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Missoula County adopts language-access policy to expand interpretation and translation services
Summary
The Missoula County Board approved a language-access policy to ensure interpretation and translation services for people with limited English proficiency and Deaf or hard-of-hearing residents, and to guide departments on when to use authorized interpreters versus ad-hoc solutions such as family members or machine translation.
Missoula County commissioners approved a language-access policy that commits county departments to providing interpretation and translation services for community members with limited English proficiency and for residents who are Deaf or hard of hearing.
A county staff member presenting the policy said it outlines when to use authorized interpreters and when informal resources such as family members or machine translation (for example, Google Translate) may be appropriate. The presenter said the policy also provides guidance to departments on how to set up services and noted the county already contracts with a vendor referred to as Multilingual Technologies and that some departments continue to use a language line service.
"This policy just commits us to ensuring that all of our community members can access services, particularly, making sure that we have interpretation and translation services for those who have limited English proficiency or deaf or hard of hearing," the staff member said.
A commissioner moved to approve the policy and a second followed. The board approved the policy by voice vote; the chair called the vote "all in favor, aye." The presentation did not include an implementation timetable or a departmental roll-out schedule during the meeting; those details were not specified.
The policy language presented emphasizes using authorized interpreters for most formal or sensitive interactions and limiting use of family members or machine-translation tools to informal situations, though the text presented at the meeting did not list specific exceptions or a formal escalation process.
