05 Telephone Interp RFB.pdf

REQUEST FOR BID

Telephone Foreign Language

Interpretation Services

RFB#28272-CN

Issued: May 29, 2018

Responses Due: June 25, 2018 at 2:00

PM CST

Telephone Foreign Language Interpretation Services

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Table of Contents

1 INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE

1.1 DEFINITIONS

1.2 PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF THE REQUEST FOR BID

1.2.1 Overview of Procuring Agency, Background and Objectives

1.3 CONTRACT TERM

1.4 MODIFICATIONS OF CONTRACT

1.5 ORDER OF PRECEDENCE

1.6 COOPERATIVE PURCHASING SERVICES

1.7 WISCONSIN eSUPPLIER PORTAL REGISTRATION

1.8 RESPONDING TO BID REQUIREMENTS

2 BIDDER QUALIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS

2.1 Qualification and Requirement - Core Languages

2.2 Qualification and Requirement - Years in Business

2.3 Qualification and Requirement - Services performed in United States

2.4 Qualification and Requirement - Professional facilities

2.5 Qualification and Requirement - Hours of Interpretation Services

3 GENERAL MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS

3.1 General Mandatory Requirement - Toll Free, Nationwide telephone number

3.1.1 General Mandatory Requirement - Call Routing and Dispatching

3.1.2 General Mandatory Requirement - Target Language Identification

3.2 General Mandatory Requirement - Multiple Billing Addresses

3.3 General Mandatory Requirement - Reporting Requirements

3.4 General Mandatory Requirement - Disaster Recovery Plan

3.5 General Mandatory Requirement - Data from Assignments

3.6 General Mandatory Requirement - Purchasing Methods

3.7 General Mandatory Requirement - Core Language Proficiencies

3.8 General Mandatory Requirement - Non-Core Language Proficiencies and Response Times

3.9 General Mandatory Requirement - Qualified Interpreter

3.10 General Mandatory Requirement - Invoicing and Billing

3.11 General Mandatory Requirement - Printed Materials

4 PERFORMANCE AND SUPPORT REQUIREMENTS

5 FRATERNIZATION

6 CONFIDENTIALITY AND ETHICS

7 SPECIAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF BID

7.1 Special Terms and Conditions - Recording of Sessions

7.2 Special Terms and Conditions - Sample Contract

7.3 Special Terms and Conditions - Liquidated Damages

7.4 Special Terms and Conditions - Payment Terms

7.4.1 Special Terms and Conditions - Purchasing Card Acceptance

8 BUSINESS ASSOCIATE AGREEMENT

9 CANCELLATION AND TERMINATION

10 CERTIFICATES OF INSURANCE

11 REQUESTING PRICE ADJUSTMENTS

12 METHOD OF BID

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13 BID PROCEDURE AND INSTRUCTIONS

13.1 CALENDAR OF EVENTS

13.2 CORRESPONDENCE, CLARIFICATIONS AND QUESTIONS

13.3 REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS

13.4 BIDDER CONFERENCE

13.5 SUBMITTING A BID

13.5.1 Electronic Bid Submittal (Strongly Preferred)

13.5.2 Hard Copy Bid Submittal

13.6 FORMAT OF BID RESPONSE

13.7 INCURRING COSTS

14 BID ACCEPTANCE AND AWARD

14.1 BID OPENING

15 BID REVIEW

16 BID ACCEPTANCE

16.1 METHOD OF AWARD

16.2 BIDDER REFERENCES/CLIENT LIST

16.3 USE OF SUBCONTRACTORS

17 SUPPLIER DIVERSITY

17.1 MINORITY-OWNED BUSINESS ENTERPRISE

17.2 VETERAN-OWNED BUSINESS

17.3 DISABLED VETERAN-OWNED BUSINESS

17.4 WOMAN-OWNED BUSINESS ENTERPRISE

18 PROHIBITION OF DISCRIMINATORY BOYCOTTS OF ISRAEL

19 DEBARMENT

20 AWARD NOTIFICATION

21 PROTEST AND APPEALS PROCESS

21.1 PROTESTS

21.2 APPEALS

22 REQUIRED FORMS

23 COST STRUCTURE AND COST SHEET INSTRUCTIONS

23.1 COST SHEET

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1 INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE

State of Wisconsin agencies routinely conduct business with clients who have limited English proficiency (LEP) and in order to meet the needs of their clients and comply with federal civil rights statues, specifically Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI);

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504); and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12131) must provide Telephone Foreign Language Oral Interpretation Services.

Clients of state agencies may include, but is not limited to mental health patients, children, families affected by domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, sexual assault victims, convicted and/or incarcerated offenders, the elderly, criminal witnesses and defendants, individuals with disabilities, students, customers and employees and individuals with different immigration statuses.

Telephone Foreign Language Oral Interpretation Services are required 24/7/365 via a toll-free number provided by the Contractor. The Contractor's interpreter mediates between the buying agency's staff and the buying agency's non-English speaking or LEP client to interpret the conversation.

