After-Hours Emergency Call Answering and Message Processing Service

The Vendor is required to provide an after-hours emergency service (AHE) that sends interpreters to emergencies occurring outside of business hours across the commonwealth to provide language access so the parties involved can communicate with each other.
- The After-Hours Emergency Service uses pre-established decision rules to reach out to appropriate communication access providers (ASL/spoken English and Deaf interpreters) to provide the needed language access service.
- The After-Hours Emergency Service operates on Monday through Friday nights from 5:00pm to 8:45am, weekends, and holidays.  Calls come in informing the Service of emergencies involving Deaf, Deaf Blind, late-deafened and hard of hearing people in which interpreters are needed to achieve language access.
- Employs an After-Hours Emergency (AHE) Service Coordinator from 5:00pm to 12:00am on Mondays through Fridays to accept incoming calls to the Service about emergencies and to deploy appropriate communication access providers.
- The actions that the Call Answering and Message Processing Service (Answering Service) must perform when responding to an incoming call are spelled out with a high degree of specificity by agency; virtually no on-the-spot autonomous decision-making by Answering Service operators is required.
- Protocols for Communication and Dispatch
•    A clear, documented protocol must exist for:
o    Determining the location of the emergency.
o    Contacting the appropriate interpreters based on the region and type of emergency (legal, non-legal, backup, etc.).
•    The bidder’s telecommunication system should support two-way communication (i.e., interactive dialogue) between interpreters and the Answering Service.
o    Interpreters must be able to contact the answering service if they need:
1.    An additional interpreter.  Many emergency assignments require more than one specialized interpreter. The two interpreters function as a team to ensure effective communication.
2.    Clarification of assignment details.
o    The answering service should reference and act on the correct interpreter list(s) (on-call list, backup list, legal list).
•    There must be a defined path of response:
o    Example:
1.    “Need legal interpreter” → triggers Legal Interpreter protocol.
2.    “Need an additional interpreter” → triggers Backup List protocol.
3.    “Need team partner” → triggers Team Coordination process.
- Follow-Up and Blast Procedures
•    If no interpreter responds:
o    The Answering Service must email all the interpreters on the back-up list (blast out) requests every 20 minutes for 2 hours. 
o    After 2 hours, they must check in with the requester to confirm whether an interpreter is still needed.
o    If still needed, continue another 2-hour cycle of 20-minute blasts.
o    If no response after 4 total hours of outreach, the case can be closed (“call it a day”) unless directed otherwise.
- The system should allow for time-stamped tracking of these attempts.
- Customer Service Standards
•    Excellent customer service is the top priority.
•    Staff must be experienced in working with diverse populations, including individuals with sensory and mobility disabilities.
•    They must demonstrate respect, responsiveness, and cultural competence in all interactions.
•    Calls should be answered promptly — ideally within four rings (about 24 seconds).