National Language Service Corps Pilot Program
In 2006, Congress called for a project to test the idea of a national corps of individuals
who spoke languages other than English to offer their support to Federal agencies
during times of crisis, such as relief efforts after hurricanes. The NLSC Pilot
Program planned, built, and tested a corps of on-call language-certified Americans
who were ready to serve the nation with their language skills.
The development of the NLSC, which addresses our need for individuals who speak
English and other languages, is essential for success in three areas:
- interaction with diverse communities residing within U.S. borders,
- competitiveness of the U.S., and
- valuable assistance to nations, who are friends and allies, during times of crises
and emergencies.
Because the Federal government had never set up an organization quite like this
before, we had to test our procedures for recruiting, evaluating and enrolling members
as we attempted to build the initial corps of 1,000 individuals, who were known
as Charter Members, during this pilot phase. Charter Members helped us test our
processes and procedures. We used the results of those tests to refine our procedures
for future use.
In the initial phase of the NLSC Pilot program, we tested the methods used to recruit
individuals certified in any of ten specific languages. These languages represented
areas of Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and the Pacific. During the pilot phase, we
called upon some Charter Members to participate in tests of our activation procedures.
We also asked some to participate in focus groups and other activities.
The Pilot continues to be successful, and that accomplishment really belongs to
our members. They confirmed what we expected ... that there are many individuals
in this country who are willing to offer their language skills for the good of all.
In fact, we exceeded all expectations. So we'd like to say "thank you" to each and
every member.