Bidders, at a minimum, must be able to provide interpretation for the most frequently used languages known as Core Languages. Core languages for the purpose of this RFB are: Albanian, Amharic, Arabic, Bosnian, Burmese, Chin, Chinese/Cantonese, Chinese/Mandarin (simplified), Croatian, Farsi (Persian), French, Hmong, Karen (Burmese), Khmer (Cambodian), Kinyarwanda/Kiswahili, Korean, Lao, Nepali, Polish, Rohingya, Russian, Serbian, Somali, Spanish, Thai, Vietnamese.

Oral interpretation will most frequently be from English to either Spanish or Hmong, however, any language currently in use could be needed at any time.

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1.1 DEFINITIONS

For the purposes of this Request for Bid and resulting Contract(s), the following definitions of terms shall apply, unless otherwise indicated.

24/7/365:

services that are available around the clock, regardless of whether they are pre-scheduled or on-demand.

Agency:

an office, department, agency, institution of higher education, association, society or other body in state government created or authorized to be created by the constitution or any law, which is entitled to expend moneys appropriated by law, including the legislature and the courts, but not including an authority.

Authorized Users:

includes any State Agency, University of Wisconsin campus, or other state or local public body authorized to use Contracts, as established in §§ 16.70 (1b), (1e), (2), (4) and (8), 16.73 and 66.0301 of the Wisconsin Statutes and § PRO-D-30 of the State Procurement Manual.

BCS: Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian languages

Bid:

a price quotation specifically given to a prospective purchaser by a prospective seller;

a Bid is an offer to sell. For the purposes of this RFB, a Bid includes all requisite forms, response completed as instructed.

Bid Factor:

An element of the bid that does not appear in the RFB document but the bidder or proposer must respond to. Bid factors can be seen and responded to in the eSupplier Portal if submitting a bid electronically. If submitting a paper bid, Bid Factors can be downloaded from the Supporting Documents and included with the paper bid submission.

Bidder:

a person or firm that responds to this Request for Bid.

Calls:

call placed to the contractor to provide interpretation services

Client:

non-English speaking customer of the buying agency

Cultural Awareness Training:

training that underscores the idea that culture is dynamic and that we are living in an ever-changing multicultural society. Cultural awareness reminds us constantly that new

Page 5 RFB#28272-CN populations are entering our workforce and community and we must be cognizant of these ever-changing dynamics. Cultural awareness training is different than civil rights training.

Cultural awareness training topics normally include the following elements: a. Norms (how people behave); b. Values (what is important to people); c. Beliefs (what people think about something); d. symbols (how people express themselves through art, stories, music language, etc.); and e. Practices (customs or patterns of behavior that may not be connected to beliefs and values).

Commodity:

a tangible article of trade or item of merchandise; goods, products, materials, supplies, or finished products. A Commodity is not a Service for purposes of this RFB, but a Commodity may include incidental or related Services.

Conflict of Interest:

A situation in which an interpreter is in a position that would affect their objectivity in the delivery of services. Examples of perceived conflict of interest could be the interpreter interpreting on behalf of a family member, personal interest or relationship to the client;

relationship with a victim; relationship with known members of the same ethnic community or ethnic conflicts between communities with shared language capacity;

or other relationships which would preclude any possibility that the interpreter's objectivity could be jeopardized.

Contract:

the written agreement between the successful Bidder and the State covering the commodities and services to be performed pursuant to this RFB.

Contract Administrator:

the Agency employee responsible for oversight of the implementation, administration, and completion of the Contract.

Contractor:

the person or entity that has been awarded the Contract as a result of this Bid, and who is required to provide equipment, materials, supplies, contractual services, or leasing real property to, the Procuring Agency.

Contract Manager:

the employee of an Agency responsible for 1) resolving contractual matters that cannot be

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2) facilitating and/or completing all official actions under the Contract including but not limited to amendments, renewals and termination.

Core Languages:

Languages identified as most frequently used by buying agencies. For the purpose of this RFB the core languages are:

Albanian, Amharic, Arabic, Bosnian, Burmese, Chin, Chinese/Cantonese, Chinese/Mandarin (simplified), Croatian, Farsi (Persian), French, Hmong, Karen (Burmese), Khmer (Cambodian), Kinyarwanda/Kiswahili, Korean, Lao, Nepali, Polish, Rohingya, Russian, Serbian, Somali, Spanish, Thai, Vietnamese.

CST: Central Standard Time

Disabled Veteran Owned Business (DVB):

a business that has been certified by the Department of Administration under §16.283, Wis. Stats.

HIPAA:

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy, Security and Breach Notification Rules.

Interpretation:

Involves the spoken or signed communication between two parties; translating the word of one person to the target language of a second person and back.

Interpreter: member of contractor's staff providing interpretation

Limited English Proficiency (LEP):

Limited English proficiency means an individual who does not speak English as their primary language and has limited ability to read, speak, write or understand English.

Minority Business Enterprise (MBE):

a business that has been certified by the Department of Administration under §16.287, Wis. Stats.

Municipality:

any Wisconsin county, city, village, town, school district, board of school directors, sewer district, drainage district, vocational, technical and adult education district, or any other public body having the authority to award public Contracts (s. 16.70(8), Wis.

Stats.).

