REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
January 28, 2025
FROM
GEORGINA YOSHIOKA, Director, Department of Behavioral Health
SUBJECT
Title
Contracts for Translation and Interpretation Services
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve contracts with the following agencies for translation and interpretation services, in the total aggregate amount not to exceed $3,900,000, for the contract period of February 1, 2025, through January 31, 2028:
1. Accent on Languages, Inc.
2. Asian-American Resource Center
3. Avantpage, Inc.
4. Excel Interpreting, LLC
5. Focus Language International Inc.
6. Hanna Interpreting Services, LLC
7. Keller Translation Development Service, LLC dba GlobalReady
(Presenter: Georgina Yoshioka, Director, 252-5142)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Service Needs of County Residents.
Pursue County Goals and Objectives by Working with Other Agencies and Stakeholders.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item will not impact Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The aggregate amount not to exceed $3,900,000 will be funded by the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant, a Memorandum of Understanding with Children and Family Services (CFS), 1991 and 2011 Realignment funds, Public Safety Realignment, and Mental Health Services Act funds. Adequate appropriation and revenue have been included in the Department of Behavioral Health’s (DBH) 2024-25 budget and will be included in future recommended budgets.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
DBH is responsible for providing mental health and substance use disorder (SUD) services to county residents experiencing severe mental illness and/or SUD. DBH utilizes contracted agencies to provide mandated translation and interpretation services to clients who have limited English proficiency and those who are deaf or hard of hearing. Translation and interpretation services are essential when delivering behavioral health information, treatment, resources, and administering social and medical services to those challenged by language barriers.
An integral part of the DBH service delivery system consists of translating and/or interpreting information in more than 26 languages in order to provide these services. The Dymally-Alatorre Bilingual Services Act (DABSA) and the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires governmental agencies directly involved in the delivery of information or administering services to the public to provide non-English-speaking clients with translation and interpretation services utilizing a language they understand, including American Sign Language (ASL). Translation and interpretation services are important in order to provide high quality behavioral health services to those with language barriers. Translation and interpretation services are provided via video, over the phone, in person, and in writing. Translation and interpretation services are also required to be provided at community events, stakeholder meetings, and in other community engagement settings. DBH has utilized contracted agencies to provide these services in more than 26 languages since July 2001.
In 2023-24 DBH utilized translation and interpretation services more than 11,000 times. Upon approval of this item, DBH will be able to continue meeting the requirements of DABSA and ADA and make these services available for all DBH clients requiring them.
PROCUREMENT
This procurement was completed in conjunction with Human Services. The County Administrative Office approved and authorized the release of Request for Proposal (RFP) No. HSSA24-HSSA-5470 with the Purchasing Department on August 5, 2024, to solicit proposals from interested and qualified agencies to provide translation and interpretation services for a period of three years with an option to extend for two additional one-year periods. The RFP was posted to the County’s Electronic Procurement Network.
A bidder’s conference was held on August 19, 2024. A total of 17 proposals were received in response to the RFP by the established deadline. All 17 proposals, received from the agencies listed below, met the minimum requirements and were reviewed during the evaluation process:
|
Proposer Name |
Proposed Service |
Languages |
|
Accent on Languages, Inc. |
On-Site, Telephonic, Translation, and Video |
All |
|
Avantpage, Inc. |
On-Site, Telephonic, Translation, and Video |
All |
|
Asian American Resource Center |
On-Site, Telephonic, Translation, and Video |
All |
|
Daniel Shamebo Sabore, dba, Language Translation Services |
On-Site, Telephonic, Translation, and Video |
All |
|
Datagain |
Translation |
All |
|
Effectiff, LLC |
On-Site, Telephonic, Translation, and Video |
All |
|
Excel Interpreting, LLC |
On-Site, Telephonic, Translation, and Video |
All |
|
Focus Language International Inc. |
On-Site, Telephonic, Translation, and Video |
All |
|
Keller Translation Development Service, LLC dba GlobalReady |
On-Site, Telephonic, Translation, and Video |
All |
|
Globo Language Solutions, LLC |
On-Site, Telephonic, Translation, and Video |
All |
|
Hanna Interpreting Services, LLC |
On-Site, Telephonic, Translation, and Video |
All |
|
Homeland Security and Management Solutions, Inc dba Dantli Corp |
On-Site, Telephonic, Translation, and Video |
All |
|
LanguageArts, LLC. |
Telephonic |
No ASL |
|
Language Line Services |
On-Site, Telephonic, Translation, and Video |
No ASL |
|
Languagers, Inc |
On-Site, Telephonic, Translation, and Video |
All |
|
Lionbridge US Inc |
Telephonic |
All |
|
TransPerfect Translations International Inc |
On-Site, Telephonic, Translation, and Video |
All |
The evaluation committee, comprised of nine representatives from Human Services, Transitional Assistance Department, Department of Aging and Adult Services, CFS, DBH, Program Integrity Division, Kern County Language Services and Riverside University Health System evaluated the proposals based on the criteria referenced in the RFP. The evaluation criteria included: qualifications and experience, technical review, cost, availability in regions and references.
Based on the evaluation criteria, the evaluation committee determined that Accent on Languages, Inc., Asian-American Resource Center, Avantpage, Inc., Excel Interpreting, LLC, Focus Language International Inc., Hanna Interpreting Services, LLC, Keller Translation Development Service, LLC dba GlobalReady, and LanguageArts, LLC. best met the needs of the County. However, after being selected, LanguageArts, LLC. notified DBH of a change which impacted their ability to meet the proposal requirements and negotiations ended. Award and denial letters were sent to all responsible and responsive proposers on November 14, 2024. No protests were received within the allowable period.
The Purchasing Department supports this competitive procurement based on the formal solicitation described above.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by Behavioral Health Contracts (Lisa Rivas-Ordaz, Contracts Supervisor, 383-3940) on December 18, 2024; County Counsel (Dawn Martin, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on December 19, 2024; Purchasing (Jessica Barajas, Supervising Buyer, 387-2065) on January 10, 2025; Finance (Paul Garcia, Administrative Analyst, 386-8392) on January 10, 2025; and County Finance and Administration (Cheryl Adams, Deputy Executive Officer, 388-0238) on January 13, 2025.