ve worked with several state departments of revenue and their offices to improve language access and reduce noncompliance among taxpayers with LEP. See for yourself how our language and accessibility services can benefit your team — contact us today at [email protected] or (530) 750-2040.

With Earth Day right around the corner and summer fast approaching, many of us here in the northern hemisphere are enjoying the green spaces in our lives just a little bit more lately. As the weather warms up, we tend to appreciate our parks — from the local park on the corner to the sprawling landscape of national parks — more and more. It’s important to remember that access to nature is not just a luxury, but a necessity for the health and well-being of communities. However, disparities in access — particularly among people of color and linguistic minority communities — persist, perpetuated by historic redlining practices (to name just one factor). Several studies have shown a direct correlation between access to nature and health, highlighting the urgency to address these disparities. In a 2016 study, researchers found that folks who lived in regions with denser tree canopy tend to be healthier than those without access to such green space; likewise, a 2018 study showed that converting dirty, trash-ridden vacant land to a clean green space with trees and grass reduced feelings of depression among the local community. Initiatives to improve public health through green spaces must keep linguistic minorities and people of color in mind. In this blog post, we’ll take a look at how five different government programs are addressing disparities in access to green spaces for linguistic minority communities, bridging the gap through language access.
The benefits of green spaces are clear — however, people of color, immigrants, and people with limited English proficiency (LEP) often have historically had less access to these spaces than native-born English speakers. In 2020, the Center for American Progress and the Hispanic Access Foundation reported significant racial and economic disparities in access to green space. Black and brown communities were found to be three times more likely than white communities to be “nature-deprived,” meaning that they had less access to nearby forests, wetlands, streams, and other natural places. According to the report, more than 76% of low-income communities of color were nature-deprived. By making an effort to develop green spaces and improve access to equitable green spaces, we can make strides toward improving public health in vulnerable communities. It’s important to make sure that these efforts to improve access to green space also take into account our nation’s population with LEP, who face unique challenges compared to English-speaking minorities. Here are five government-led initiatives to develop equitable green space that are prioritizing the needs of linguistic minorities in their community. The city of Providence, Rhode Island boasts a tree canopy that covers roughly 27% of the city — but when you zoom in on communities of color, that number declines sharply. So, the city is making an effort to improve tree coverage, and making sure people of color are involved in planning the initiative from the get-go. By involving community members of color who’ve spearheaded multilingual outreach, they ensure that historically marginalized communities have a voice in increasing canopy coverage. Effective engagement is key to creating inclusive, equitable green spaces. Trust for Public Land in Chattanooga has placed an emphasis on involving multilingual communities, in an effort to build trust with community members who don’t speak English. In the agency’s outreach and engagement efforts, they make an effort to engage community members in the language that they’re most comfortable in, whether that’s Spanish or Q’anjob’al, allowing community members to feel heard regardless of their English level. The USDA and other government agencies partnered up to create this 40-page guide for historically underserved farmers and ranchers. Not only did they emphasize resources for farmers and ranchers from low-income and culturally underrepresented backgrounds — they also made sure to communicate those resources in several different languages other than English. The guide is available in seven languages and provides readers with resources such as maps, educational workshops, inclusive language materials, facilitating greater participation and understanding among linguistic minority communities. The Urban Wildlife Conservation Program by the Department of Fish and Wildlife focuses on creating green spaces within urban areas, making nature more accessible to all residents. By prioritizing urban communities, this program promotes equity in outdoor recreation and education opportunities.   Communities with limited English proficiency and communities of color tend to be concentrated in urban areas. Initiatives like this make nature more accessible to folks who live in cities, allowing them to visit green spaces near where they live, rather than having to travel far outside of the city. Educational workshops like Texas Parks and Wildlife’s Project WILD/ Growing Up WILD Workshops are a great way to teach community members about the benefits of green space. Texas Parks and Wildlife has also offered these workshops in Spanish, ensuring that Hispanic community members who do not speak English are able to learn about the green spaces around them.
