Two of the five East North Central states now write language access for state services into statute. Michigan’s Meaningful Language Access to State Services Act took effect on February 28, 2024, and Illinois’s Language Equity and Access Act on August 2, 2024. Ohio, Indiana and Wisconsin have no comparable law, so duties there come from federal rules, court rules and local plans. This guide answers the questions a program manager asks first: who the new acts cover, what they require you to translate and interpret, and when plans and reports fall due.
Michigan’s act covers state departments and agencies, in force since February 28, 2024
The act applies to a covered entity, which it defines as a state department, agency or entity (MCL 37.21). It was enacted as 2023 Public Act 241, and a companion law, 2023 Public Act 242, makes the Office of Global Michigan the coordinator (Michigan procedure 1660.01).
Cities, counties, school districts and private hospitals are not covered entities. The state’s procedure for the act, issued on June 10, 2025, names a second group, state funded entities: the contractors, grantees and subrecipients that deliver a department’s programs. The state commits to monitoring compliance across its departments, agencies and funded entities (procedure 1660.01). A contractor delivering a state program should ask how the department’s plan applies to its work.
Illinois’s act covers agencies that answer to the Governor, and reaches their vendors and grantees through contracts
Illinois defines a state agency as an executive agency, department, board, commission or authority directly responsible to the Governor (Public Act 103-0723). The Governor’s Office of New Americans counts 49 agencies, boards and commissions that meet the definition (Language Equity and Access Status Report, July 2025).
The act reaches further through purchasing. It directs the Office of New Americans to incorporate language equity compliance provisions in state contracts with vendors, grantees and purchase-of-care entities (Public Act 103-0723). A nonprofit or provider that delivers an Illinois program under a state contract should look for those terms in its agreements.
Vital documents are translated at 3% or 500 people in Michigan, and at 5% or 1,000 in Illinois
Michigan’s threshold works at two levels. A covered entity translates the vital documents it ordinarily provides to the public into every language spoken by a population with limited English proficiency that makes up 3% or more of the population in its area. It also translates into every language spoken by 3% or more of the people a local office serves, or by 500 or more of them even when that is under 3% (MCL 37.22). Vital documents include applications, outreach materials and written notices of rights, denials, losses or decreases in benefits or services (MCL 37.21).
Illinois counts differently. An agency translates vital documents when more than 1,000 people with limited English proficiency are in the population it serves, or when they make up more than 5% of it. Where fewer than 50 people reach the 5% threshold, the agency instead gives written notice in their primary language of the right to free oral interpretation of those documents. Vital documents are materials that affect a person’s access to, retention of, termination of or exclusion from services or benefits, or that the law requires (Public Act 103-0723).
The scale is large: Illinois counts 1.0 million residents who speak English less than “very well”, and eleven languages with more than 10,000 limited-English speakers each (Language Equity and Access Status Report).
Interpreting has no threshold: both acts require competent oral language services at no cost
Michigan requires oral language services face to face, in house or by telephone, from people and means with demonstrated competency in the language. A relative, friend or bystander does not meet the requirement, though a person may bring an interpreter of their own choosing at their own expense (MCL 37.22). A covered entity may not charge for oral language services or translation (MCL 37.23).
The state’s procedure makes this operational: departments keep an over-the-phone interpretation service for frontline staff, use qualified in-person interpreters from vetted providers, and do not use minors, family or friends as interpreters unless the person, offered a trained interpreter, asks for an adult family member or friend and signs a waiver (procedure 1660.01).
Illinois requires each agency’s plan to show how it provides competent, timely translation and interpretation to anyone seeking its information, services, programs or activities, and defines meaningful access as accurate, timely and effective communication at no cost to the person (Public Act 103-0723).
Read together, the two acts set population thresholds for translation only. The counts decide which documents are translated in advance. They do not decide who gets an interpreter: in both states the interpreting duty runs to every person with limited English proficiency who seeks the service.
Plans, coordinators and reports fall due on a fixed cycle in both states
Each Michigan covered entity names a language access liaison who reports to the Office of Global Michigan’s statewide coordinator (MCL 37.22). At least every two years it reports to that office on its bilingual staff, the vital documents it has translated, and its training and public awareness plans. The training plan must say how staff will collect preferred-language data for every public encounter, flag limited English proficiency in data systems, and make sure interpreters and translators are competent (MCL 37.24). The state’s procedure asked for draft plans by October 1, 2024, translated signs and service summaries by October 1, 2025, and an annual progress report (procedure 1660.01).
Each Illinois agency names a Language Access Coordinator and files a public plan describing the population it serves, its actions and its metrics, reporting the previous fiscal year’s performance after the first one (Public Act 103-0723). First drafts were due to the Office of New Americans by May 2, 2025, and every agency had filed one by July (Language Equity and Access Status Report).
