Colorado
Translation and interpreting services in Lakewood
Language access in Lakewood runs through four systems: the city and its police department, Jefferson County government, the 1st Judicial District courts in Golden, and Jeffco Public Schools, which supports families in more than 100 languages. The Lakewood Police Department's written policy bars minors, family members, and bystanders from interpreting except in emergencies.
Who needs language services in Lakewood
- City of Lakewood Title VI
- The City of Lakewood's Title VI coordinator provides interpretation or translation assistance to residents filing a discrimination complaint, weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., at title6coordinator@lakewoodco.gov or 303-987-7918.[1]
- Lakewood Police Department
- Police policy PP-7150 (effective July 11, 2023) bars officers from using minors, family members, neighbors, friends, volunteers, or bystanders to interpret except in exigent circumstances, puts bilingual city personnel first, and requires written forms in a witness's or victim's primary language when available, with sight translation otherwise.[3]
- Lakewood Municipal Court
- Lakewood Municipal Court does not publish an interpreter procedure on its web page; it lists 303-987-7400 and courts@LakewoodCO.gov as contacts.[2]
- Jefferson County courts
- The 1st Judicial District interpreter office, at 100 Jefferson County Parkway in Golden, takes interpreter requests for the Jefferson County district and county courts at 01interpreter@judicial.state.co.us.[4]
- Jeffco Public Schools
- Jeffco's Translation & Interpretation Services team supports families in more than 100 languages on safety, health, enrollment, and academic progress, free to parents and guardians, and the district asks each family's preferred written and spoken language at enrollment.[5]
- Jefferson County government
- Jefferson County's Limited English Proficiency procedure (revised January 2025) provides language and sign language services at no charge, notes that the Sheriff's Office and Human Services encounter several LEP individuals a day, and directs those departments to their contracted interpretation services.[6]
- Jefferson County Clerk and Recorder
- The Clerk and Recorder's office uses handheld translation devices for live interpretation with customers at voting, vehicle registration, marriage license, and passport services.[7]
Languages spoken in Lakewood
12.8% of Lakewood residents age 5 and older speak a language other than English at home, and 4.1% speak English less than “very well.” Spanish leads, followed by Vietnamese and Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese.
| Language spoken at home | Residents | Speak English less than “very well” |
|---|---|---|
| Spanish | 12,785 | 3,982 |
| Vietnamese | 1,384 | 696 |
| Other Indo-European languages | 904 | 218 |
| Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese | 897 | 349 |
| Russian, Polish, and other Slavic | 683 | n/a |
| Other Asian and Pacific Island languages | 609 | 295 |
| German and other West Germanic | 607 | n/a |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates for Lakewood city (tables C16001, C16002, B05002, B05006) (opens in a new tab). Figures with a wide margin of error are not shown.
Lakewood’s language-access ground rules
The city’s police policy, Jefferson County’s procedure, and Jeffco Public Schools each set a clear rule for who interprets and who pays.[3, 5, 6]
- No minors
- Lakewood police may not use children, family, friends, or bystanders to interpret except in exigent circumstances
- 100+
- languages Jeffco Public Schools’ translation and interpretation team supports for families
- $0
- cost to residents for Jefferson County interpretation, translation, or sign language services
- Several a day
- LEP contacts at the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and Human Services
Language access rules in Colorado
- Court interpreter program
- Colorado Judicial Department, Office of Language Access (OLA), which oversees and pays for interpreters in the state courts (each judicial district’s managing interpreter schedules them) and maintains the rosters of authorized interpreters.
- Court-certified languages
- OLA offers certification in 18 languages: Spanish, Arabic, Bosnian/Serbian/Croatian, Cantonese, French, Haitian Creole, Hmong, Ilocano, Khmer, Korean, Laotian, Mandarin, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Tagalog, Turkish, and Vietnamese (OLA's December 2024 pay schedule also lists Marshallese as certifiable). Interpreters in all other languages can become credentialed; below those tiers sit qualified, conditionally approved, and registered interpreters.