Must: Required that the bidder complies with this requirement. Can be used interchangeably

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Non-Core Language (s):

a non-core language is one that the State of Wisconsin may or may not need but is a language which is included in the bid to allow agencies quick access to bidders that offer the non-core language.

Normal Business Hours:

For the purpose of this bid, normal business hours are considered to be 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM, Monday through Friday, excluding State of Wisconsin recognized holiday.

Notice of (Intent to) Award:

a writing issued by the Procuring Agency notifying all Bidders of the Procuring Agency's intent to award of a Commodity Contract to the successful Bidder(s), or in the case of Services, the Procuring Agency's intent to award a Contract to the successful Bidder(s).

On-Demand Services: services that can be provided immediately, without prior scheduling.

Purchasing Card (p-card):

a charge card issued to an authorized state employee through the Department of Administration, State Bureau of Procurement's Purchasing Card Contract.

Procurement Specialist:

the individual responsible for overseeing and administering the procurement process for a Bid.

Procuring Agency: The State Agency conducting the purchasing transactions

Qualified Interpreter:

an individual who is able to provide the following: demonstrated proficiency in English and a second language; demonstrated knowledge in both languages of relevant specialized terms and concepts; and demonstration of completion of training on the skills and ethics of interpretation.

RFB: Request for Bid

Recognized Holidays:

The State of Wisconsin recognized holidays are:

• New Year's Day

• Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

• Memorial Day

• Independence Day

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• Labor Day

• Thanksgiving Day

• Christmas Eve Day

• Christmas Day

• New Year's Eve Day

Relationship: a personal association between an interpreter and individual receiving interpreting services.

Response time or Wait Time:

the time between connection with the contractor's call system and when the appropriate interpreter is on the line and able to act as intermediary.

SBOP: State Bureau of Procurement

Shall:

Required that the bidder complies with this requirement. Can be used interchangeably with "must".

State: The State of Wisconsin

Contractual Services or Services:

An intangible product, including actions, recommendations, plans, research, customizations, modifications, documentation, and maintenance and support, including all related material necessary to fulfill that which the successful Bidder is obligated to accomplish or to provide under this RFB.

Specification:

a descriptive statement of the physical, functional and performance characteristics of the commodity or service required by the Procuring Agency. A Specification may be a description of the physical or functional characteristics, or of the nature of a supply. It may include a description of any requirement for inspecting, testing or preparing a supply item for delivery, or the necessary performance criteria. When used throughout this RFB, this term is used interchangeably with the term "requirement".

Target Language:

the non-English language requiring translation/interpretation.

Target Language Identification Assistance:

service provided by the contractor to correctly identify which target language interpretation is required.

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1.2 PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF THE REQUEST FOR BID

The Department of Administration (DOA), State Bureau of Procurement (SBOP) requests Bids for the purchase of Telephone Foreign Language Interpretation Services and intends to use the results of this process to award a Contract. The State does not guarantee it will purchase any specific quantity or dollar amount. Bids that require a minimum number of commodities or services be ordered will be rejected. There will be no guarantee to purchase any specific quantity, or pay any minimum contract price during the term of the Contract.

The contract(s) that will result from the RFB will be mandatory for all State agencies and optional for UW system and campuses. Cooperative groups (e.g. municipalities, school districts, tribal governments, etc.) may also utilize this contract. Collectively referred to "Authorized Users". Authorized Users are located throughout the State of Wisconsin.

APPENDIX B: WISCONSIN FOREIGN BORN POPULATION GUIDE has been provided in the RFB Supporting Documents. This guide has been provided for informational purposes only and provides a list of all refugees who arrived to the State of Wisconsin through the Department of State.

1.2.1 Overview of Procuring Agency, Background and Objectives This Request for Bid (RFB) is issued by the Department of Administration, State Bureau of Procurement which is the sole point of contact for the State of Wisconsin during the selection process. The person responsible for managing the procurement process is:

Cathy Neidner, Procurement Specialist-Senior Wisconsin Department of Administration State Bureau of Procurement 101 East Wilson Street, 6th Floor P.O. Box 7867 Madison, WI 53707-7867 email: catherine.neidner@wisconsin.gov

The contract resulting from this RFB will be administered by the Wisconsin Department of Administration.

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1.3 CONTRACT TERM

This Contract will run for an initial two (2) year period. The State and the Contractor, upon written mutual agreement, may renew the Contract for up to an additional two (2) two (2) year periods. The Contract shall be effective on the date it is executed. If no formal Contract is executed, the effective date of the Contract is the date of the purchase order.

The RFB documents, the awarded Bidder's response as accepted by the State and any purchase order related to this RFB shall become the Contract between the parties unless a separate Contract is executed.

1.4 MODIFICATIONS OF CONTRACT

The Contract shall not be used for purchasing commodities or services outside of the general scope and intent of the original Request for Bid. Any modifications made to the Contract shall fall within the scope of the Bid and be rendered in writing and signed by both parties or they will be void.

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1.5 ORDER OF PRECEDENCE

In the event of Contract award, the contents of this RFB (including all attachments), RFB addenda and revisions, the Bid response from the successful Bidder as accepted by the State, and any additional terms agreed to in writing by the parties shall be incorporated into the Contract. Failure of the successful Bidder to accept these elements into the Contract will result in the cancellation of the Contract award.

