Standards and Procedures of the Office of Language Access: Section 3.00: Office of Language Access (OLA)

Section 3.00 of the 2024 Standards and Procedures of the Office of Language Access

3.01 The Executive Office of the Trial Court (EOTC)

The Executive Office of the Trial Court is the Massachusetts court system’s administrative office that centralizes functions and standards that are fundamental in fostering effective court management and widespread benefit to the Trial Court.

• (A) The Chief Justice of the Trial Court (CJTC) and the Trial Court Administrator (CA) manage and administer the Trial Court of Massachusetts in accordance with G.L. c. 211B.
• (B) The EOTC oversees the Office of Court Management (OCM), which is made up of a number of departments. The Office of Access, Diversity and Fairness (OADF) resides within OCM.
• (C) OLA is a department under OADF.
   

3.02 The Office of Language Access (OLA)

The Office of Language Access, situated within OADF, is responsible for coordinating and allocating interpreters to requesting courts, maintaining an appropriate pool of interpreters, and managing the quality of their services.

• (A) OLA’s Director and Deputy Director (“OLA Management”) provide overall supervision of the statewide interpreter services program, which includes: recommending, planning, setting, and executing policy; addressing personnel matters; preparing budgets and spending analyses; overseeing the daily operations of OLA; and serving as liaison between OLA and the courts, and other agencies involved in interpreter services. OLA’s Director and Deputy Director serve as coordinators of court interpreter services. The Director reports to and receives direction from the Chief Access, Diversity and Fairness Officer or a designee in performing duties in accordance with best management practices and established guidelines.
• (B) The Manager for Professional Development (“Professional Development Manager”) is responsible for the development and administration of training, continuing education, evaluation and certification and recruitment of court interpreters. The Professional Development Manager is also responsible for outreach and collaboration with the court departments to share training resources for both court interpreters and court personnel and recruiting and screening court interpreters. Finally, the Professional Development Manager ensures that court interpreters are trained, meet all language proficiency standards, and follow the Code of Professional Conduct as set forth in Section 4 of these Standards and Procedures. The Regional Coordinators are responsible for overseeing that court events are covered and for supervising and providing oversight to interpreters in various court departments and divisions within a specific region. Regional Coordinators serve as interpreters and are also the point of contact for the Language Access Liaisons in that region.

3.03 Language Access Liaison

The Language Access Liaison is the local point of contact between OLA and the court departments for language access.

• (A) The clerk or register of each department and division shall designate the Language Access Liaison and at least one back-up. The clerk or register shall provide OLA with the names, telephone numbers, and email addresses of the Language Access Liaison and the back-up and advise OLA of any changes in designations.
• (B) Language Access Liaisons shall:

1. request court interpreters as soon as the need is known;
2. ensure all requests for court interpreters are made through MassCourts;
3. communicate cancellations or postponements to OLA on a timely basis; and
4. check the weekly schedule for any inconsistencies or issues and promptly inform OLA of any updates.

• The Language Access Liaison or his/her designee shall oversee the required language access needs of the court location and be available to answer inquiries from OLA Regional Coordinators and OLA scheduling department about requests and assignments. The Language Access Liaison shall share information about language access resources with colleagues and communicate with others within a courthouse facility to effectively deploy interpreter services and resources.
• (C) OLA shall establish guidelines for Language Access Liaisons and the back-up liaisons to follow when scheduling interpreters for court events.

3.04 Committee for the Administration of Interpreters

The Committee for the Administration of Interpreters for the Trial Court (“the Committee”) was established pursuant to G.L. c. 221C, § 7.

• (A) The Committee consists of the Chief Justice of the Trial Court, who is the statutory chair of the Committee and may designate an acting chair from time to time, as well as the Chief Justice of the District Court and/or his/her designee, one other District Court Judge and one clerk-magistrate appointed by the Chief Justice of the District Court, a Superior Court Judge and a clerk or assistantclerk of the Superior Court appointed by the Chief Justice of the Superior Court Department, a Judge of the Probate and Family Court Department appointed by the Chief Justice of the Probate and Family Court Department and one other Judge or clerk-magistrate appointed by the Chief Justice of the Trial Court. The Chief Justice of the Trial Court may add additional members as needed.
• (B) The Committee advises the Chief Justice of the Trial Court and the Court Administrator on interpreter matters such as the statewide expansion of services using proficient, or certified interpreters, the consolidation and effective use of court interpreter resources, the schedule for compensation for court interpreters, and other related issues. The Committee periodically reviews and revises these Standards and Procedures to ensure compliance with the United States Constitution, the Massachusetts Constitution, Massachusetts and federal law, to implement best practices and to ensure that LEP and DHH court users are provided with language access.