The Language Services Collaborative Initiative of Salt Lake County: A Pathway to Ensure Equitable Access to Services for All Residents

Salt Lake County commits to enhance access to services for Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Residents through a ‘Language Services Collaborative Initiative’.

The Utah Department of Health has shown that the estimated population of LEP Residents within the county exceeds 200.000, of which 33% state that they speak English less than “very well.” This lack of English proficiency puts these residents at risk to be underserved by county services.

Led by the Mayor's Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the Initiative is a centralized effort to meet the needs of these residents and provides an impetus for different county departments to identify joint challenges and synergies. The ultimate aim of the Initiative is to improve accessibility of services in the county, regardless of English language proficiency.

Primary objectives:

To align county programs with federal guidelines that prohibit discrimination and that ensure equal access in areas like education, employment, and public services. (e.g. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987).

To ensure that information about county services is accessible, transparent and understandable and in line with e.g. the Federal Plain Writing Act of 2010.

To promote inclusivity by developing strategies that best serve the linguistic diversity of the county's population.