What is LACCP:
The Language Access and Cultural Competency Plan initiative is funded for regional centers to improve and promote language access and cultural competency. The 2020-21 Budget Act included $16.7 million in ongoing funding for this initiative. The primary purpose of these funds is to improve individual and family experience and to facilitate more consistent access to information and services for multi-lingual, monolingual, and diverse cultural groups receiving services from regional centers.

Welfare and Institutions Code §4620.4 requires that the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) implement this initiative through its contracts with regional centers.

For additional details regarding LACC funding, please visit the Department of Developmental Services LACC page.

Why it matters:
All regional centers have data on who we serve including what languages they prefer and which ethnic groups individuals identify as. This data is based on individual reporting. Historically, we have seen large variances in the amount and types of services different cultural groups access.

To truly be person-centered in all we do, we need to better understand who we are supporting and what their needs are. The LACCP provides the funding we need to learn about our community and then provide services that are linguistically and culturally relevant to all individuals supported by TCRC.

How will the Language Access and Cultural Competency Plan be implemented:

Every year, TCRC determines which projects will be funded by the LACCP funding using input from the community, service providers, and TCRC staff. Completion of these projects is monitored by TCRC’s Service Access and Equity team, which reports back to TCRC leadership on a regular basis. The total allocation amount is determined by the amount of threshold languages each regional center has.

LACCP Plan Fiscal Year 25/26

Project Duration

July 1, 2025-June 30, 2026

Allocation Amount

$562,920.62

Project Summary:

Tri-Counties Regional Center is enhancing its Language Access and Cultural Competency through community partnerships, targeted surveys, and culturally responsive outreach. Efforts include assessing the needs of Mixteco-speaking families, hosting bilingual resource fairs, expanding access to information through Spanish and ASL videos, and offering ASL training for providers. Staff will also complete DEI and cultural competency certifications to strengthen internal capacity and improve equitable service delivery.

Approved Project Activities:

• Strengthen internal capacity with key LACC staff, including a Training Director, Training Coordinator, Multicultural and Outreach Specialists.
• Collaborate with Kinetic Flow to administer a Languages & Cultures Family Survey to evaluate the long-term impact of LACC initiatives.
• Conduct orientations, workshops and outreach events for diverse communities to increase understanding of Regional Center information and services.
• Contract with ASL Shop to offer American Sign Language classes for day program staff to enhance support for the Deaf+ community.
• Partner with Amigo Baby, Family Resource Centers and MICOP to host two Child Development Fairs for the Mixteco community.
• Provide interpretation in American Sign Language, Mixteco and Spanish at meetings, ensure culturally sensitive translation of Regional Center materials.
• Work with Kinetic Flow, Herencia Indigena and MICOP to survey the Mixteco community on their experiences and barriers to service access.

Ethnicities/Cultures of Focus

American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black/African American, Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Hispanic, LGBTQIA+, Mixteco, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

Languages of Focus

American Sign Language (ASL), Mixteco, Spanish, Other (Indigenous Languages)

FAQs about LACCP:

What is “culturally and linguistically appropriate/responsive”?
Being respectful and responsive to an individual’s culture and communication needs by accounting for cultural belief, preferred language, literacy level and communication needs.

What is a threshold language?
A “threshold language” is designated when 50+ individuals have reported the same primary language.

What is a cultural group?
A group of diverse individuals who share a core set of beliefs, patterns of behavior, and values. The groups may be large or small and they are identified by their ways of thinking and behaving.

What is the difference between ethnicity and cultural?
Ethnicity is a social group sharing a common origin. Cultural can be defined as belonging to a group that shares traditions, customs, values, a common language, etc.

Is DDS requiring regional centers to do this?
Yes. The Department is requiring regional centers to annually submit a Language Access and Cultural Competency Plan that includes strategies to address each of the following:

1. Identification of vital documents and internet website content for translation, as well as points of public contact in need of oral and sign language interpretation services.
2. Specialized orientations and group and family information sessions to locally identified linguistic and cultural groups (LGBTQ+, Mixteco, indigenous communities) with ample and publicized question and answer periods, scheduled at times considered most convenient for working families and in consultation with community leaders.
3. Regular and periodic community language needs assessments to determine threshold languages for document translation.
4. Coordination and streamlining of interpretation and translation
5. Implementation of internal and external quality control measures to ensure the availability, accuracy, readability, and cultural appropriateness of translations.