This Earth Day, let’s take a step back and consider how we can prioritize language access in the development of equitable green spaces. We can learn a lot from these five government initiatives. If you’re looking to emphasize language access in your efforts to develop equitable green spaces, Avantpage is here to help — contact us today at (530) 750-2040 or [email protected]

English-learning students and their parents face unique challenges in our country’s education system. A thoughtful language access plan can help them surmount those challenges. English learners make up a significant chunk of students in the United States — roughly 10% of students in the country have limited English proficiency (LEP), though that number is significantly higher in states like California and Texas (17.7 and 20.1% respectively). Having LEP in the education system can be a struggle: Students with LEP have difficulty catching up to their peers when instruction is English-only, while parents with LEP may have trouble communicating their student’s needs effectively. Except for dual-language programs, which emphasize the development of literacy in two different languages, the vast majority of education in the United States is conducted in English, which can, of course, present a challenge for English learners and their parents. The Civil Rights Act and the Equal Educational Opportunities Act both require schools to enact measures to identify and accommodate English learners. That means that English learners are “entitled to appropriate language assistance services to become proficient in English and to participate equally in the standard instructional program within a reasonable period,” while their parents are “entitled to meaningful communication in a language they can understand, such as through translated materials or a language interpreter, and to adequate notice of information about any program, service, or activity that is called to the attention of non-LEP parents,” according to the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Education. Addressing the linguistic needs of English learners and parents with LEP isn’t just important because it’s the law — it’s critical to ensuring children across the country have equitable access to a high-quality public education. English learners need to be able to learn at the same level as their peers; likewise, parents need to be able to make informed decisions about their child’s education, regardless of their English ability. In this blog post, we’ll take a look at just what those requirements are and what it looks like to be a student or parent with LEP in the education system today. Table of Contents Welcome Centers: The First Touchpoint Language Access for Students Language Access for Parents Frequently Asked Questions About LEP in Education Settings Summary Before a child enrolls in the public school system, their parents will likely encounter a welcome center, which provides them with information about their child’s future education and how to enroll. Now, this isn’t always the case, but welcome centers are becoming increasingly more common in the nation’s more diverse school districts. Families can also refer to these welcome centers year-round for enrollment information, transferring to a different school and applying to middle and high schools within the district. As sources of this critical information, welcome centers must provide parents and students with LEP access to resources in the language they’re most comfortable with. Welcome centers are often the first place parents with LEP can go to learn about the language services offered in their school district. It’s a good idea to hire bilingual staff and work with a language service provider to offer interpreting services to ensure that parents with LEP can understand all of the information offered at these family welcome centers. Additionally, they should be able to communicate with somebody about their student’s needs as an English learner — if a child needs extra classroom support, this is where parents can inform the district. Language access is critical to the academic success of children with LEP in education. Inadequate language access can hurt a student’s academic success and it may be hard to catch up later on in their education. English as a second language (ESL) programs play an important role in their educational journey. These programs provide targeted instruction tailored to the linguistic needs of students with LEP, helping them develop proficiency in English while also supporting their academic growth in other subjects. In addition to ESL programs, students can benefit from various support mechanisms offered within schools. This includes access to interpretation services during classroom instruction and assessments, as well as translation assistance for educational materials. If an English learner has a disability covered under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, they may also be eligible for special education services through an Individualized Education Program (IEP). This plan should also consider the unique challenges faced by English learners when devising a thoughtful approach to future education. After all, the IEP acts as a sort of roadmap for their academic career and can have a profound impact on their overall success as a learner. The IEP team should include at least one bilingual teacher who can communicate with the child in their native language, while other members of the IEP development team should have a basic level of cultural competency. Effective communication between parents with LEP and school staff is crucial for fostering parental involvement and supporting student success. By providing access to interpreters during parent-teacher conferences, meetings, and school events, schools ensure that language barriers do not hinder meaningful dialogue. Additionally, translation services for important documents, such as report cards, school notices, IEPs, and educational materials, enable parents to stay informed about their child’s progress and school-related information. Emails and text messages to parents should also be available in a parent’s preferred language so that they can stay up to date on what’s going on in the classroom. When it comes to the complex process of developing an IEP for students with disabilities, parents with LEP need to be able to participate actively in the meetings held with teachers, administrators and other relevant specialists. Schools should work closely with interpreters to make sure that parents can understand what’s being said in these meetings. Since these meetings can get deep into the weeds of legal and educational jargon, it’s important to employ specialized interpreters familiar with the IEP process for the job. And while not every state requires schools to translate an IEP for parents who don’t speak English, it’s good practice to do so if you want parents to be fully involved in their child’s education — and some states, like Colorado, are making an effort to mandate this practice under the law. In education, LEP stands for Limited English Proficiency. The LEP meaning in education settings refers to students or parents who do not speak English as their primary language and have a limited ability to read, write, speak, or understand English. Schools that receive federal funding are required under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and the Equal Educational Opportunities Act (EEOA) to provide these individuals with meaningful access to programs and information in a language they can understand. LEP students are children enrolled in school who are not yet proficient in English and therefore require language support services to participate fully in the academic curriculum. These students may be enrolled in ESL (English as a Second Language) or dual-language programs, and they may also qualify for accommodations during assessments or classroom instruction. LEP students are sometimes referred to as English language learners (ELLs) or emergent bilinguals, depending on district or state terminology. In special education, LEP refers to students with limited English proficiency who may also qualify for services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). For these students, language access and disability services must be coordinated, often through an Individualized Education Plan (IEP). IEP teams must account for both language and learning needs, and parents with LEP must receive interpretation and translation services to fully participate in IEP meetings and decisions. Failure to do so may violate civil rights laws and special education regulations. Yes. Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and previously reinforced by Executive Order 13166, schools that receive federal funds are legally required to provide language assistance services to LEP individuals. This includes providing interpreters for meetings and written translations of vital documents such as enrollment forms, report cards, and IEPs. While some documents must be translated in all covered languages, others may be translated on a case-by-case basis depending on need and language access policies. At a minimum, schools should provide:
- Oral interpretation during meetings, parent-teacher conferences, and school events
- Translation of vital written documents (report cards, IEPs, enrollment paperwork)
- Language identification tools like “I Speak” cards or welcome center support
- Access to qualified bilingual staff, interpreters, and translations
- Digital translation support for apps, emails, and school messaging platforms While schools are obligated to provide qualified interpreters, parents do not necessarily choose who interprets. However, they have the right to decline services or express gender cultural, or modality preferences. Schools should avoid using untrained individuals, such as students or siblings, to interpret, and must document when an LEP parent declines offered services. Not exactly. “LEP” is a legal designation used primarily in federal policy. “English Language Learner (ELL)” or “Emergent Bilingual” are more current and inclusive terms used in educational contexts. “ESL student” typically refers to a student enrolled in an English as a Second Language program. All of these terms describe individuals who are acquiring English proficiency, but “LEP” is the most commonly used in regulatory frameworks. Schools must assess the student’s primary language and English proficiency level upon enrollment, usually through a Home Language Survey and a standardized English language learner’s assessment. Based on results, students may be identified for language support services and parents must be notified in their preferred language. Welcome centers or registrars must also ensure interpreters are available and that translated materials are provided. Cultural competence refers to educators’ and administrators’ ability to interact effectively with individuals from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds. For LEP families, this means staff should be trained to recognize how culture, trauma, and immigration experiences may affect communication, learning styles, or parent engagement. Culturally competent schools are more likely to earn the trust of immigrant communities and increase parent involvement. Failure to provide language access for LEP individuals may lead to complaints being filed with the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Education. It can also lead to loss of federal funding, legal consequences, or negative impacts on student achievement. Proactive compliance protects both students and school systems. Students and families with LEP in the education system have to deal with a unique set of challenges that their English-speaking peers simply do not. Here are just a few things to consider for your school system’s language access practices: If your school district is looking to improve its language access services for families with LEP, we can help. At Avantpage, we’re familiar with the needs of LEP families and are happy to provide interpreting and translation services for education agencies — contact us today at [email protected] or (530) 750-2040.