- The rule
- Chief Justice Directive 06-03 (amended March 2023) requires Colorado state courts to assign and pay for interpreters for all parties in interest during or ancillary to a court proceeding, citing Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Executive Order 13166, and to use certified or credentialed interpreters when available, with registered interpreters only as a last resort; C.R.S. 13-90-204 separately requires a qualified auxiliary services provider for deaf, hard of hearing, and deafblind parties, witnesses, and jurors.
- Court interpreter standards
- Under Chief Justice Directive 06-03, absent exigent circumstances the court assigns two or more interpreters for proceedings scheduled to last two hours or longer, and courts with five or more certified or credentialed interpreters in a language residing within 25 miles must use them for every proceeding in that language.
- Child welfare language access (HB24-1031)
- Since August 7, 2024, county departments of human or social services, cities and counties, and their private contractors must take reasonable steps to provide timely, meaningful language access in a person's primary language, and courts must provide translation and interpretation in dependency and neglect cases to any party who requests it or has limited English proficiency.
- Statewide language access assessment (HB25-1153)
- Signed May 30, 2025, HB25-1153 directs the Department of Personnel, with the Office of New Americans, to assess whether principal state departments are ready to meet the standards of the state's language access universal policy, with a report due by December 31, 2026.
- Digital accessibility (HB21-1110)
- As enacted, HB21-1110 required state agencies to submit accessibility plans to the Office of Information Technology by July 1, 2022 and fully implement them by July 1, 2024, and treats an agency not in full compliance as violating Colorado's disability discrimination law.
- Sign language interpreter titles
- HB19-1069 (2019) added "translator" and "certified translator" for sign language to the titles a Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf-certified person may use, and authorized the Colorado Commission for the Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and DeafBlind to approve other certifications for those titles.
- Refugee program
- Under legislation signed June 1, 2023, the Colorado Refugee Services Program, the state refugee office whose primary funding comes from the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement, moved from the Department of Human Services to the Office of New Americans in the Department of Labor and Employment effective October 1, 2024.
Sources
- Colorado Chief Justice Directive 06-03 (amended March 2023)
- Colorado Judicial Branch: Frequently Asked Questions – Interpreters
- Colorado OLA: Certified and Credentialed Independent Contractor Interpreter Pay Rates (rev. Dec. 16, 2024)
- Colorado Revised Statutes 2024, Title 13 (Office of Legislative Legal Services, uncertified printout), including C.R.S. 13-90-204, Appointment of auxiliary services providers
- Colorado General Assembly: HB24-1031, Accessibility for Persons in Child Welfare Matters
- Colorado General Assembly: HB25-1153, Statewide Government Language Access Assessment
- Colorado General Assembly: HB21-1110, CO Laws for Persons with Disabilities
- Colorado General Assembly: HB19-1069, Sign Language Interpreters Title Certification
- Colorado Department of Human Services bulletin: State Refugee Office moves to the Office of New Americans
Our work in Lakewood
We have provided on-site interpreting in Lakewood for:
- County human services agencies
Language services in Lakewood
Police and victim services
Phone, video, or on-site interpreters and translated victim and witness forms, so officers do not rely on family members or bystanders.
Court hearings
Interpreters for Lakewood Municipal Court and Jefferson County courts in Golden, including languages the court's staff interpreters do not cover.
School family communication
Translation of enrollment, health, and safety notices and interpreters for conferences and special education meetings in Jeffco Public Schools.
County human services
Interpreters for Jefferson County Human Services and Sheriff's Office contacts, and certified translation of documents the law requires in other languages.
City complaints and public meetings
Interpretation and translation that help Lakewood residents file Title VI complaints and take part in city meetings.
Lakewood by the numbers
- Residents
- 156,583
- Speak a language other than English at home
- 19,136 12.8%
- Speak English less than “very well”
- 6,071 4.1%
- Limited-English households
- 1,151 1.6%
- Born outside the U.S.
- 12,548 8%
Detailed languages in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO Metro Area
The Census Bureau publishes individual languages for metro areas, not for cities. These are the most-spoken languages other than English in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO Metro Area.
