Improving Language Access in Early Childhood Programs

The United States is home to more than 44 million immigrants who enhance the cultural and linguistic diversity of communities across the nation. A majority of U.S. immigrants speak a language other than English at home and just under half are Limited English Proficient (LEP), meaning they do not speak English as their primary language and have a limited ability to understand and communicate in English.

LEP individuals are guaranteed equal access to government services regardless of language proficiency through a federal civil rights requirement. All programs receiving direct or indirect funding from the federal government must adhere to the language access requirement, including early childhood programs.

A recent report by the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) explores language access policies in four major early childhood programs – the Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG), the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting program (MIECHV), Head Start, and state pre-K – and offers suggestions for improvement.

As the authors note, dual language learners (DLLs) make up one-third of children ages zero to five in the United States and even larger shares of the zero to five population in states like California, Texas, and New Jersey. Almost half of all DLLs live in households where at least one parent is considered to be LEP. Dual language learners (DLLs) benefit greatly from high-quality early learning experiences and yet their participation in early childhood programs tends to be lower than non-DLLs. Given these trends, it is important to understand how the implementation of language access policies impacts the participation of LEP families in these programs.

Even though the three federal early childhood programs operate under the same civil rights mandate and guidance from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the report finds that each program has its own statutes and regulations related to language access for LEP families. State pre-K programs receiving federal dollars need to comply with federal language access requirements and may also need to adhere to state-specific language access policies.

The variation in language access policies is compounded by poor and uneven data collection on the participation of DLLs and LEP families in these programs. Analysis of available data suggests that current language access policies do not result in the equitable provision of services. CCDBG has collected data on home languages for the past four years, and the latest Fiscal Year 2020 preliminary data still show close to half of states reporting unspecified or invalid data. There is low participation of DLLs and LEP families in home visiting programs due to low rates of home visitors who speak the same language and share cultural background. Of the 31 state pre-K programs that were able to report children’s home language data, only a quarter were serving a share of DLLs proportionate to their share of the state’s young child population. Head Start is the only program in the report that enrolls a share of DLLs proportionate to the share of DLL children ages zero to five in the nation.

This finding is not surprising considering that Head Start has the most specific language access requirements and guidance around serving DLLs and LEP families. It is the only program that requires reporting on community outreach, translation, interpretation, and other language services provided to families and the early childhood workforce. Programs must submit plans for how they will identify DLLs, hire interpreters and staff, and provide services to ensure language access. It also requires collecting and reporting comprehensive home language data at the program level. The authors posit that this level of oversight is easier in Head Start due to the fact that funding is administered directly to providers. In addition, there is consistency in the services Head Start provides to children and families, irrespective of state or region.

The report makes the case for strengthening language access policies to ensure even and successful implementation. This starts with providing sufficient funding to carry out language access services and including reporting requirements that foster monitoring and accountability. In addition, programs must have ongoing data collection to understand the different languages spoken by DLLs and their families. MPI’s state-level fact sheets provide a starting point for states to understand the barriers DLLs and their families face in enrolling in early childhood programs. However, data should be collected at the program or local level to facilitate targeted language services for less commonly spoken languages and effectively respond to any shifts in language needs.

Because language access is a civil right, providing language access services is not just happening within the early childhood field alone. DLLs speak a diverse range of languages, and agencies should develop regional or community hubs and partner with community-based organizations (CBOs) to offer shared language services. This approach would allow agencies to better meet language access needs specific to geographic areas, coordinate administrative and financial resources across service providers, and more easily reach LEP families through CBOs skilled in culturally and linguistically affirming strategies.

Much more work is necessary to ensure that DLLs and LEP families can apply for and enroll in programs without facing language-related barriers and be full, active participants in programs in the same manner as their English-speaking peers. The report provides actionable recommendations to strengthen existing policies and establish language access services as a foundational component of early childhood programs.

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