2024 is an election year here in the United States, and you know what that means: another year packed with political messaging and get-out-the-vote campaigns. And while local politicians and presidential candidates alike will certainly be doing work to court voters and increase voter turnout, there’s one tool that’s often overlooked in discussions about how to improve voter turnout: language access.  While the Voting Rights Act sets a sort of bare minimum for language access in elections, districts that go above and beyond these requirements are likely to see increased voter turnout among linguistic minorities in the country. As the country’s linguistic profile continues to diversify, language access in elections has become absolutely crucial for fostering inclusivity and enhancing voter participation, thus fortifying the democratic process.  The Voting Rights Act plays a pivotal role in ensuring that folks all across the country have equitable access to our elections — under Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act, certain jurisdictions must “provide bilingual written voting materials and voting assistance regarding covered minority languages.” To get a bit more specific, the provision stats that jurisdictions must develop bilingual voting materials in a given language if the population of voting-age citizens who primarily speak that language meets the following criteria:
 While these criteria set a decent baseline for which languages to cater to, they don’t necessarily show the whole picture. As a result, jurisdictions looking to improve voter turnout must take action to make sure they’re providing adequate language access in this year’s elections — even if that means going the extra mile and going beyond the guidelines set in the Voting Rights Act.  Here, we’ll take a look at how language access has been proven to increase voter turnout, and how you can leverage language access to improve voter turnout ahead of this year’s presidential election. When Congress amended the Voting Rights Act to include language access regulations back in 1975, voter registration among linguistic minority groups skyrocketed. In 1974, just under 35% of Hispanic citizens were registered to vote — by 2006, that number doubled, an increase that some scholars believe to be, at least partially, a result of the language access provisions added to the act in 1975. Likewise, San Diego County in California saw a 40% increase in voter turnout among Vietnamese Americans after voluntarily offering Vietnamese language assistance during the 2004 election (Los Angeles County, too — there, Vietnamese language assistance was shown to boost voter turnout among Vietnamese voters by 60%). While San Diego County wasn’t necessarily required to provide language assistance under the regulations outlined in the Voting Rights Act, it turned out that doing so had a significant impact on voter turnout. Additional research shows that the raw data used by the Voting Rights Act to calculate which languages to provide language access for doesn’t quite tell the full story. In California, for example, just 4% of registered voters opted to use language assistance when voting. However, 11% of the state’s residents who are eligible to vote have limited English proficiency, meaning that not all of the state’s potential voters are being reached. To improve voter turnout, jurisdictions should go above and beyond the requirements of the Voting Rights Act — like San Diego Country did back in 2004 — to identify populations of eligible voters that they could be missing out on by following the minimum guidelines of the act. Beyond bolstering voter turnout, language access initiatives foster stronger bonds of trust between elected officials and minority communities. By ensuring equitable access to voting resources, governments demonstrate their commitment to inclusivity, thereby fostering greater civic engagement and participation. This, in turn, contributes to a more representative and responsive political landscape — one of the core goals of the Voting Rights Act to begin with. As we navigate another busy election year, it’s important to understand the critical role that language access plays in fortifying the foundations of our democracy. Language access allows linguistic minorities to fully participate in our elections. If you’re looking to increase voter turnout in your jurisdiction, there are several resources and recommendations you can look to for improving language access: At Avantpage, we work with election offices all across the country to develop creative language access strategies in elections on every level. If you’re looking to increase voter turnout through language access, don’t hesitate to contact us today at [email protected] or (530) 750-2040.

