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:

Each funding cycle, 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.

In May 2026, DDS issued additional guidance for the LACCP program, which included transitioning into a two-year plan cycle. See TCRC’s plan details below:

LACCP Plan Fiscal Years 2026/2028

Project Duration

July 1, 2026-June 30, 2028

Allocation Amount

$1,111,356.00

Project Summary:

Tri-Counties Regional Center is enhancing its Language Access and Cultural Competency through community partnerships, targeted surveys, improved language access and culturally responsive outreach. Efforts include providing on-demand interpretation for Mixteco-speaking families, hosting bilingual and multicultural resource fairs, expanding language access through ASL and Spanish training for providers and clinical staff, access to information through Spanish and ASL podcasts with community partners, and continuing to provide monthly orientations and workshops for families and individuals served in multiple languages. Staff will also complete a train the trainer program in Cultural Humility to strengthen internal capacity and improve equitable service delivery.

Approved Project Activities:

• Strengthen internal capacity with key LACC staff, including a Training Coordinator, Multicultural and Outreach Specialists, and Program Assistant.
• Conduct culturally appropriate interpretations and translations for diverse communities
• Conduct culturally responsive Listening Sessions and Public Meetings for diverse communities
• Conduct quarterly New Family Orientations for Spanish speaking community
• Organize and host a multilingual resource fair within TCRC’s catchment area to provide information regarding regional center and generic services available to the community
• Organize a Spanish and Mixteco language Early Start advertisement campaign (social media, radio, etc.) to provide information around Early Start services and how to request an assessment from the regional center
• Develop and produce LACC-related materials for planned events to effectively disseminate information to diverse communities
• Plan and implement a recorded webinar project in a variety of languages to provide information around regional center and community resources in an easy to understand format
• Partner with CBO to conduct survey of Vietnamese speaking community to understand needs, experiences and determine how to improve access to services
• Partner with CBO to conduct survey of Mixteco speaking community to understand needs, experiences and determine how to improve access to services
• Organize and host, in collaboration with the ASL shop, four (4) co-horts of ASL classes for providers to increase capacity to serve those who communicate in ASL
• Certify two staff through a train-the-trainer program in Cultural Humility to build capacity to deliver training to internal staff and service providers
• Organize and host monthly in-person Spanish workshops providing information on regional center and community services as well as person centered practices

Ethnicities/Cultures of Focus

Native American (Chumash), Chinese, Filipino, Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Hispanic, LGBTQIA+, Mixteco (Also including Purepecha and Zapotec speaking communities), Vietnamese

Languages of Focus

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

To Review Tri-Counties Regional Center’s detailed LACC plan, click below

TCRC LACC Plan 2026-2028

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.