The first annual Language Equity and Access Compliance Report is due to the General Assembly by December 31, 2026, and every December 31 after that. For each agency it reports the interpretation and translation services bought from vendors, by type and language, and the complaints filed (Public Act 103-0723). A vendor serving an Illinois agency should be ready to supply that data for each state fiscal year.
Hospitals follow the federal Section 1557 rule in every state, and Illinois adds its own law
Neither new act reaches private hospitals. In all five states, health programs that receive federal financial assistance from the Department of Health and Human Services follow the Section 1557 rule (45 CFR 92.2). Language assistance must be free, accurate and timely, from a qualified interpreter or a qualified translator, and machine translation of text critical to a patient’s rights, benefits or access must be reviewed by a qualified human translator. A patient may not be required to bring or pay for an interpreter, and a minor child may interpret only as a temporary measure in an emergency (45 CFR 92.201).
Illinois hospitals, nursing homes and certain other licensed facilities also follow the Language Assistance Services Act. For spoken languages, its duties attach to a primary language spoken by at least 5% of the patients a facility serves each year (210 ILCS 87/10). Each facility keeps a policy for providing interpreters, reviews it and files it with the Department of Public Health every year, posts notices of interpreter services at the emergency room, admitting area, entrance and outpatient area, and trains staff to reach them (210 ILCS 87/15).
Ohio, Indiana and Wisconsin have no state-services act, so federal law, court rules and local plans set the duties
Ohio, Indiana and Wisconsin have not passed a comparable law for state services, though agencies write their own plans: Ohio’s Department of Job and Family Services runs a language access program with a named coordinator (Ohio Department of Job and Family Services). Federal law, court rules and local plans carry the duties here, and in Michigan and Illinois they apply alongside the new acts, which cover neither courts nor local governments.
Title VI binds every federally funded program in all five states
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 bars national-origin discrimination in programs that receive federal financial assistance. The Justice Department rescinded its 2002 guidance on limited English proficiency on March 21, 2025. It also said recipients have a continuing obligation to comply with Title VI, and that denying language assistance can be evidence of national-origin discrimination in certain circumstances (Department of Justice notice, April 15, 2025). The Department of Homeland Security rescinded its 2011 guidance effective July 14, 2026, noting that language assistance may still be required (Department of Homeland Security notice).
The regulations have narrowed too. The Justice Department removed disparate-impact liability from its Title VI regulations effective December 10, 2025, and the Department of Health and Human Services did the same effective July 24, 2026 (Justice Department rule; HHS rule). For a state agency in Michigan or Illinois, the state statute is now the more specific source of its duties.
Each state’s courts run their own interpreter rules
Courts sit outside both new acts, so interpreting in court follows each judiciary’s own rules. Credentials belong to individual interpreters, so ask which credentialed interpreter will appear.
Ohio renumbered its court interpreter rules on July 1, 2026 (Supreme Court of Ohio, rules restructuring). Rule 9.10 now has a court appoint a Supreme Court certified interpreter to appear in person, and step down to other credentials or remote interpreting only when none is reasonably available, stating its efforts on the record (Rules of Superintendence). In Columbus, Franklin County Municipal Court provides interpreters free in more than 45 languages and American Sign Language and asks for requests preferably 14 days ahead. In Cincinnati, Hamilton County’s courts schedule interpreters through a language access coordinator.
Indiana’s courts follow a statewide language access plan the Indiana Supreme Court adopted in February 2019 (Indiana Office of Judicial Administration), and a state program pays counties for interpreters and translation, with yearly reporting from January 2027 (Indiana court interpreter funding). In Fort Wayne, the Allen Superior Court assigns qualified interpreters at no cost in criminal, domestic relations, child-in-need-of-services and protective order cases. In Evansville, the Vanderburgh Circuit and Superior Court plan lists Spanish, American Sign Language, Marshallese, Vietnamese and Creole as its top languages. In Indianapolis, the federal Southern District of Indiana contracts with certified, qualified and language-skilled interpreters.
Wisconsin’s statute gives parties, testifying witnesses, alleged victims and the parents of minor parties a right to a qualified interpreter at public expense, which the county pays in circuit court (Wis. Stat. 885.38). In Madison, Dane County’s 2024 court plan has the court pay for interpreting in proceedings and at the clerk’s counter, and counts 17,117 residents with limited English proficiency, led by Spanish and Chinese speakers. In Green Bay, the Brown County District Attorney’s plan commits staff to free language assistance for victims and witnesses.