In the dynamic landscape of the life sciences industry, collaboration can be key to overcoming complex challenges and delivering exceptional results. Recently, Avantpage Life Sciences and EmTex Life Science joined forces to address an MDR compliance challenge presented by TEAC Europe GmbH, a leading medical imaging solutions manufacturer. This collaboration exemplifies the power of strategic partnerships in providing comprehensive, one-stop solutions tailored to the needs of our clients in this highly regulated sector.  TEAC Europe GmbH approached Avantpage Life Sciences with a specific request. They needed their most recent Instructions for Use (IFU) translated into five languages, but also needed support with the crucial step of checking MDR compliance with EU standards. As the source text is written at TEAC’s headquarters in Japan, ensuring MDR compliance with Medical Devices Class 1 EU regulations is essential. TEAC typically conducts MDR compliance checks in-house but, in this instance, requested that Avantpage include the task in the project scope. Given the crucial nature of both MDR compliance and linguistic accuracy, Avantpage leveraged their partnership with EmTex Life Science to tackle this challenge head-on.  EmTex Life Science, a provider of medical writing and communication services based in Belgium, brought over two decades of experience in regulatory medical writing to the table. Their EU regulatory compliance specialists meticulously reviewed the English text against EU Medical Device Regulation (MDR) standards, ensuring that the content met the necessary requirements.  Once the English text received the MDR compliance stamp of approval from EmTex Life Science, Avantpage’s team of expert linguists translated the IFU into five languages: French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Turkish. As subject-matter experts in the field, Avantpage’s teams ensured linguistic accuracy and cultural nuances were preserved throughout the translation process.  In addition to translation, Avantpage’s graphic design team played a crucial role in the project by reformatting the translated files, ensuring consistency and readability across all languages. The result was a set of IFUs that not only met MDR compliance standards but also provided clear and accessible instructions to end-users in diverse linguistic markets. Beyond delivering the translated IFUs, Avantpage went the extra mile by creating a post-project glossary for use on future TEAC Europe GmbH projects and updates.   Avantpage Life Sciences was delighted to partner with EmTex Life Science on this MDR compliance project as our respective company offerings are the perfect complement to one another. Both companies are trusted partners for the life sciences industry, and both are focused on what we know we do best. Avantpage’s linguists are experts in clinical trials, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and biotech, and the company is ISO-certified. EmTex Life Science brings a wealth of expertise in medical writing and communications services to the table, with writers specializing in preclinical, clinical, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and quality of life. Through their EmTex Academy, they also offer professional courses within the life science industry, further demonstrating their commitment to excellence and knowledge sharing.  Client testimonials speak volumes about the success of the collaboration between Avantpage and EmTex Life Science. Andreas Koller, Sales and Marketing Manager at TEAC Europe GmbH, praised the seamless experience and expressed confidence in Avantpage’s continued support in navigating complex regulatory landscapes. “This was the first time we worked with a different vendor and also the first time we asked an external partner to check MDR compliance. Things were very smooth with Avantpage, who will soon begin assisting with the complex IFU update process.” – Andreas Koller, Sales and Marketing Manager at TEAC Europe GmbH In conclusion, the partnership between Avantpage and EmTex Life Science exemplifies the power of collaboration in the life sciences industry. By leveraging each other’s expertise, these two industry leaders provided TEAC Europe GmbH with a comprehensive MDR compliance solution that addressed their unique challenges and exceeded expectations. As the life sciences landscape continues to evolve, partnerships like this will play an increasingly vital role in driving innovation, compliance, and success for clients worldwide. 

All too often, conversations about language access focus on languages that are spoken most widely throughout the country — think languages like Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog or your local threshold languages. And while it’s certainly important to cater your language access plan to speakers of these languages, it’s also important to factor in the unique considerations that have to be made when providing language access to speakers of less widely spoken Indigenous languages as well. While an organization might have all the tools and resources needed to provide services to a Spanish speaker with limited English proficiency (LEP), chances are that its language access services for, say, Q’anjob’al speakers, are much more limited. And that’s a big problem — Indigenous people from Latin America make up a large proportion of immigrant families in shelters, meaning organizations that regularly work with immigrants and refugees must be prepared to offer their services in Indigenous languages. According to a 2021 report, roughly 62% of immigrant families in shelters were from Guatemala, 30% of whom spoke an Indigenous language like Q’anjob’al or Nahuatl. Many organizations and government agencies across the country are struggling to meet the needs of Indigenous language speakers with LEP, oftentimes in spite of an otherwise well-informed language access plan. Our country simply needs more training and certification programs to create opportunities for bilingual speakers of Indigenous languages to prepare themselves for a career as an interpreter or translator. More funding toward the creation of such programs is one long-term solution, but in the meantime, there are several other things we can do now to fill the gap. At Avantpage, we’ve worked hard to improve language access services for Indigenous languages at organizations — here are a few considerations and approaches your organization ought to keep in mind when providing language access services to Indigenous communities.
As a result of centuries’ worth of repression, Indigenous languages are not particularly well-understood outside of their speaker communities and as such, providing language services in these languages is a bit more of a challenge than languages like Spanish or Chinese, for instance. The number of immigrants speaking languages Indigenous to the Americas is bound to grow in coming years. Immigration – and the ability to support new immigrant communities – is a critical force driving the United States’ economy and growth. And in the coming years, we can expect to see even more Indigenous people of Central and South America immigrating here in response to climate change and political instability – it’s important that we are able to serve them in their language to ease things up as they transition to life in a new, unfamiliar country. To enhance language access for Indigenous languages, organizations must adopt strategies that address the unique situation of these languages.