- Spanish376,142
- Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)19,115
- Amharic, Somali, or other Afro-Asiatic languages16,644
- Russian14,375
- French (incl. Cajun)12,491
- Vietnamese12,034
- Korean10,981
- Arabic9,302
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, ACS 2024 1-year, table B16001, Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO Metro Area.
Where Lakewood residents born abroad come from
Countries of birth point to the languages behind the Census groups above, and to the documents (birth certificates, diplomas, court records) that arrive for translation.
- Mexico3,832
- Vietnam884
- China, excluding Hong Kong and Taiwan676
- Canada529
- Korea413
- Philippines356
- Germany349
Lakewood questions
Can a family member interpret during a Lakewood police contact?
Only in exigent circumstances when a more reliable interpreter is not available. Policy PP-7150 bars officers from using minors, family members, neighbors, friends, volunteers, or bystanders, and directs them to bilingual city personnel or a professional interpretation service.
How do I get an interpreter in Jefferson County court?
Contact the 1st Judicial District interpreter office in Golden at 01interpreter@judicial.state.co.us. Under Chief Justice Directive 06-03, Colorado state courts assign and pay for interpreters for all parties in interest. For Lakewood Municipal Court, a city court, contact the court at 303-987-7400 or courts@LakewoodCO.gov.
Does Jeffco Public Schools charge families for interpreters?
No. Translation and interpretation are free to parents and guardians. Families ask a school staff member or the Family Response Service Team, and the district's Translation & Interpretation Services team can be reached at languagehelp@jeffco.k12.co.us.
Does Jefferson County charge for interpreters or sign language services?
No. The county's procedure states that people with limited English and people who are deaf or hard of hearing will not be charged for any service needed for effective communication.
What languages are spoken in Lakewood?
12.8% of Lakewood residents age 5 and older speak a language other than English at home, and 4.1% speak English less than “very well.” Spanish leads, followed by Vietnamese and Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese. The most common countries of birth among residents born abroad are Mexico, Vietnam, and China, excluding Hong Kong and Taiwan.
How many Lakewood households have limited English?
1,151 of 69,799 households (1.6%), according to the Census Bureau: households in which no one age 14 or older speaks only English or speaks English “very well.” These are the households most likely to need an interpreter or translated documents.
How are court interpreters credentialed in Colorado?
Colorado Judicial Department, Office of Language Access (OLA), which oversees and pays for interpreters in the state courts (each judicial district’s managing interpreter schedules them) and maintains the rosters of authorized interpreters. OLA offers certification in 18 languages: Spanish, Arabic, Bosnian/Serbian/Croatian, Cantonese, French, Haitian Creole, Hmong, Ilocano, Khmer, Korean, Laotian, Mandarin, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Tagalog, Turkish, and Vietnamese (OLA's December 2024 pay schedule also lists Marshallese as certifiable). Interpreters in all other languages can become credentialed; below those tiers sit qualified, conditionally approved, and registered interpreters.
Do you provide on-site interpreters in Lakewood?
Yes. We schedule interpreters in person in Lakewood and across Colorado, and by phone and video nationwide, in 250+ languages including Spanish and ASL. Book less common languages as early as you can.
Sources
- City of Lakewood: ADA and Title VI Notices (opens in a new tab)
- City of Lakewood: Municipal Court (opens in a new tab)
- Lakewood Police Department Policy PP-7150: Interpreters and Translators (effective July 11, 2023) (opens in a new tab)
- Colorado Judicial Branch: Managing & Staff Interpreter Contact Information (updated Apr. 9, 2026, PDF) (opens in a new tab)
- Jeffco Public Schools: Translation & Interpretation Services (opens in a new tab)
- Jefferson County: Limited English Proficiency Procedure (revised January 2025, PDF) (opens in a new tab)
- Jefferson County Clerk and Recorder news (Dec. 24, 2024): translation devices (opens in a new tab)
- Colorado Chief Justice Directive 06-03 (amended March 2023) (opens in a new tab)
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