Statement_of_Work_-_Translation_Services.pdf

ATTACHMENT (1)

RFQ#: HSFE06-17-Q-0018

STATEMENT OF WORK

(DR-4277-LA and DR-4300-LA)

For the provision of

American Sign Language Interpreters and Communication Access Real-Time Translation (CART)

A. DESCRIPTION OF NEED

• Interpreting services provided by a Contractor knowledgeable in disability law and the accommodations therein, that specializes in the provision of Sign Language Interpretation. Contractor needs to consistently provide qualified Sign Language interpreters who can interpret in the appropriate modality to fit the need of disaster survivors. This service is to ensure all FEMA delivered information, goods and services at related locations and events are accessible to survivors who are Deaf or hard of hearing and use American Sign Language (ASL) as their primary mode of communication.

• CART services provided by a Contractor knowledgeable in disability law and the accommodations therein. Contractor needs to provide qualified CART writers, on location or remote as requested, who can consistently translate from spoken English to written English verbatim and in real time.

B. SCOPE

• Interpreting services provided at any location within the declared area of the state on an as needed basis Sunday – Saturday at any hour of the day or night; 24/7. Declared parishes for Individual Assistance in DR4277 are Tangipahoa, Avoyelles, Jefferson Davis, St. Helena, East Baton Rouge, West Baton Rouge, Ascension, St. Martin, Iberia, East Feliciana, West Feliciana, St. Landry, Iberville, Vermillion, Livingston, Lafayette, Pointe Coupee, St. Tammany, Washington, Acadia, Evangeline, and St. James.

• Declared parishes for Individual Assistance in DR4300-LA are Livingston and Orleans.

• Contractor will be able to provide up to 12 interpreters and 6 CART writers at any one time upon request however;

• Interpreting and CART service needs will typically fall during the working hours of 7am to 7pm, Monday-Saturday, however, the provision of services are to be available outside of these hours as requested.

• Interpreters and CART writers will arrive no later than thirty (30) minutes prior to a scheduled assignment regardless of where the assignment is located.

• Attire is business casual unless told otherwise, however service locations will not always be in an office environment. Due to the nature of disaster operations, some requests for service locations could be quite austere, requiring providers to walk on uneven ground, muddy areas and the like. It is the responsibility of the providers to be prepared for these conditions with appropriate clothing and footwear.

• Interpreters and CART writers must have access to their own transportation for every location to which their services are requested under this SOW. Locations where the services are provided might change multiple times in a given day without notice.

Authorization for travel must be pre-approved by the Project Officer prior to the travel in order to be reimbursed.

• Request for services will often occur at locations other than the Joint Field Office (JFO).

Travel time and mileage is to be billed with the origin and completion location as the JFO, located at 415 N. 15th Street Baton Rouge, LA 70802. Travel time and mileage from the provider’s home to the JFO is considered their regular commute and will not be billed.

• Interpreters and CART writers who are scheduled to work for six (6) hours or more must take a ½ hour lunch. Lunch time is not to be invoiced. Interpreters and CART writers are responsible to work out timing for their lunches with their teammates, informing their POC, while still covering the service provision needs.

• Lodging will be reimbursed up to the GSA lodging rate for the location of the request if the event specifics fall into one of the following two categories:

If travel from the Joint Field Office (JFO) to the event exceeds one hour, one way, with two events occurring on consecutive days at that location

OR

If the total hours of the requested event plus round trip travel, beginning and ending at the Joint Field Office (JFO), exceeds 12 hours. Address of the JFO is listed below under

INVOICING.

• Every attempt will be made for services to be requested at a minimum of 24 hours prior to the start of the assignment, however, occasions may occur where the Project Officer is unable to provide 24 hours notice. In this event, the Agency will pay a premium rate for the hours requested and the Contractor will make their best effort to fill the request.

If the Contractor is unable to fill the request, written notification must be given to the Project Officer within two (2) hours of time the request was made.

• Service requests cancelled by the Project Officer with less than 24 hours notice, prior to the start of the request, are to be billed for hours requested. Location, within the same time frame as the original request, can change without notice and will incur no cancellation charge or other penalty.

• Interpreters and CART writers will comply with and will be held to all requirements set forth within this SOW and contract.

• The period of performance is 3 months, with the option to extend services.

C. QUALIFICATIONS

Sign Language interpreters, at minimum, must:

• Hold one type of certification recognized by the state where the disaster is declared, National Association of the Deaf or Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf.