Proactive planning is essential for any language access services, but perhaps especially so for Indigenous languages, as it can be harder or more expensive to procure services in these languages at the last minute. You may want to consider setting up contracts in advance through a request for proposal (RFP) process, a less formal request for inquiry (RFI), or even research to find out what “piggy-back” contracts are already in place that you can leverage. This way, you can establish a relationship with language service providers (LSPs) who are well-qualified to fulfill your needs and differentiate contracts based on the services you need (perhaps one provider is better suited for threshold languages but another is specialized in indigenous languages). During the contractual design, you might consider multiple vendors for added resources, or even separating your RFP/RFI requests based on language or modality (onsite, remote, translation). This can better ensure the right organization can qualify to submit their services to the bid, expanding your own pool of resources and options. Know the different services offered — ideally opt for an agency that can provide in-person interpreting, but if it’s necessary phone or video interpreting is also a viable service, and a critical back-up option to have available. Low resource languages often encounter more difficulty in coverage. Back-up options, like the use of relay interpreting (3 interpreters across 3 languages), can help close the gap. A trusted LSP may be able to help you connect with and onboard freelance interpreters and translators as well. Additionally, if you prefer to gather a pool of freelancers to provide their services as needed (instead of or in addition to working with a larger agency), court websites can be a useful tool for finding potential freelancers who work in the language you’re looking for.
While bilingual staff are not a replacement for professional interpreters, they can be helpful in situations where an interpreter is not immediately available. Bilingual staff can communicate with individuals who have LEP and help them access your services as needed. Hiring bilingual staff is not sufficient on its own — it’s important to conduct a thorough linguistic assessment to ensure that they’re able to perform all the necessary functions of the job in the target language. Training and placement are also crucial — if you have multiple office locations, it will be most useful to place bilingual staff in locations where they are most likely to use the language. Conduct demographic research to see which languages are in highest demand at specific branches so you know where to place bilingual staff. It’s also a good idea to maintain a bilingual staff directory — this has been used among state and local government offices as a back up option, and it serves well to facilitate internal access to diverse language skills. However, it’s imperative to document staff qualifications and provide guidance on when to utilize bilingual staff based on their expertise, ensuring effective language support.
Community-based organizations (CBOs) play a pivotal role in addressing the unique needs of local Indigenous and immigrant communities. Partnering with these organizations, which represent community needs, can enhance outreach and build trust with local immigrant populations and Indigenous-language speakers. CBOs can offer insights into local needs and facilitate a more profound understanding of historically underserved communities. For more information on how and why you should partner with CBOs, take a look at our guide to partnering with CBOs.
Of course, you can’t provide adequate language access services to somebody if you’re unable to identify their language. All too often, Indigenous languages of Latin America are mistaken for Spanish due to a general lack of awareness of these languages. And while it can certainly be difficult to identify the language somebody else is speaking if you have no prior knowledge of it, there are a handful of tools that can help. Language identification posters, I-Speak cards, and phonetic pronunciation guides aid frontline staff in correctly identifying languages. Make sure the tools you’re using for language identification include several Indigenous languages so that you’re able to identify the languages that are in demand. Training programs for staff can also enhance awareness of linguistic diversity, mitigating the risk of mislabeling languages. In non-urgent situations, it’s worthwhile to suggest alternatives to the individual, such as rescheduling an appointment for a date when an on-site interpreter will be available.
Demand for language access in Indigenous languages is bound to rise — be sure your organization is just as prepared to offer services in Indigenous languages like Mixtec or Nahuatl as it is to offer services in English or Spanish. Here are a few strategies you can employ to improve language access for these languages: At Avantpage, we’re acutely aware of the unique considerations that must be made when providing language access for Indigenous languages. To learn more about how our interpreting, translation, and localization services can fit into your language access plan for Indigenous languages, contact us today at (530) 750-2040 or [email protected].

2024 is shaping up to be a big year in politics — with the Republican Party’s primary elections already under way, there are a lot of elections to watch out for. Voting in these elections is an important aspect of civic life here in the United States, but many residents with limited English proficiency (LEP) may struggle to fully participate in these elections, despite actively contributing to our society. While the Voting Rights Act ensures that election materials will be translated into high-demand languages across various districts, it’s important to take a look at how language access can shape our electoral process. “Whenever any State or political subdivision [covered by the section] provides registration or voting notices, forms, instructions, assistance, or other materials or information relating to the electoral process, including ballots, it shall provide them in the language of the applicable minority group as well as in the English language,” reads Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act, which was amended in 1975 to improve language access in the electoral process. We’re at the beginning of a big election year with a lot on the line — here at Avantpage, we partner with election organizations across the US and in some of the most diverse states like California, Texas, Florida, and New York to promote language access in the electoral process and gain unique insights into the demand for language access in elections. And there are some creative ways that election offices can engage residents with LEP — take the Yolo County Elections Office’s “Train the Trainer” program as an example. The program trained leaders of religious and community-based organizations that work closely with the county’s non-English speakers to help community members register to vote. As we look toward the upcoming primary elections and the big event in November, here are some important language access considerations that electoral officials should be aware of. Translating ballots and voter information guides into the relevant languages is a collaborative process — states and other political subdivisions need to work closely with trained language professionals to ensure high quality translations. Election offices should work closely with a trusted language service provider to review all of the materials that need translating and determine a course of action for making those materials accessible in the languages you need. By working with a language service provider that specializes in electoral materials, you can mitigate the risk of mistranslating something and improve the quality of these materials overall. You also don’t have to start from scratch either — the Election Assistance Commission has compiled a list of language access resources for elections, including best practices for different locales across the nation. Many relevant, evergreen materials such as the National Mail Voter Registration Form have already been translated into multiple languages, so you can leverage resources that are already available. There’s a lot that needs to be translated for every election. Once you’ve identified the already-translated materials available to you, it’s time to figure out what you do need to translate. At Avantpage, we’ve done thousands of translation projects for our election clients. Over the years we have found some materials that are most commonly translated across the board. Here are some common materials that will likely need to be translated: Interpretation is also an important consideration to make as well — you’ll want to have on-site interpreters and also work with an agency that offers phone or video interpretation as a back-up. You can also hire bilingual poll workers to strengthen community trust in the election and place them at polling stations that are likely to have a higher proportion of LEP speakers of a specific language. When working with a language service provider, it’s also important to consider the volume of translated materials you need. Take a look at historical data , anticipated deadlines, and future election dates to see which months have had especially high demand in your area so that you can prepare ahead of time. You’ll also want to figure out which materials are time-sensitive and which aren’t. Request translations well ahead of time wherever possible, and try to batch together documents and languages so you can avoid having to pay minimum fees.
