The Language Justice Career Pathways seeks to expand the number of qualified interpreters who can provide interpretation and translation services to immigrant communities in California. California is the most multilingual state in the nation, with over 200 spoken languages and sign languages, and with 44 percent of Californians speaking a non-English language at home. Trained and qualified interpreters enable access to critical legal, health care, educational, and other services and empower immigrant communities to make their voices heard in local-decision making.   

However, few interpreter-training programs are available to aspiring interpreters who speak languages other than Spanish. Such programs are rarely available to under-resourced communities. With a third to half of California’s farm workers speaking an Indigenous Mexican language, the lack of accessible interpreter training is silencing some of our most marginalized communities. The Language Justice Career Pathway seeks to increase the number of qualified interpreters to better serve marginalized immigrant communities across California.