Government / Documents & Resources / Accessibility / Language Access Program

LANGUAGE ACCESS PROGRAM / PROGRAMA DE ACCESO LINGÜÍSTICO

The City of Concord is committed to providing accessibility to persons whose dominant, only, and/or primary language is something other than English, and to improving and increasing access to City-operated programs and services.

The City of Concord has been accepted into Institute for the Study of the Americas’ Local Government Language Access Collaborative, in partnership with El Puente Hispano, an active non-profit organization dedicated to furthering Hispanics in the area. Through this program, our City-Community team of 7 will learn promising practices, conduct an assessment to gauge current offerings and opportunities, and draft/implement a language access plan.

The team will focus on expanding our Spanish language offerings, but also aim to include other languages based on community need.

Our progress can be tracked through this webpage and El Puente Hispano’s newsletter, Conéctate Cabarrus.

La Ciudad de Concord está comprometida a proporcionar acceso a información y recursos a las personas cuyo idioma predominante, único y/o primario no es el inglés y a mejorar y aumentar el acceso a los programas y servicios que la Ciudad brinda.

La Ciudad de Concord ha sido aceptada en el programa de Colaboración para el Acceso al Idioma de los Gobiernos Locales del Instituto para el Estudio de las Américas en asociación con El Puente Hispano, una activa organización sin ánimo de lucro dedicada a promover el desarrollo de los hispanos en la zona. A través de este programa, el equipo comunitario de la Ciudad, compuesto por 7 personas, aprenderá prácticas prometedoras, llevará a cabo una evaluación para analizar lo que ya se ofrece y las oportunidades disponibles actualmente y creará e implementará un plan de acceso lingüístico.

El equipo se concentrará en ampliar los recursos lingüísticos en español, pero también aspira incluir otros idiomas basados en las necesidades de la comunidad.

Nuestro progreso se puede seguir a través de esta página web y el boletín de El Puente Hispano, Conéctate Cabarrus.

 

Adopted Language Access Plan

Project Updates / Progreso del Proyecto

What's the LACP? Plus, Get to Know Our Team!

4/20/2023 1:41:00 PM

The City of Concord is joined by eight other teams from across the state of North Carolina as participants in UNC-Chapel Hill’s Local Government Language Access Program (LACP). The program is an interactive year-long course designed to guide local governments as they build a framework that will increase language access and strengthen communication between local governments and residents in community languages.

The City of Concord is growing, according to the latest data released by the U.S. Census Bureau, Concord now holds the title for the tenth largest city in North Carolina and is one of fastest growing cities in the state and region. As Concord grows, so does its immigrant and refugee population from Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Asia. As we strive to meet the dynamic service demands of our growing population we want to continue to prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts within our city. We believe that by creating and implementing a comprehensive language access plan we can improve the quality of service to our residents who are not predominantly English speakers, increase their civic engagement, and encourage a sense of belonging in our community.

There is substantial internal support and external demand to develop lasting multilingual communications tools and set permanent language assistance practices. Additionally, the City of Concord’s partnership history with El Puente Hispano has prepared us for the partnership opportunity that is being offered through the LACP. Since 2017, the City of Concord and El Puente Hispano staff have built strong relationships through a multitude of projects and events to reach the Hispanic community within Concord. The aspiration to establish consistent inclusive communication and resources for our Spanish-speaking residents is long-standing but the implementation has been gradual. The LACP will offer guidance and support for the City of Concord to meet our community’s goals from the conception of ideas and their implementation.

LACP is a collaborative effort between the City of Concord and El Puente’s leadership. Our team is made up of 7 colleagues dedicated to expanding language access and justice in Concord, NC.

City of Concord:


Jaime Brown, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Strategist


Dave Buskey, Parks & Rec Program Supervisor


Tammy Linn, Customer Service Manager

(Not Pictured)
Taylor Morris, Parks & Rec Program Coordinator

El Puente Hispano:


Sandra Torres, President

(Not Pictured)
Natalie Marles, Vice President

 

Key Terms and Concepts

Bilingual: A person who is fluent in two or more languages. Someone who is bilingual may be able to perform their own job in both languages, but they may not be trained or qualified to interpret or translate.

Qualified Interpreter/Translator: “An individual who has been assessed for professional skills, demonstrates a high level of proficiency in at least two languages, and has the appropriate training and experience to interpret with skill and accuracy while adhering to the National Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice.”11 This is different than a certified interpreter or translator, who has taken additional steps to meet the requirements and pass the exams of a certifying body for their specific profession (e.g. Certified Medical Interpreter or Certified Court Interpreter).

 

Language Access: providing individuals who dominant, only, and/or primary language is something other than English reasonable and meaningful access to the same services as individuals who speak English; also refers to the laws and policies that guarantee people access to written, verbal, or visual materials or services in their preferred languages.

 

Language Justice: a framework that respects every individual’s fundamental language rights—to be able to communicate, understand, and be understood in the language in which they prefer and feel most articulate and powerful; challenges the idea that English is the dominant language and highlights historical and current power dynamics; questions the notion that not speaking English is a deficiency and honors that speaking all languages is an important part of a community’s power

 

Translation: The process of adapting written text from one language to other language(s), with consistent and accurate meanings. A finished document should read as if it has originally been written in the target language for the target audience.

Interpretation: The process of adapting oral speech from one language to another, either simultaneously or delayed (consecutive), without loss or change in meaning. An interpreter must be competent and have knowledge in both languages of the relevant terms or concepts particular to the program or activity and the dialect and terminology used by the individual has limited english proficency. Interpreter competency requires more than self-identification as bilingual.