U.S. Department
of Justice
Language Access Program
About the Program
The Department of Justice’s Language Access Program directly supports components in providing public safety, immigration enforcement, and law enforcement. The Program fulfills legally mandated functions and provides training, technical assistance, subject matter expertise, and resources to help components overcome language barriers, ensuring effective communication and mission success.
By providing language access and services to components, the program removes barriers that could hinder the successful execution of component mission and daily responsibilities in law enforcement, prosecutorial, public safety, and national security. Language services include spoken language services, written translation, American Sign Language, and auxiliary aids for people who have communication disabilities.
What We Do
The core functions of the Language Access Program are:
- Compliance with Language Access and Effective Communication Statutes and Regulations: We provide critical technical assistance, training, coordination to all DOJ components to implement language services necessary to achieve the Department’s law enforcement, prosecutorial, and national security missions.
- Component Language Access Guidance and Oversight: We advise and assist DOJ components in overcoming language barriers and providing language services to effectively carry out their missions and daily responsibilities.
- Language Services and Resources: We connect components with language services and provide direct translation support to all DOJ components. We have worked with over 60 offices, including 41 United States Attorneys’ Offices, in translating printed and digital content into over 35 languages.
- Training and Technical Assistance: We develop and manage language access resources and chair the DOJ Language Access Working Group, comprised of representatives from all components, to provide training on language access topics, share best practices and resources, discuss barriers and solutions to support component missions.
Office for Access to Justice
Language Access Program
DOJ_LanguageAccess@usdoj.gov