In the event of conflict with the incorporated elements of the Contract, the following order of precedence will prevail:

• Final Signed Contract with clarifications included

• Bid Response as accepted by the State of Wisconsin

• Request for Bid

If the Official Purchase Order serves as the final Contract, in the event of a conflict with the incorporated elements of the Contract, the following order of precedence will prevail:

• Official Purchase Order

• Bid Response as accepted by the State of Wisconsin

• Request for Bid

1.6 COOPERATIVE PURCHASING SERVICES

Commodities and services may be made available to Municipalities upon agreement of the Contractor. Where requested by the State, and agreed to by the Contractor(s), Municipalities shall be able to obtain the commodities and services procured under the Contract at the same rates agreed to by the State and the Contractor. The Contractor shall be responsible for confirming the status of potential Municipalities with the State and providing appropriate documentation and support and reporting Contract usage by Municipalities.

Bidder must complete Section 5: Wisconsin's Cooperative Purchasing Service on APPENDIX A: BIDDER REQUIRED FORM (DOA-3832) which is included in the Supporting Documents.

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1.7 WISCONSIN eSUPPLIER PORTAL REGISTRATION

Only Bidders registered with the State of Wisconsin's eSupplier Portal (the State's electronic purchasing information system) will receive future official notice for this service/commodity. The State of Wisconsin purchasing information and Bidder notification service is available to all businesses and organizations that want to sell to the State. Anyone may access the Wisconsin eSupplier Portal at https://esupplier.wi.gov to get information on state purchasing practices and policies, goods and services that the State buys, and tips on selling to the State. Bidders may use the same Web site address for inclusion on the Bidders list for goods and services that the organization wants to sell to the State. A subscription with notification guarantees the organization will receive an e-mail message each time a State agency, including any campus of the University of Wisconsin System, posts a request for bid or a request for proposal in their designated commodity/service area(s) with an estimated value over $50,000.

Organizations without internet access receive paper copies in the mail. Increasingly, State agencies also are using Wisconsin eSupplier Portal to post simplified bids valued at $50,000 or less. Bidders also may receive e-mail notices of these simplified bid opportunities.

1.8 RESPONDING TO BID REQUIREMENTS

Mandatory Bidder qualifications and/or requirements in this RFB document must be minimally met without exception; failure to meet such will disqualify your Bid. Before the award of any Contract, the Procuring Agency shall be satisfied that the Bidder has sufficient qualified resources available for performing the work described in this Bid. It is the Bidder's responsibility to acquaint the Procuring Agency with these qualifications by submitting appropriate or supporting documentation.

Certain qualifications/specifications will be presented by the State as itemized questions (aka Bid Factors) that require an affirmative response from you that you can meet them (i.e. "yes/no" prompt; drop down menu; required attachment). Other requirements may be presented in a grouped manner (e.g. "Does your company meet requirements 2.1-2.8"). For any (itemized or grouped) requirements that you cannot meet, you must check "no" and provide a supplemental document as an attachment to explain.

Failure to meet a qualification will disqualify your Bid. However, in the event that no Bidder is able to meet an individual mandatory requirement, the State reserves the right to continue the review of Bids and to select the Bid that most closely meets the requirements specified in this

RFB.

https://esupplier.wi.gov

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2 BIDDER QUALIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS

All Bidder qualifications in this section are mandatory and shall be met at no additional cost above the pricing provided in the Bid.

Failure to meet a qualification will disqualify your Bid. However, the State reserves the right to waive any qualification if no Bidder is able to satisfy the qualification.

Before the award of any contract, the State shall be satisfied that the Bidder has sufficient qualified resources available for performing the work described in this bid. It is the Bidder's responsibility to acquaint the Department with these qualifications by submitting appropriate or supporting documentation.

2.1 Qualification and Requirement - Core Languages

Bidder, at a minimum, must be able to provide interpretation services for all core languages.

Core Languages are:

Albanian, Amharic, Arabic, Bosnian, Burmese, Chin, Chinese/Cantonese, Chinese/Mandarin (simplifed), Croatian, Farsi (Persian), French, Hmong, Karen (Burmese), Khmer (Cambodian), Kinyarwanda/Kiswahili, Korean, Lao, Nepali, Polish, Rohingya, Russian, Serbian, Somali, Spanish, Thai, Vietnamese.

2.2 Qualification and Requirement - Years in Business

Bidder must be in the business of performing telephone interpretation services for the past three

(3) years.

Please Note: There are Bid Factors that relate to this requirement. Bid Factors can be seen and responded to in the eSupplier Portal if submitting a bid electronically. If submitting a paper bid, Bid Factors can be downloaded from the Supporting Documents and included with your paper bid submission.

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2.3 Qualification and Requirement - Services performed in United States Pursuant to Wisconsin State Statute 16.705, all services provided under this contract must be performed in the United States.

Calls for telephone interpretation shall not be routed outside of the United States. Any Bidder that cannot guarantee they meet this requirement will be disqualified.

Please Note: There are Bid Factors that relate to this requirement. Bid Factors can be seen and responded to in the eSupplier Portal if submitting a bid electronically. If submitting a paper bid, Bid Factors can be downloaded from the Supporting Documents and included with your paper bid submission.

