Welcome

The Court Consulting Services Division is pleased to welcome you to the website of its newly-established Language Access Services Section (LASS).  LASS provides state courts with resources to overcome language barriers in the courts and to ensure that providing individuals with limited English proficiency with access to the courts is a core function of the courts.

LASS works closely with the Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ) and the Conference of State Court Administrators (COSCA) through the Language Access Advisory Committee (LAAC) and the Council of Language Access Coordinators (CLAC). 

These Web pages are new, and are a work in progress.  We want to hear from you on how we can improve them to better serve you.  We look forward to your communication!

• About Us.   Mission and history of LAAC and CLAC; CLAC state contacts; LASS staff; and NCSC's Language Access Resource Guide.
  
  
• Written and Oral Exam Resources.  All about the examinations: List of exams; testing schedules and fees by state; certification requirements; construction and administration manuals; rater information.
  
  
• Resources for Program Managers. Key components of a successful Language Access program; members-only resources; key access and limited English proficiency publications.
  
  
• Resources for Court Interpreters.   Self-assessment tools, self-study resources, glossaries and dictionaries; colleges and universities that offer interpreter courses; codes of professional responsibility; interpreter events/workshops; compensation and salary information; related websites.
  
  
• Federal Interpreter Exam Resources. LASS administers the Federal Court Interpreter Certification Examination (FCICE), which is offered in the Spanish language. The FCICE website covers all aspects of the federal examination, testing schedule and registration, and fees.
  
  
• CLAC Events. The First Annual CLAC Conference (Invitation only) convened on April 21-24, 2013 in Salem, Mass. Find all the details here.
  
  An online archive of the 2012 National Summit on Language Access in the Courts presentation materials and resources is available at www.ncsc.org/languagesummit