According to Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act, states and other political subdivision (i.e., cities, counties, etc.) must provide translated voting materials in regions where “more than 10,000 or over 5 percent of the total voting age citizens in a single political subdivision (usually a county, but a township or municipality in some states) who are members of a single language minority group, have depressed literacy rates, and do not speak English very well.” In 2021, a total of 331 jurisdictions met those criteria and had to provide language assistance to voters with LEP. That number appears to be on the rise too — in 2016, only 263 jurisdictions had to do so. These numbers are updated every five years using data from the American Community Survey, so while things may not change much for the 2024 elections, it’s likely that there will be even more demand in the 2028 elections, given the rising population of individuals with LEP in this country. Now is as good a time as any to begin looking into languages other than English that are spoken into your community to prepare for future changes. And even if your jurisdiction isn’t required under the Voting Rights Act to provide these materials, it doesn’t mean you can’t — by improving language access in your local elections, you can boost voter turnout and civic engagement within communities that have historically been less likely to participate in elections. As we head into what’s bound to be a busy year for election offices across the country, it’s important to keep in mind that improving language access can increase voter turnout by making the electoral process more accessible to individuals from all backgrounds. Here are some things to consider when thinking about language access in this year’s elections: At Avantpage, we’re proud to work closely with election offices across the nation. If you need translation or interpretation for any upcoming elections, contact us today at (530) 750-2040 or [email protected].

As we enter the new year, there are a handful of important regulatory changes to keep in mind about Medicare and Medicaid. With these changes, the demand for language services like translation and localization is sure to rise in the field of healthcare. On a national level, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is updating the requirements for the kinds of documents and information that agencies have to translate or communicate to patients in non-English languages. In the state of California, another change is taking place to focus on enhancing care management. As of this month, all low-income residents of California between the ages of 26 and 49 will be eligible for the California Medical Assistance Program, also known as Medi-Cal, regardless of their immigration status. Previously, undocumented immigrants in this age group — despite making up a significant portion of the state’s population of undocumented immigrants — were ineligible for Medi-Cal, even though undocumented children, young adults, and adults over the age of 50 were able to receive it. This means roughly 1.5 million people could now be eligible for Medi-Cal — it also means that healthcare providers in California need to be more prepared than ever to offer high-quality language access services. The majority of unauthorized immigrants in the United States have limited English proficiency (LEP), meaning that providers must be ready to serve them in their language. In this blog post, we’ll take a look at the recent changes to government health insurance programs — with a particular emphasis on the changes to Medi-Cal here in California. We’ll also explain how healthcare providers can ensure their services are accessible to individuals with LEP.
As of January 1, a handful policy changes have taken place for government health insurance plans, two of which will have an impact on the demand for language services in the healthcare sector. On a nationwide level, the CMS introduced a policy change that more explicitly requires Medicare Advantage (MA) and Part D programs to provide more accessible standardized communications in non-English languages. More specifically, plan providers must keep translations of required materials in any language spoken by 5% or more of the population of a plan’s service area. These materials must also be available in an accessible format such as braille, large print, or audio upon request. This change will require MA providers to seek out language and accessibility services in order to accommodate the new translation requirement, meant to enhance care for patients with LEP. Healthcare providers in California are also likely to see increased demand for translation, localization, and interpretation, as a huge swath of the state’s undocumented immigrant population has just become eligible for the state’s Medicaid program, Medi-Cal. While low-income unauthorized immigrants below the age of 26 and above the age of 50 have been eligible to receive insurance through Medi-Cal for a while now, those from 26 to 49 have not. This means that a huge population of unauthorized immigrants will now be eligible to receive free or low-cost health insurance, making healthcare far more affordable for them. However, it’s important to keep in mind that many of these immigrants have LEP, meaning that hospitals, clinics, and health plan communications need to be ready to offer interpreting and translation to these new patients.  It also means that Medi-Cal providers need to be proactive about communicating plan eligibility to people with LEP, as many of these individuals may not be aware that they’re suddenly eligible to receive health insurance through Medi-Cal. Although more people will be eligible for these services, it’s important to note that trust and outreach will be a major barrier in actually providing healthcare to newly eligible immigrants. Providers must use a diverse range of platforms — from print marketing campaigns to social media posts in multiple languages — to ensure that prospective patients are getting the information they need about Medi-Cal.
With the number of people eligible for Medi-Cal increasing significantly, California-based providers need to be ready for an increased demand for healthcare services. Expect to see more patients accessing your services in non-English languages, and adapt accordingly — that might mean translating more materials, working with a language service provider to contract more interpreters, even hiring more multilingual staff, or a combination of ways. Here’s how some Avantpage clients are working to adjust to the new policy changes and ensure that they’re able to meet the needs of linguistically diverse communities, enhancing care overall.