2.4 Qualification and Requirement - Professional facilities

All telephone services shall be performed in the United States, from a professional facility or a professional home-based office with limited background noise, limited noise on communication equipment and no interruptions.

The State reserves the right to physically inspect or request photographs of a facility or a professional home-based office.

Please note: There are Bid Factors that relate to this requirement. Bid Factors can be seen and responded to in the eSupplier Portal if submitting a bid electronically. If submitting a paper bid, Bid Factors can be downloaded from the Supporting Documents and included with your bid submission.

2.5 Qualification and Requirement - Hours of Interpretation Services Bidder must be able to provide telephone interpretation services for all core languages 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, and 365 days per year (24/7/365).

The majority of the interpretation service calls will be placed during normal business hours, Monday through Friday, between the hours of 6:00 am to 6:00 pm, CST.

While not a requirement for bidding, it is expected that the contractor(s) receiving award will take into consideration multiple agencies may use this contract and the high Spanish and Hmong populations in Wisconsin, and contractor must staff appropriately during normal business hours. Bidders should be aware that Wisconsin's demographic currently includes a higher concentration of Hmong speaking residents than the U.S. Average.

A lesser percentage of calls will be placed outside of the normal business hours, including nights, weekends, and holidays.

Please Note: There are Bid Factors that relate to this requirement. Bid Factors can be seen and responded to in the eSupplier Portal if submitting a bid electronically. If

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3 GENERAL MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS

Conditions of this Bid that include the word "must" and "shall" describe a mandatory requirement. Failure to meet a mandatory requirement shall disqualify the Bid. The State reserves the right to delete any specification or condition in the RFB if no Bidder is able to comply with the given specification or condition of the RFB.

The requirements in this section are mandatory and the Bidder must satisfy them. If the Bidder cannot meet All the mandatory requirements, the Bid will be removed from further consideration. In the event there is an individual mandatory requirement that no Bidder is able to meet, the State reserves the right to eliminate that individual mandatory requirement; in such case, the State shall continue the evaluation of Bids.

All mandatory requirements are minimums unless otherwise stated. Failure to meet these mandatory requirements may result in disqualification of the bid.

Please Note: There are Bid Factors that relate to this section. Bid Factors can be seen and responded to in the eSupplier Portal if submitting a bid electronically. If submitting a paper bid, Bid Factors can be downloaded from the Supporting Documents and included with your paper bid submission.

3.1 General Mandatory Requirement - Toll Free, Nationwide telephone number At the time of bid submission, Bidder must have an established, toll-free, nationwide call system to receive and route calls to the appropriate interpreter and that is available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week and 365 days per year.

Bidder must be able to accept calls "on-demand". The buying agency may encounter a client with LEP any time of the day or night, year-round. Call duration may be of any length. When it is possible, the buying agency will attempt to schedule calls longer than 60 minutes with the Contractor in advance, however, there are no guarantees that calls can be scheduled in advance as the ability to do so varies by agency or business function within an agency.

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3.1.1 General Mandatory Requirement - Call Routing and Dispatching

The call routing and dispatch system described in 3.1 above must be able to connect customers with the appropriate interpreter within four (4) minutes for all Core Languages.

Connection rates for Non-Core languages may vary and shall be agreed upon by the Contractor and end user when requesting services.

Please Note: There are Bid Factors that relate to this requirement. Bid Factors can be seen and responded to in the eSupplier Portal if submitting a bid electronically. If submitting a paper bid, Bid Factors can be downloaded from the Supporting Documents and included with your paper bid submission.

3.1.2 General Mandatory Requirement - Target Language Identification Bidder must be able to assist with identification of target language, when requested.

3.2 General Mandatory Requirement - Multiple Billing Addresses Bidder must be able to accommodate multiple billing addresses for each buying agency and have the ability to accommodate unlimited agency account numbers and/or billing addresses.

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3.3 General Mandatory Requirement - Reporting Requirements

The State requires that reports be provided in Microsoft Excel editable format and delivered via email to the DOA Contract Manager and/or the requesting agency.

Reports shall be due no later than 15 business days following the end of the calendar quarter. A report is required even if the Contractor experiences zero sales during a quarter.

Using the report template provided as APPENDIX C: REPORT TEMPLATE a summary report of activities and expenditures must be submitted after the end of each quarter of the calendar year (March 31, June 30, September 30 and December 31) for the duration of the contract. This report must include all State activities and expenditure performed in the scope of this contract. The following fields appear on APPENDIX C and at a minimum, shall be reported:

• Date

• Purchase Order Number (if applicable)

• Buying agency staff contact

• Agency

• Division/Bureau

• Language(s)

• Interpreter ID (non-personal form i.e., reference number or such)

• Time to Connect (minutes)

• Call start time

• Call end time

• Call duration (minutes)

• Charge per Minute

• Total minutes Billed

An annual summary report of activities and expenditures must be submitted at the end of each calendar year (December 31) to the DOA Contract Manager. This report must include all of the fields specified above rolled up into an annual summary of the corresponding, four quarterly summary reports.

