Statement of Work.pdf

SOW FEMA, DR-4683-CA

In-person, Virtual and Remote American Sign Language (ASL) Interpretation and remote Communication Access Real-Time Translation (CART) Services

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STATEMENT OF WORK

DHS/FEMA/OEA

LANGUAGE SUPPORT SERVICES

02/07/23

1.0 DESCRIPTION OF NEED

The provision of language access for Sign Language interpretation onsite, virtual/remote, prescheduled according to need. The provision of Communication Access Real-Time Translation (CART), virtual or in-person according to need, including Mexican Sign Language and PRSL as needed. This Statement of Work serves for the provision of any or all the services as determined by the Requestor. Interpreting and CART services to be provided with relevance to all declared counties for DR 4683-CA in the counties of Merced, Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Calaveras and San Mateo counties on an as-needed basis Sunday – Saturday at any hour of the day or night: 24/7.

Any county that is added to DR-4683 will be included in this contract. We are recommending multiple contracts to support sign language interpretation and CART within the state of California closest to the disaster area.

• Sign Language Interpretation services provided by a Contractor(s) (preferably based in the state) where the disaster occurred, knowledgeable in disability law and the accommodations therein and specializes in the provision of sign language interpretation.

Contractor(s) needs to consistently provide qualified sign language interpreters who can interpret in the appropriate modality to fit the need of disaster survivors. These services are to ensure all FEMA-delivered information, goods and services produced and related events are accessible to survivors who are Deaf or hard of hearing and use Sign Language Interpretation services as their primary mode of communication. It is important to emphasize that emergency management is a high stake, high consequences environment and as such, it is therefore paramount to assign qualified sign language interpreters who understand government/emergency management terminology and the response and recovery process to best support the survivor’s needs. Contractor must provide qualified sign language interpreters virtually or at the prescheduled location according to request and provide prescheduled video remote services according to request.

• CART services provided by a Contractor knowledgeable in disability law and the accommodations therein, that specializes in the provision of real time captioning services.

This service is to ensure all FEMA-delivered information, goods and services produced and related events are accessible to survivors who are Deaf or hard of hearing who rely on captioning as their primary method of receiving information. It is important to emphasize that emergency management is a high stake, high consequences environment and as such, it is therefore paramount to assign qualified CART providers who

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2.0 TERMINOLOGY

For the purposes of this Statement of Work and the aligned contract, the following terms and acronyms will be used.

• Providers – the interpreter(s) and/or CART provider(s) assigned to a specific event.

• Contractor - the entity awarded the contract to provide services.

• Agency – Federal Emergency Management Agency

• Recipient – the end user of the services being provided

• Requestor – the Contracting Officer (CO), Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR), their Alternate (ACOR), or designated Point of Contact (POC) within the Agency.

3.0 SCOPE

Three or more contracts may be awarded for Communications Access Services in the state of California depending on the addition of counties.

3.1 General to All Services

• Service needs will typically fall during the working hours of 7am to 7pm, Sunday-

Saturday, however, the provision of services is to be available outside of these hours as requested as town hall meetings and disaster recovery center often happen in the evening hours after 7 pm, both for in-person and remote needs.

• Providers are required to present acceptable valid government-issued photo ID upon arrival or request. The COR will provide the Contractor with the requirements regarding accepted photo IDs.

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

• Federal regulations require that mileage reimbursement applies to travel that meets the over-50-mile threshold from place of residence.

• The period of performance is 90 days, with one options of 90 days each to extend services.

• All requests and communications will be limited to the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR), their Alternate (ACOR) or a designated Point of Contact (POC) as listed:

• CO – Demetria Carter

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• COR – Gay Jones

• ACOR – Aaron Kubey

• POC- Laura Forbes

CLIN

Sign Language Interpreting/CART Services/mileage for Winter Storms in the state of California DR-4683

Unit of Issue

ASL Interpretation 2,000 Hrs.

0002 CART Services 750 Hrs.

0003 Mileage 2,000 miles

3.2 Specific to Virtual Interpretation and CART Services

Interpreting and CART services to be provided with relevance to all counties for Region IX in the

State of California for DR 4683-CA on as needed basis Sunday – Saturday at any hour of the day or night; 24/7.

• Authorization for travel outside the declared area must be pre-approved by the Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) prior to the travel and will be reimbursed in accordance with the federal government’s Federal Travel Regulations further than 50 miles one way.

• For virtual services, Providers will appear in the platform no less than 10 minutes prior to a prescheduled assignment.

• Attire is business casual unless told otherwise.