As the landscape of healthcare access undergoes significant changes in California, healthcare providers must prepare for an increased demand for language services. Conducting an inventory of available language resources, including translation materials, multilingual staff, and interpretation services, will help providers identify potential gaps. By understanding the linguistic diversity of their patient population, healthcare organizations can strategically allocate resources to address the specific needs that arise from the expanded eligibility criteria.
The first quarter of the year is a critical period for healthcare providers to closely monitor usage trends and adapt their language services accordingly. By analyzing data related to language preferences, service utilization, and patient demographics during this initial phase of policy changes, providers can gain valuable insights into the evolving needs of their patient population. For institutions with historical data on language service utilization, comparing Q1 trends with previous periods can offer a baseline for understanding the impact of policy changes. If you don’t have much data to compare Q1 with, think of this period as a sort of benchmark you can use to align your resources with emerging patterns. It’s also a good idea to get patient feedback on your language services to see where you might need to improve.
Understanding various options for cost reduction can help organizations optimize their language service delivery without compromising quality. Traditional translation memory systems can be leveraged to streamline the translation process and enhance cost savings. By reusing previously translated content, providers can reduce the time and resources required for repetitive translations. Open communication with your language service provider is crucial during this phase. Providers should engage with their account managers to explore innovative solutions, whether it involves adopting new technologies, optimizing savings, or finding alternative cost-efficient approaches. With policy changes taking place this year, there’s a lot for healthcare providers to do — but making these changes means you’ll be better suited to serve communities that have historically been underserved by the medical establishment. If you’re a California-based healthcare provider, here are some recommendations as we begin the new year: At Avantpage, we’ve helped innumerable healthcare providers serve patients with LEP. If you’re looking for help navigating increased demand for language services, Avantpage is here for you: We offer translation, interpreting, and localization services. Contact us today at (530) 750-2040 or [email protected] to learn more.

Developing and executing high-quality diversity initiatives — both internally and externally — should be a no-brainer for any organization looking to promote equity and inclusion in their community. Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) have become major pillars in today’s world — and for good reason too. And it’s not just a moral imperative for organizations to engage communities of all socioeconomic backgrounds — embracing minority-led businesses and amplifying non-English voices is also a strategic move for agencies looking to have a more equitable impact on their community. One way to improve your organization’s approach to diversity is to begin working with vendors that uphold the core tenets of diversity and employ workers from many different backgrounds, whether that be in terms of the language they speak or their gender identity. Chances are, your agency works with other businesses to outsource certain, more specialized tasks — whether that’s translation, copywriting, design, videography, etc. If you’re looking to improve your DEI strategy, working with diverse, minority-owned suppliers for these tasks can be a good start. By working with diverse suppliers to provide services in an equitable manner, your organization can become well-poised to reach communities that have historically been underserved. In this blog post, we’ll take a look at the profound impact that working with diverse suppliers can have on your organization’s approach to equitable services.
By intentionally choosing to work with diverse suppliers, you contribute to the economic empowerment of underrepresented communities. This in turn helps close gaps in equity, while also allowing your organization to develop a more diverse and innovative approach to the services you offer. Research has shown that minority-owned small businesses are at a higher risk of failure than their counterparts — during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, Black-owned businesses were significantly more likely to close their doors than white-owned businesses. When you make an effort to contract diverse suppliers, you can help promote economic development for groups that have historically been socioeconomically marginalized.
Improving language access is an important way to foster diversity within your organization. After all, DEI isn’t just about diversity in gender or ethnicity — it’s also about linguistic diversity. As such, working with specialized language service providers to translate your content and marketing materials is an important part of promoting diversity within and outside of your organization. By translating your message into another language, your message has the potential to resonate with members of your community that you may not have been reaching before. For example, roughly 39% of the United States’ Spanish-speaking population has limited English proficiency — that means that translating your content and messaging into Spanish could have a profound impact on your organization’s engagement levels. Given the United States’ growing diversity, multilingual engagement is an absolute must. Making your services and programming accessible in multiple languages — whether that’s Spanish or another language spoken widely throughout your locale — ensures that you’ll be able to reach people who have historically had difficulty in seeking them out.
Employing vendors from a diverse range of backgrounds can also make your organization more innovative. When you bring fresh perspectives and worldviews into your process, your team is bound to come up with more varied and creative ideas than it would if it were composed of people from similar backgrounds. This results in more innovative solutions to problems and can help your organization achieve its goals and beyond.
Just as it’s important to promote the economic growth of minority-led businesses, it’s also critical that we amplify non-English voices in both our internal and external communication. By boosting non-English messaging, your organization can show its support for linguistic diversity and enhance your message’s ability to resonate with prospective clients. This goes beyond mere translation; it involves understanding the nuances of different languages and the cultures to which they belong. Organizations that prioritize linguistic diversity create an environment where everyone’s voice is heard, fostering a culture of respect and appreciation for differences. This can, in turn, improve individuals’ perception of your organization, and, in the case of internal communications, make employees from diverse linguistic backgrounds feel more welcome in the workplace.