Contractor must also furnish a quarterly MBE participation report that must include the following information, at a minimum:

• MBE Name

• MBE address

• FEIN of MBE

• Commodities/Services Provided

• Total Spend

At time of contract award and/or implementation, Contractor shall provide the DOA

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Contract Manager with detailed information on their reporting capabilities including reportable data elements and sample reports, if requested.

The State reserves the right, at no additional cost, to request customized reports at any time. The Contractor shall use commercially reasonable efforts to provide such reports in a reasonable time frame but no later than 10 business days from the time the request was submitted.

3.4 General Mandatory Requirement - Disaster Recovery Plan

Bidder must have a disaster recovery plan in place. If requested by any buying agency, Bidder must submit a copy of the plan at any time during the contract.

3.5 General Mandatory Requirement - Data from Assignments

Contractor must document the identity of the interpreter as well as the buying agency staff contact for each assignment, but that identifying data must take a non-personal form (e.g. a reference number) if shown on billing or routine paperwork, as it may be considered confidential information.

3.6 General Mandatory Requirement - Purchasing Methods

Bidder must be able to accept all of the following purchasing methods:

• Specific Purchase order placed for one-time services.

• Blanket-type purchase orders issued for the State's fiscal year time (July 1 - June 30) to allow departmental personnel to call or fax for product or service as needed.

• Direct Payment - the Contractor will bill directly for individual services as performed without issuance of a purchase order

Please Note: There are Bid Factors that relate to this requirement. Bid Factors can be seen and responded to in the eSupplier Portal if submitting a bid electronically. If

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3.7 General Mandatory Requirement - Core Language Proficiencies Bidder must specify if they are able to accurately interpret general, medical/HIPAA compliant, scientific, educational and legal terminology when necessary. To be considered as having any of these specialized skills, the interpreters must have completed formal training in them, either from an educational institution or from the contracting agency. Agencies that require those specialized skills will select a contractor with the appropriate proficiencies.

Please Note: There are Bid Factors that relate to this requirement. Bid Factors can be seen and responded to in the eSupplier Portal if submitting a bid electronically. If

3.8 General Mandatory Requirement - Non-Core Language Proficiencies and Response Times Bidders must specify for each non-core language any specialized skills they claim ability to accurately interpret and the response time for each non-core language by responding to

APPENDIX D: NON-CORE LANGUAGES PROFICIENCIES AND RESPONSE TIMES.

Please Note: There are Bid Factors that relate to this requirement. Bid Factors can be seen and responded to in the eSupplier Portal if submitting a bid electronically. If submitting a paper bid, Bid Factors can be downloaded from the Supporting Documents and included with your paper bid submission.

3.9 General Mandatory Requirement - Qualified Interpreter

All interpreters provided under this contract are expected to be qualified competent interpreters.

Qualified interpreter must be able to demonstrate proficiency in English and a second language, demonstrate knowledge of both languages relevant specialized terms and concepts.

Interpreters must demonstrate their competency of the culture of LEP language group being served. Cultural awareness training topics normally include an in-depth understanding of the norms, values, beliefs, symbols, practices, languages, and terminology of the LEP language group.

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3.10 General Mandatory Requirement - Invoicing and Billing

State agencies must meet a statutory mandate to pay or reject invoices within 30 days of receipt. Before payment is made, the ordering agency must verify that all invoice charges are correct and financial conditions are in compliance with the contract. Only properly submitted invoices will be officially received for payment. Prompt payment requires that invoices be clear, complete and in compliance with the conditions of the Request for Bid and subsequent purchase orders.

The original invoice must be sent to the bill-to address on the purchase order. All invoices must be itemized, at a minimum with the following information:

• Purchase order number (if applicable)

• Vendor Name

• Remit to address

• Complete description of the service provided

• Prices (per the contract)

• Interpreter (non-personal form, i.e., reference number or such)

• Buying agency staff contact

• Language(s)

• The rate being charged per minute

• The reference ID number for the call

• The date, start and end times for the call

• The wait time for connection to an interpreter

• Call duration in minutes

• The number of minutes being billed

Invoices will be prepared at the end of every calendar month and delivered to the agency no later than the 15th day of the calendar month immediately following the month being invoiced for. Buying agencies may require invoices to be submitted electronically, via e-mail. Contractors must accommodate any such requests.

Bidder will only invoice for the time that interpreter service is provided. Billing starts when the interpreter answers and begins interpreting. The interpretation period is ended when the interpreter has been disconnected from both the customer and the client. Connection time to the appropriate interpreter or time needed to establish the language service is not chargeable.

Billing shall be made in increments of one minute. If any period of time falls between 31 and 59 second, Bidder will round up to the next minute.

The Contractor will be paid after goods and/or services have been delivered, installed (if required) and accepted as specified. A good faith dispute creates an exception to prompt payment.

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3.11 General Mandatory Requirement - Printed Materials

Upon request, the Bidder will provide at no additional cost to the State, printed materials to assist agencies. If requested, the bidder will also provide electronic versions of these materials.

Materials include, but are not limited to, language posters, "I Speak" cards and other information outlining the procedures for accessing the services.

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4 PERFORMANCE AND SUPPORT REQUIREMENTS

Contractor performance affects the buying agency's ability to meet their client's needs.

