Expanding language access is of vital importance to Asian American, Pacific Islander, and a wide range of communities with limited English proficiency in New Jersey, with the potential to help hundreds of thousands of New Jerseyans understand what they need to do in emergencies, access critical government services, seek the protection of the law, and more. Nearly 18 months since the passage of New Jersey’s historic language access law, what have state agencies done to expand language access, and what remains to be done?
To answer these questions, AAPI New Jersey was proud to lead other members of the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice in creating the first progress report tracking language access implementation in New Jersey. The report includes an overview of progress by key state agencies in hiring language access coordinators, publishing language access plans, translating documents, and providing interpretation services; includes a spotlight on the availability of vital documents in target languages; and shares recommendations from our coalition on the resources and strategies needed to help state agencies catch up with the law’s implementation timeline.
Our next Language Access Progress Report will be published in 2026, and we invite state agencies to share updates with us via advocacy@aapinewjersey.org.