Michigan’s court rule calls for a certified interpreter whenever practicable, and since January 1, 2026 certified and qualified interpreters must be registered with the State Court Administrative Office and work independently or for a registered interpreter firm (Michigan Court Rule 1.111; amendment order). In Detroit, the 36th District Court prefers requests 14 days ahead. In Grand Rapids, the 17th Circuit Court needs at least two weeks’ notice, particularly for less common languages.
Illinois courts draw on a statewide registry of interpreters credentialed by the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts (Illinois Courts). In the Naperville area, the 18th Judicial Circuit in DuPage County provides interpreters at no cost once the court orders one, and so does the 10th Judicial Circuit in Peoria once a request is approved.
Cities and counties write their own plans, from Cleveland to Milwaukee County
Local governments are outside both new acts too, and several in the region set their own terms. Chicago‘s language access ordinance sets its threshold at a language spoken by 5% of the city’s population or 10,000 people, whichever is less, which for 2025 meant Spanish, Mandarin, Polish, Arabic, Hindi and Urdu (Chicago Office of Inspector General, 2025 language access report).
Cleveland‘s plan, rolled out in 2016 and 2017, put phone interpretation in the city’s IT call center and translated 74 vital city documents into Spanish. It requires professional translation and rules out free online translation without a professional’s review (City of Cleveland language access plan).
Warren‘s plan translates every vital document, including its complaint form and public meeting notices, into Spanish, Arabic, Slavic, and Asian and Pacific Island languages. Arabic speakers number 4,371, and 3,011 of them speak English less than “very well” (City of Warren LEP plan).
Milwaukee County estimates that over 22% of its residents, about 180,000 people, have limited English proficiency, across more than 90 languages such as Spanish, Hmong, Burmese, Rohingya, Somali and Arabic. Its Office of Equity guides and monitors the county’s language access policy (Milwaukee County Office of Equity).
The five states side by side
- Michigan: state agencies translate at 3% or 500 people (MCL 37.22); courts follow Court Rule 1.111 (Michigan Court Rules, chapter 1).
- Illinois: state agencies translate at more than 5% or 1,000 people (Public Act 103-0723); hospitals follow the Language Assistance Services Act (210 ILCS 87/15).
- Ohio: no comparable state-services law; courts follow Rules of Superintendence 9.00 onward and update their plans at least every three years (Rules of Superintendence).
- Indiana: no comparable state-services law; courts follow a statewide plan with state interpreter funding (Indiana court interpreter funding).
- Wisconsin: no comparable state-services law; circuit courts provide qualified interpreters at public expense (Wis. Stat. 885.38).
- All five: Title VI for federally funded programs (Department of Justice notice) and the Section 1557 rule for covered health programs (45 CFR 92.201).
Meeting these duties with phone, video and on-site interpreters and translated documents
The acts name two kinds of service: oral language services, which in Michigan include telephone interpreter programs and televideo interpretation (MCL 37.21), and translation of vital documents. Global Interpreting’s services fit both.
HIPAA-compliant phone interpretation connects you to an interpreter in over 300 languages within seconds. It is the kind of telephone service Michigan’s procedure requires for frontline staff.
Video interpretation is available 24/7 in over 50 languages, adds facial expression and other visual cues, and is the remote route for American Sign Language. It suits telehealth visits and remote court appearances where the rules permit them.
On-site interpreters are scheduled ahead for appointments where being in the room matters, such as the in-person appearances Ohio’s courts put first. Legal work goes to interpreters trained in legal terminology, or to certified court interpreters where the proceeding requires one (legal language services).
ISO 9001:2015 certified document translation pairs each file with a translator working in that subject area, and an independent reviewer checks the result before delivery. That covers the vital documents both acts name, from applications to benefit notices.
Our healthcare language services are HIPAA-compliant and handled by linguists who know medical terminology. Public-sector work covers resident-facing services, emergency notices, and the documents an agency has to make available in other languages (government language services).
Participating public agencies can buy interpretation and translation through OMNIA Partners Contract R260503. Courts and other public agencies that are Choice Partners members can buy interpretation and translation through Choice Partners Contract 26/019SG-07. Confirm your eligibility and your procurement rules before you reference either one.
Language services in the 15 East North Central cities in this guide
This guide accompanies our East North Central location pages. Each page below covers the local courts, agencies, languages and services for its city:
- Chicago, Illinois, home of our Chicago office
- Cincinnati, Ohio
- Cleveland, Ohio
- Columbus, Ohio
- Detroit, Michigan
- Evansville, Indiana
- Fort Wayne, Indiana
- Grand Rapids, Michigan
- Green Bay, Wisconsin
- Indianapolis, Indiana
- Madison, Wisconsin
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Naperville, Illinois
- Peoria, Illinois
- Warren, Michigan
For a city outside this list, the Locations page lists every office and service area.