Limited-English Proficiency (LEP) Materials and Resources

Translated Materials

Translated Judicial Council Forms

Bilingual and/or Translated Court websites

Effective programs

Tools for Providing Services to LEP Litigants

Multi-lingual glossaries

Interpreter and Translator resources

National LEP Resources

Online translation tools

Language Access Reference Materials

Translated Materials

Informational and instructional materials translated by California superior courts

Translated Court Publications by the Superior Court of California, County of Sacramento. Includes materials regarding domestic violence, family law, juvenile dependency, traffic and unlawful detainers in, among others, Hmong, Korean, Lao, Russian, Samoan, Spanish, Tongan, Ukrainian and Urdu.

Translated Judicial Council Forms

Domestic violence forms Chinese | Spanish | Korean | Vietnamese

Bilingual and/or Translated Court websites

Court	Spanish	Chinese	Korean	Vietnamese	Russian
Cal. Courts	California Courts Self-Help Center
Los Angeles	Website translation project
Fresno	Spanish Self-help Center (Recursos Legales)
Santa Clara	Self-help Center			Self-help Center
Riverside	Self-help center

Effective programs

“Tip of the Day” Radio Program
Developed by the Superior Court of California, County of Ventura.

Assisting Court Customers with Educational and Self-Help Services (ACCESS)
Implemented in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco.

Spanish Resource Guide to Fresno Superior Court . A Spanish resource guide to the court’s self-help services and jury services published and distributed to 42,000 subscribers inside an issue of Vida en El Valle, the largest Spanish-language newspaper in the Fresno area.

Welcome from Court Staff – Video (Available in English, Spanish, Korean, Mandarin, Punjabi and Tagalog.) (prepared by the Superior Court of Contra Costa ).

Tools for Providing Services to LEP Litigants

Tools for Dealing with Cross-cultural communication Issues (prepared for the California Conference on Self-Represented Litigants).

English/Spanish glossary (prepared by the Superior Court of California, County of Imperial )

Resources for providing services to LEP litigants (prepared for the California Conference on Self-Represented Litigants).

Comparisons between two legal systems (Mexico and U.S.) (prepared by the Superior Court of California, County of Imperial ).

Cultural Competence in a Hotline (prepared by Bay Area Legal Aid http://www.baylegal.org/ for the California Conference on Self-Represented Litigants).

Expanding Legal Services: Providing Services to LEP Asians and Pacific Islanders (prepared by the Asian Pacific American Legal Center ).

Providing Services to LEP Asian and Pacific Islander Litigants (prepared by the Asian Pacific American Legal Center < http://apalc.org/> for the California Conference on Self-Represented Litigants).

Borderland Justice: Working With Culture in Courts Along the US/Mexico Border by John A. Martin, Jose Guillen and Diane Altamirano (March 16, 2007)

Fact Sheet: Domestic Violence-Family Law Interpreter Program (May 2007). Prepared by the Administrative Office of the Courts.

Multi-lingual glossaries

Legal Glossaries
In 11 languages, developed by the Superior Court of California, County of Sacramento.

Supreme Court of Arizona Glossary of Legal Terms

Spanish Language Style Guide and Glossaries for U.S. Government Web Sites
A resource on language use and terminology for Web managers dealing with websites in Spanish and/or Spanish language contractors.

Translating Justice: A Spanish Glossary for New York City . An English-to-Spanish language resource for interpreters and bilingual staff in New York City’s courts, justice agencies, and nonprofit organizations. Prepared by the Vera Institute for Justice .

Translating Justice: A Traditional Chinese Glossary for New York City . An English-to-Chinese language resource for interpreters and bilingual staff in New York City’s courts, justice agencies, and nonprofit organizations. Prepared by the Vera Institute for Justice .

Interpreter and Translator resources

Court Interpreters Program
Includes a database of Certified and Registered court interpreters.

American Translators Association
Provides information on over 9,500 translators and interpreters.

Fact Sheet: Domestic Violence-Family Law Interpreter Program (May 2007). Prepared by the Administrative Office of the Courts.

National LEP Resources

LEP.gov
Clearinghouse for LEP information and tools developed by the Federal government.

Language Assistance Self-Assessment and Planning Tool for Recipients of Federal Financial Assistance
A planning and self-assessment tool to assist in planning efforts to ensure programs have meaningful access for limited English proficient individuals.

Commonly Asked Questions and Answers
Information regarding Executive Order 13166.

“I Speak Cards”
In 38 languages to assist LEP individuals to identify the language they speak.

Breaking Down the Language Barrier
Video training tool provided by the Department of Justice. For extra copies, contact the Civil Rights Division’s Coordination and Review Selection at (2020) 307-2222 or via e-mail at crt.lep@usdoj.gov. This video can be viewed with the Real Player application.

Online translation tools

These translation tools sometimes provide inaccurate translations, and should be used only as a first step in translating simple sentences, words, and concepts. Though they can be of help in communicating with LEP customers, they should not be the only means of providing this assistance and should be reviewed and corrected by a speaker of the target language.

• http://www.freetranslation.com
  Translation available between English and: Italian, Dutch, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Chinese.
  
  
• http://translation2.paralink.com/
  Translation available between English and: French, German, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.
  
  
• http://world.altavista.com/
  Translation available between English and: Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Portuguese, and Spanish.
  
  
• http://www.worldlingo.com/en/products_services/worldlingo_translator.html
  Translation available between Englsih and all langues listed in Altavista above.
  
  
• http://www.babblefish.com/babblefish/
  Babblefish.com specializes in language translation and money conversion.
  
  
• http://www.aslpro.com/cgi-bin/aslpro/phrases
  Translation and dictionary between English and American Sign Language
  
  
• http://www.world.altavista.com/
  Web resource with translation links for multiple languages
  
  

Language Access Reference Materials

2005 Language Need and Interpreter Use Study

State Bar’s List of Published Reports – 2005 on language access

APAL’s 2006, California Speaks: Language Diversity and English Proficiency by Legislative District

Language Barriers to Justice in California: A Report of the California Commission on Access to Justice

Action Plan for Justice: A Report of the California Commission on Access to Justice (April 2007)