The Vendor is required to provide statewide communication access services for individuals who correspond with the department and who are deaf, have hearing loss, are blind, have low vision, have speech impairments, do not speak English, or have limited English proficiency (LEP).
- Provide communication access services for department staff to ensure effective communication with clients that correspond with the department through telephone services, translation of written materials, and in-person services.
- On-demand Video Remote Interpretation (VRI) and On-Demand over the Phone Interpretation (OPI) Services.
- Mission is to join communities and families in providing opportunities for citizens to achieve health and independence.
- Service modalities include in-person interpretation, over-the-phone interpretation, video remote interpretation, as well as translation of documents and materials.
- Department cross-divisional compliance with all applicable federal civil rights laws, including those that require language and communication access, both through the Department’s own staff, programs and services, and for those services provided by contracted providers
- Provide scheduled spoken language interpretation services for individuals who are not English speaking or have Limited English Proficiency (LEP).
- Must ensure that services are available during the Department’s regular business hours of Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM Eastern Standard Time.
- Must provide spoken language services during evenings and weekends, as needed and requested by the Department, to accommodate urgent or time-sensitive requests.
- Must respond to regular service requests within 48 hours or longer for non-urgent needs and as agreed upon with the Department.
- Department-operated locations such as district offices, satellite offices, institutions, and other centralized locations throughout the State.
- Demonstrate linguistic competency and proficiency in both English and at least one other language, with the ability to accurately and fluently relay information in both languages.
- Understand interpreter ethics and client confidentiality standards and abide by the applicable professional code of conduct.
- Interpretation support during public health emergencies.
- Must provide Multilingual Proficiency Assessments for designated bilingual Department staff to evaluate the individual's ability to effectively communicate and interpret in more than one language.
- These assessments must at minimum measure listening comprehension and efficacy of oral communication.
- Must provide a centralized appointment scheduling system, preferably accessible via a secured web-based portal.
- Link each service encounter or transaction to the scheduling system, enabling both the vendor and the Department to analyze service utilization.
- Maintain and preserve electronic retrievable individual records relating to each service encounter.
- Ensure the portal and database are hosted on secure platforms that protect the privacy rights and confidentiality of individuals served under the resulting agreement.
- Scheduled signed language interpretation services provided on-site, in the community, and via virtual meeting platforms for individuals who are deaf or have hearing loss.
- Scheduled communication access real-time translation (CART) services to be provided on-site, in the community and via virtual meeting platforms for individuals who have a disability that impacts their communication.
- Must provide spoken language services during evenings and weekends, as needed and requested by the Department, to accommodate urgent or time-sensitive requests.
- Contract Period/Term: 2 years
- Questions/Inquires Deadline: January 12, 2026