Significant or repeated wait times or failure to provide the contracted interpretation services may be grounds for termination of contract.

Wait time is the time between connection with the contractor's call menu system and the time the appropriate target language interpreter is on the line and able to act as an intermediary. Wait time does not include the time spent on Target-language Identification Assistance, if the assistance is required by the buying agency.

The following is a list of unacceptable performance that may be grounds for barring an individual interpreter from providing services under this contract:

• Any single offense of breach of confidentiality.

The following is a list of unacceptable performance and may be grounds for a corrective action plan and may or may not result in the termination of the contract:

• Wait time of more than four (4) minutes (240 seconds) for any Core Languages (See DEFINITIONS for list of Core Languages) on three (3) or more connections within any four (4) week period.

• If in a period of a month the Contractor has four (4) or more instances of an interpreter not being available for a Core Language.

• For calls up to one-hour (60 minutes) duration, during normal business hours, any two (2) occasions within any six (6) month period of an interpreter beginning a call but declining to complete the call.

• Failure of the contractor's call system to accept an incoming call or to route the call in the appropriate path, that results in failure to obtain the required interpretation services, any two (2) such outages lasting longer than 30 minutes in any six (6) month period.

• Contractors that are reported to have egregious billing errors, such as but not limited to, charging calls to an incorrect account, repeatedly sending invoices to an incorrect location, failure to credit payments to a billing account properly, etc., six (6) or more times within a six (6) month period.

• Any two (2) offenses of breach of confidentiality.

• Failure to keep contact information up to date with the DOA Contract

Manager.

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Users that have unresolved or recurring issues with contractors on the contract will report those issues to the DOA Contract Manager using DOA-3686 Complaint Report on Vendor/Contractor Performance. The DOA Contract Manager will notify Contractor of performance issues.

As part of their bid, the Bidder shall upload a document outlining the escalation process for performance issues which will include contact names, titles, email addresses, phone numbers and path of escalation.

Unacceptable performance may be grounds for contract cancellation.

Please Note: There are Bid Factors that relate to this requirement. Bid Factors can be seen and responded to in the eSupplier Portal if submitting a bid electronically. If

5 FRATERNIZATION

Contractor agrees to have a written policy on fraternization that prohibits the forming of improper relationships between Contractor's employees and customers or clients.

Engaging in personal relationships with customers or clients is prohibited under this contract. Personal relationships include, but are not limited to any sexual, social or physical contact. This does not include any contact that is necessary to perform an effective interpreter service.

State of Wisconsin agencies may require a separate agency specific fraternization agreement with vendors based on the type of public service provided to their clients or customers. Contracted vendors will be required to conform to the requirements of the buying agency's agreement when engaging with that agency's customers or clients.

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6 CONFIDENTIALITY AND ETHICS

Contractor acknowledges that some of the dates and documentation it may become privy to in the performance of this contract is of a confidential nature. Bidder must have a policy regarding ethics and confidentiality for their interpreters to follow which must be on an annual basis. This policy must address at a minimum the following:

Contractor or its employees may have direct or indirect contact with clients, staff or other parties. All services provided to clients are confidential in nature. Contractor shall make all reasonable efforts to ensure that it or its employees and subcontractors do not disseminate such confidential information including but not limited to identity of clients or services being received. Contractor must have a policy regarding ethics and confidentiality for their staff to follow. Some buying agencies that provide health services may additionally require interpreters to sign Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy statements at the time of service.

Contractor or its employees and subcontractors will not reuse, sell, or make use in any format the data researched or complied for this contract for any venture, profitable or not, outside this contract.

Contractor agrees to observe complete confidentiality with respect to all aspects of any confidential information, proprietary data and/or trade secrets and any parts thereof, whether such contents are the State's or the manufacturer's, Bidder's or distributor's whereby Contractor or Contractor's personnel may gain access while engaged by the State or while on State premises.

The restrictions herein shall survive the termination of this contract for any reason and shall continue in full force and effect and shall be binding upon the Contractor or its agents, employees, successors, assigns, subcontractors, or any party claiming an interest in this contract on behalf of or under the rights of Contractor following any termination. Contractor shall advise all Contractors' agents, employees, successors, assigns and subcontractors which are engaged by the State of the restrictions, present and continuing, set forth herein. Contractor shall defend and incur all costs, if any, for actions that arise as a result of noncompliance by Contractor, it agents, employees, successors, assigns and subcontractors regarding the restrictions herein.

The State reserves the right to request, at any time, a copy of the Contractor's policy regarding ethics and confidentiality used with their interpreters.

Please Note: There are Bid Factors that relate to this requirement. Bid Factors can be seen and responded to in the eSupplier Portal if submitting a bid electronically. If

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7 SPECIAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF BID

The State reserves the right to negotiate special terms and conditions when it is in the best interest of the State to do so. The Bidder shall not submit its own contract document as a substitute for the State's Special Terms and Conditions.

Bidders shall accept all terms and conditions or submit point-by-point exceptions along with proposed alternative language for each point. The State may or may not consider any of the Bidder's suggested revisions. Any changes or amendment to any of the terms and conditions will occur only if the change is in the best interest of the State.

