Supported by SJI, the New Mexico Center for Language Access at the Administrative Office of the Courts, initiated and developed a portal for obtaining language access training in the courts. The Language Access Basic Training (LABT) Suite consists of interactive modules that provide introduction to language access for both monolingual and bilingual court staff. The training provides court staff with a basic understanding of their ethical and legal obligations, as well as current best practices in serving limited English proficient and non-English speaking individuals. LABT also provides training modules and an optional skills assessment for bilingual court staff. Outside of New Mexico, Alaska, Pennsylvania, and Nevada are top users of the LABT Suite, having trained several hundred court staff. New Mexico has used the training for its language access specialists and bilingual judiciary staff certified to provide language access services outside the courtroom. Other states have expressed interest in incorporating this online training into their overall training and education programs.

Individual courts staff and entire courts are eligible to access the LABT Suite for a low cost ($15.00 – $35.00/user based on the total number of users), and the Bilingual Skills Assessment is also available. Courts interested in customizing the experience for their employees may also explore this option by contacting the LABT administrator. To learn more about the LABT Suite, including training topics, computer software and hardware requirements, and the time necessary to complete each module, please review the website which contains demos of some of the training module content.