• Be of the skill level to change the modality in which they are interpreting to fit the needs of the disaster survivor they are to serve. This includes, but is not limited to American Sign Language (ASL), Conceptually Accurate Signed English (CASE), and Tactile Sign Language. If requested, the contractor must provide a Sign Language interpreter with strong voicing skills.

• Comply with the Professional Code of Conduct established by the national Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID).

CART providers, at minimum, must:

• Hold one type of certification recognized by the state, National Court Reporters Association (NCRA), National Verbatim Reporters Association (NVRA) or equivalent.

• Provide consistent translation from spoken English to written English verbatim.

• Provide their own CART writing equipment needed and work with the Project Officer to ensure connectivity and display needs.

D. SCHEDULE

• Assignments: Project Officer will contact the Contractor in writing to request services, providing date, times and location. Services are to be provided on an as needed, as requested, basis at the discretion of the Project Officer within the confines of the contract and SOW. The Project Officer will maintain documentation of the time the request was placed, the date of the assignment, the start time of the assignment, the anticipated duration, the location, and a description of the event to be given to the Contractor. The documentation will be made available to the Contracting Officer for inspection as requested.

• Interpreters and CART providers are required to complete and turn in to the FEMA POC a daily form detailing start and stop of working hours, travel time, mileage for each leg of their travel for the day. The Contractor will provide the form, as found within the contract, to each interpreter and CART writer sent under this contract and SOW.

• All extensions and changes of scheduled time will be requested by the Project Officer to the Contractor in writing.

• Interpreters and CART providers will remain available to work for the entire scheduled time, regardless of changes to events.

• In the event any or all of the Interpreters or CART writers are unable to come to work, the Contractor is required to notify the FEMA Project Officer. The Contractor will be required to replace the Interpreters and/or CART writers. In the event the Contractor is unable to supply the replacements, the contractor will not bill the government for those service hours.

• Inclement Weather or Emergency: Interpreters and CART writers will not report to work if the federal government is closed due to inclement weather or emergency. No cancellation fee or charges will be assessed. The Contractor will not bill the government for service hours when the government is closed due to inclement weather or emergency.

• Other Unscheduled Federal Government Closures: In the event of an unscheduled closure of the federal government, interpreters and CART writers will not report to work or to their scheduled assignments. No cancellation fee or charges will be assessed. The Contractor will not bill the government for services when the government is closed.

• Federal Holidays: Interpreter and CART writer services may be required on federal holidays and weekends during a disaster declaration. If work is performed on holidays, the contractor shall bill for services performed at the flat rate agreed upon with no premiums or rate increase.

• Inclement Weather – Non Closures: In the event of inclement weather or an emergency, service providers are responsible for calling FEMA’s Project Officer and will abide by the delay arrival policy pertaining to federal employees established by the Joint Field Office. If services cannot be provided, the Contractor will not bill the government for service hours for the day(s)/hours.

E. EVALUATION OF SERVICES

• The Contractor shall be solely responsible for the quality of services provided. The

Contractor shall also be liable for negligence, fraud, waste or abuse by the Interpreters and CART writers provided.

• Recipients of interpreter or CART services, qualified FEMA staff and the event POC may provide feedback on the quality of the services to the Project Officer. Feedback will be provided to the Contractor within 24 hours of receipt of the feedback when necessary.

Interpreters and/or CART writers can be dismissed at the discretion of the Project Officer for deficiencies in performance, ethical standards, dress, timeliness or other quality standards. If dismissal is necessary, the Contractor will only bill for the actual time worked on the day of dismissal. If replacement of Interpreter or CART writer is requested, the Contractor will fulfill that request and not send that Interpreter or CART writer to any future event under this contract unless told otherwise by the Project Officer.

F. INVOICING

The Contractor will:

• Follow the invoicing instructions outlined in the SOW and the contract.

• Send an invoice to include time records with names, dates, number of service hours and lodging receipts, if applicable, every two weeks for each provider.

• Bill on a biweekly basis using the fixed hourly rate or emergency premium rate, where applicable, as established in the contract.

• Only bill for hours of service actually worked during each billing cycle as well as any mileage owed.

• Work hours to be billed at a flat rate or emergency premium rate stated within the contract. Travel hours to be billed at the flat rate only. No additional premiums will be added.

• Mileage is to be billed at the federal rate.

• Mileage is reimbursable only for personally owned vehicles when services are required outside of the JFO. Mileage from the provider’s home to the JFO will not be billed.

G. REFERENCES

• Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Public Law 93-288, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 5121-5207).

• Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-295) Oct. 4, 2006.