7.1 Special Terms and Conditions - Recording of Sessions

Buying agencies may have the need to record, either audio or video, interpretation sessions being provided by any of the delivery methods, for various reasons (i.e. training, public messages, court testimony, automated voice response messages, etc.). Contractor must release the buying agency to produce the recordings and use them as necessary. The buying agency retains exclusive ownership of any such recordings.

7.2 Special Terms and Conditions - Sample Contract

The intended result of the RFB is to enter into a contractual agreement with the selected Bidder (s). A sample contract has been provided as APPENDIX E: SAMPLE CONTRACT. This contract specifically incorporates by reference all of the mandatory requirements and Specification of the Bid Sections including:

• Mandatory Bid Requirements

• Conditions specific to this Bid

• Pricing structure

If DOA, in its sole discretion, determines that it is in the best interests of the State to do so, it may agree with the selected Bidder to negotiate some of the contract terms or the special conditions of the Bid. However, such negotiations may not affect the method of award, disadvantage another Bidder or affect the scope of the Bid.

As with any contract, once executed, both parties will be expected to meet and perform all of its respective contract obligations. Failure to do so will subject that non-performing party to various contract remedies.

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7.3 Special Terms and Conditions - Liquidated Damages

The State may suffer damages due to Bidder's lack of performance of certain terms and conditions of the resulting contract. Since it is impractical and extremely difficult to fix the actual damages sustained in the event of any such non- performance, the State will impose the following liquidated damages for the performance failures listed below.

• For calls up to one-hour (60 minutes) duration, during normal business hours, any two (2) occasions within any six (6) month period of an interpreter beginning a call but declining to complete the call will be assessed a minimum of one hour at the current Contractors rate per minute.

• Failure of the Contractor's call system to accept an incoming call or to route the call in the appropriate path, that results in failure to obtain the required interpretation services, any two (2) such outages lasting longer than 30 minutes in any six (6) month period will be assessed $1000.

The buying agency, at it's option, may deduct liquidated damages from any money payable to the Contractor or may bill the Contractor as a separate item.

7.4 Special Terms and Conditions - Payment Terms

Payment will not be made until the service is determined to meet all Specifications, requirements and deliverables and has been accepted by the Procuring Agency.

7.4.1 Special Terms and Conditions - Purchasing Card Acceptance

Some agencies may request to use the State's Purchasing Card (P-Card) for payment of services. The Bidder is not required to accept P-Cards, however it is strongly preferred. If the Bidder accepts a P-Card, no markup is allowed.

Please Note: There are Bid Factors that relate to this requirement. Bid Factors can be seen and responded to in the eSupplier Portal if submitting a bid electronically. If

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8 BUSINESS ASSOCIATE AGREEMENT

At the discretion of the buying agency, a Business Associate Agreement may be required. The Contractor agrees to sign this agreement if requested by the Procuring Agency. It is the intention of the Contract to comply with the federal regulations implementing the Health Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) concerning privacy, security and transaction standards related to Protected Health Information (PHI).

The terms of those agreements apply only to services performed for those respective buying agencies, and not to this contract.

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9 CANCELLATION AND TERMINATION

TERMINATION FOR CAUSE

The State may terminate this Contract after providing the Contractor with thirty (30) calendar days written notice of the Contractor's right to cure a failure of the Contractor to perform under the terms of this Contract. The Contractor may terminate this Contract after providing the State one hundred and twenty (120) calendar days' notice of the State's right to cure a failure of the State to perform under the terms of this Contract.

Upon the termination of this Contract for any reason, or upon Contract expiration, each party shall be released from all obligations to the other party arising after the date of termination or expiration, except for those that by their terms survive such termination or expiration.

TERMINATION FOR CONVENIENCE

Either party may terminate this Contract at any time, without cause, by providing a written notice; the State of Wisconsin by providing at least thirty (30) calendar days notice to the Contractor, and the Contractor providing at least one hundred and twenty

(120) calendar days' notice to the State in advance of the intended date of termination.

In the event of termination for convenience, the Contractor shall be entitled to receive compensation for any fees owed under the Contract. The Contractor shall also be compensated for partially completed Services. In this event, compensation for such partially completed Services shall be no more than the percentage of completion of the Services requested, at the sole discretion of the State, multiplied by the corresponding payment for completion of such Services as set forth in the Contract. Alternatively, at the sole discretion of the State, the Contractor may be compensated for the actual Service hours provided. The State shall be entitled to a refund for goods or services paid for but not received or implemented, such refund to be paid within 30 days' of written notice to the Contractor requesting the refund.

CONTRACT CANCELLATION

The State reserves the right to cancel this Contract in whole or in part without penalty if the Contractor:

• Fails to perform any material obligation required under the Contract

• Files a petition in bankruptcy, becomes insolvent, or otherwise takes action to dissolve as a legal entity

• Allows any final judgment not to be satisfied or a lien not to be disputed after a

Page 29 RFB#28272-CN legally-imposed, 30-day notice.

• Makes an assignment for the benefit of creditors

• Fails to follow the sales and use tax certification requirements of s. 77.66 of the Wisconsin Statutes

• Incurs a delinquent Wisconsin tax liability

• Fails to submit a…