Maryland Department of Juvenile Justice Awards Contract to NFLC

Monday, July 16, 2001

The Maryland Department of Juvenile Justice has awarded the National Foreign Language Center a contract to assist in the assessment of the impact of Low English Proficiency (LEP) clients on the Department. The project will also entail NFLC assistance to the Department in the development and implementation of policies for LEP access to juvenile justice in the State of Maryland. This Maryland initiative is in response to Presidential Executive Order 13166 of August 11, 2000, ?Improving Access to Services for Persons With Limited English Proficiency,? which mandates that all recipients of federal funding ensure access to LEP citizens and residents.

Richard Brecht, Director of the NFLC, observed that ?with this project, the State of Maryland has taken the lead nationwide in addressing language and justice. This project will serve a vulnerable population in Maryland, and will provide important insights into the crucial intersection between the judicial system and language policy.? In conducting the project, the NFLC will team with the Maryland Justice Analysis Center (MJAC), a research unit of the University of Maryland. Direction of the project will be in the hands of Dr. Claire Souryal, Deputy Director of the MJAC, and William Rivers, Associate for Language Policy at the NFLC.