At Avantpage, we pride ourselves on our status as a diverse supplier of language services. Our founder and CEO Luis Miguel Musi started Avantpage with the goal of making public services and healthcare more accessible to residents of the United States who have limited English proficiency. We not only champion diversity in our vendor relationships but also within our internal teams. As of 2023, our workforce comprises 40% Latino/Hispanic employees, and 60% of our leadership positions are held by women. We take pride in being a minority-owned and small business, actively contributing to the economic empowerment of underrepresented communities. Here are just a few ways that working with diverse suppliers can help your organization grow to its fullest potential:

Every year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) release a series of star ratings that patients can use to evaluate the quality of the services that a Medicare Advantage health plan offers.  As a health insurance provider, it’s important to make sure your CMS star rating is in tip top condition. CMS star ratings help patients identify high-quality Medicare health plans, with a five-star rating indicating excellence. If your rating falls below this threshold, not only will patients be less likely to select your plans, but you could face penalties and fines from the CMS.  The CMS calculates its star ratings on a scale of 1 to 5 based on the following factors:  If your CMS star ratings slip or you’re simply looking for new ways to improve your services, it might be a good idea to look into improving your language access plan. Patients with limited English proficiency (LEP) make up a significant proportion of Medicare recipients, and as such, it’s important to make sure you’re serving them effectively if you want to boost your star rating. By offering a diverse range of language access services for LEP patients, you can improve their overall experience with your organization, thereby increasing your CMS star ratings.  Although language access is not factored directly into your CMS star rankings, improving language access can help you perform better on the other measures that the CMS uses to calculate your star rankings. In this blog post, we’ll take a look at how your agency can improve its language access services and, in turn, boost your CMS star rating.  Nearly 10% of the United States’ population has LEP, meaning that they are unable to effectively understand or communicate in English. Research suggests that immigrants — particularly those with LEP — are more likely than their U.S.-born counterparts to be enrolled in Medicare services.   And given that the number of older individuals with LEP is projected to grow significantly over the course of the next 40 years (by 2060, experts predict the number of older LEP immigrants will grow to 22 million, up by 15 million from 2018), it’s important to make sure that you’re able to serve this population just as well as you’re able to serve English speakers.   Patients — regardless of the language that they speak — need to be able to understand their health status and communicate effectively with their healthcare providers and insurance agencies. By offering language access services that improve your organization’s transparency, outreach, and communication with consumers, you can contribute to improved health outcomes for the country’s growing population of individuals with LEP.  Effective CMS Marketing for Multilingual Healthcare Materials A Guide to Finding a Medicare Translation Agency Fast Print & Mail Translations for Health Plans While the CMS won’t take your language access measures into account when developing star ratings, high-quality language access is likely to improve your performance on the measures that they do factor into their star ratings.  In recent years, CMS star ratings have been on a downward trend — more and more providers are performing worse than they have in past years. And that could be because many of them aren’t well-prepared to meet the needs of their patients with LEP.   Let’s take a look at the different factors that go into your CMS star ratings, and how improving language access can help you improve your score on each.  The CMS looks at the mortality rates of patients enrolled in a specific plan when determining their star rankings — the lower your mortality rate, the higher your star rating will be. LEP appears to be a factor that can increase mortality rates — according to a report published in 2016, LEP “was associated with a 31% increased odds of mortality” among patients with sepsis, even after accounting for illness severity, comorbidities and other factors.  While it depends on the type of healthcare issue patients face, making sure they are well-informed about their plan and comfortable seeking out the treatment they need, you can lower the overall mortality rate of your plan. In the case of LEP patients, translating important medical information and offering interpretation services as needed will empower patients to make informed choices about their healthcare.   This measure looks at the rate of serious complications patients can potentially face when seeking treatment, such as surgery site infections or catheter-induced urinary tract infections. Language access may not directly impact this measure, but you should be able to effectively communicate the level of risk patients might face. Additionally, making sure interpreters are available and present either in person or remotely can ensure patients are knowledgeable about the health procedures they’re undergoing, allowing them to make decisions accordingly.  If patients frequently have to return to the hospital after surgeries or health emergencies like heart attacks and stroke, your CMS star rating will go down. Patients with LEP have been shown to have particularly high readmission rates when compared to patients who speak English.   If you’re looking to reduce readmission rates, it’s a good idea to look into whether or not your readmission rates are higher for your LEP patients. If it is, working with a language service provider to improve your language access could be a good first step to improving this measure. In 2017, researchers found that access to interpreters had a significant impact on lowering the readmission rates for patients with LEP, from 17.8% to 13.4%.  CMS star ratings also take the patient reviews into account — if patients aren’t satisfied with the care they’re receiving, it could take your rating down a notch. While it’s true that language access can be a matter of life or death in certain situations, it’s also an important way to make patients feel more comfortable, regardless of the severity of their health situation. LEP patients who have access to high-quality language access services may be more likely to report a positive patient experience, which could give your rating a well-needed boost on this measure.  The longer it takes to give patients effective care, the lower your star rating is likely to be here. And wait times tend to be much longer for patients with LEP than for English-speaking patients: A 2022 study found that folks with LEP spend an average of 31.9 minutes in the waiting room, while English speakers wait just 21.8.  On this measure, interpreters can play a particularly important role — if patients with LEP regularly have to wait for a long time to receive interpreting services, it could delay their access to effective care, ultimately hurting your star rating. Work with a language service provider to make sure interpreting services are available on standby so that you can get them access to an interpreter as soon as possible.  Your CMS star ratings are an important way for patients to understand the quality of care they’re receiving. In order to avoid penalties and fines, it’s important to aim for a five-star rating; considering the unique needs of LEP patients, language access is likely to play an important role in reaching that perfect score.  If you’re looking to improve your language access services and boost your CMS star ratings, Avantpage is here to help. We know how important language access is for LEP patients and are proud to provide specialized translation, interpreting, and localization services for healthcare providers. Contact us today at [email protected] or (530) 750-2040.