• Every attempt will be made for onsite services to be requested at a minimum of 24-hours prior to the start of the assignment, however, occasions may occur where the Requestor is unable to provide 24 hours’ notice. If the Contractor is unable to fill the request, written notification via email must be given to the Requestor within two (2) hours of the time the request was made. By default, if no such written communication is received, it is determined that the Contractor has accepted and will fill the request.

• Sign Language Interpretation and CART service requests cancelled by the Requestor with less than 48 business hours’ notice, prior to the start of the request, are to be billed

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4.0 QUALIFICATIONS

Sign language interpreters and Certified Deaf interpreters, at minimum, must:

• Possess certification from National Association of the Deaf/Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf or one type of certification recognized by the state where the disaster is declared. Interpreters must be able to provide proof of certification upon request. In some states, licensure for interpreters is required by law.

• Have the skill and experience to change the modality in which they are interpreting to meet the needs of the disaster survivor(s) they are to serve and when appropriate, the broad spectrum of need nationwide. This includes, but is not limited to, American Sign Language (ASL), Conceptually Accurate Signed English (CASE), Tactile Sign Language and Puerto Rican Sign Language (PRSL). 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) and all state laws regardless of the type of qualification they possess.

Deaf interpreters, at minimum, must:

• Where certification is not currently available, possess 150 hours of professional interpreting experience with no less than 50 of those hours in platform or conference interpreting. Interpreter must be able to provide proof of experience upon request.

• Have the skill and experience the change the modality in which they are interpreting to meet the broad spectrum of need nationwide.

• Comply with Professional Code of Conduct established by the national Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) regardless of the type of qualification they possess.

CART providers, at minimum, must:

• Hold one type of certification recognized by the state where the disaster is declared, 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 FEMA POC to ensure connectivity and display needs.

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5.0 SCHEDULE

5.1 Assignments

• Services are to be provided on an as needed, as requested, basis at the discretion of the

Requestor within the confines of the contract and this SOW. Requestor will contact the Contractor, primarily by phone followed by email, to request services and provide the following information:

• For Interpretation and CART services – date of assignment, assignment type, language preference if other than ASL, times and location or remote specifications.

• Requestor will maintain a log or spreadsheet documenting the time of the request in addition to the following:

• For Interpretation and CART services, the Requestor will document the date of the assignment, the start time of the assignment, the anticipated duration, the location, and a description of the event. This log will be made available to the Contracting Officer for inspection as requested.

• For Interpretation and CART services, Contractor will provide to the Requestor the names of the assigned Providers as soon as possible or at a minimum of six hours prior to the start of the assignment.

• As per industry standard, two interpreters will be required for assignments lasting more than ninety (90) minutes; or assignments of a detailed or technical nature; or involving a general audience with a duration of more than one hour. If a CDI/ASL team is assigned, two ASL interpreters will be provided for every CDI in the team. For example: a team of two CDIs would pair with four ASL interpreters.

• As per industry standard, one CART provider at a time will be contracted per event need.

Due to duration, the need might arise for a CART provider to be replaced by another CART provider. In this event, the CART providers are expected to share relevant knowledge and meeting context as it pertains to their provision of service at the time of replacement. An unedited copy of the transcript needs to be available upon request.

5.2 Cancellations and Changes

• All cancellations or schedule adjustments will be requested by the Requestor to the

Contractor primarily by phone and followed via email within 48 business hours.

• Providers will remain available to work for the entire scheduled time, regardless of changes to events.

• In the event any or all Provider(s) are unable to work, the Contractor is required to notify the Requestor. The Contractor will be required to replace the Provider(s). In the event

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5.3 Inclement Weather or Emergency

• Providers 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.

5.4 Other Unscheduled Federal Government Closures

• In the event of an unscheduled closure of the federal government, Providers 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.

5.5 Federal Holidays

• Provider 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 contracted rate with no premiums or rate increase.

5.6 Inclement Weather – Non-Closures

• In the event of inclement weather or an emergency, Providers are responsible for calling

Requestor or alternate Requestor to receive instruction and will abide by the Delayed Arrival policy pertaining to federal employees outlined 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.

6.0 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 incurred by the Provider.

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

• Providers can be dismissed at the discretion of the Requestor 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 Provider is requested, the Contractor will fulfill that request

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7.0 INVOICING

7.1 Interpretation and CART Services

• Bill all onsite and virtual interpretation services at a minimum of two (2) hours and remote CART services at a minimum of two (2) hours. If the assignment is longer than minimum stated hours for the service, the assignment will be billed for the actual duration of the assignment.

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

• Draft all invoices to include invoice date; contract number; period of performance;

Provider name; individual dates of service; time of service for each Provider.

• Bill on a biweekly basis using the fixed hourly rate as established in the contract.

• Use separate line items with the corresponding CLIN to show the hours of service worked.

• Bill work hours at the flat rate established within the contract.

8.0 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.