Have you ever wondered what the density of Limited English Proficient individuals LEP individuals in the US is? Are you curious about how other states or counties compare to yours? Do you often wish you had a list of languages in your state and knew how many spoke those languages and hoped that those numbers were easily accessible?
Well, wonder no more! The US Department of Justice’s Federal Coordination and Compliance Section (FCS) just recently developed an Interactive Map App that allows users to scan and download Census data on LEP populations for all 50 states, DC, and Puerto Rico. These maps were created to celebrate the 15th Anniversary of Executive Order 13166.
What’s Executive Order 13166? We’re glad that you’ve asked!
EO13166 is the order signed by US President Bill Clinton in 2000, called “Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency.” It requires federal agencies to provide meaningful access to federally conducted programs and activities. It also issues guidance to recipients of federal financial assistance so those services can also provide meaningful access to LEP individuals. Both Presidents Bush and Obama have reaffirmed this Executive Order.
So What Exactly Can These Maps Do?
You can look at the entire country and see the density of LEP individuals by state:
You can also see the percentage and count of LEP population per state by language:
Want More Maps?
It’s your lucky day! Use this website to create your own maps! For example, you can see the LEP individuals and what languages they speak by county and compare it to other counties in the nearby region for your state:
Great Tools & Research for Your Language Access Department
The maps above are great tools to stay on top of trends and provide the best language support for LEP individuals who seek care in your community.
To learn more about LEP language trends over the past 50 years, read our blog post here.
