VRI_CART PWS.pdf

Request For Information (RFI) | R608 | Video Remote Interpreting

(VRI)/Communication Access Real-Time Translation (CART) Services | Department of

Veterans Affairs

GENERAL INFORMATION

CONTRACTING OFFICE’S ZIP CODE* 21703

SOLICITATION NUMBER* 36C10X25Q0044

RESPONSE DATE/TIME/ZONE 01/27/2025 13:00 EASTERN TIME, NEW YORK,

USA

ARCHIVE 15 DAYS AFTER THE RESPONSE DATE

RECOVERY ACT FUNDS N

PRODUCT SERVICE CODE* DA10 – Business Application/ Application

Development Software as a Service

NAICS CODE* 541930 - Translation and Interpretation Services

CONTRACTING OFFICE ADDRESS Strategic Acquisition Center - Frederick

Department of Veterans Affairs

5202 Presidents Court, Suite 103

Frederick MD 21703

POINT OF CONTACT*

Contract Specialist

Brian Tedesco brian.tedesco@va.gov

Contract Specialist

Brandi Luna brandi.luna@va.gov

Contracting Officer

Justin Cole Justin.Cole4@va.gov

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

AGENCY’S URL

URL DESCRIPTION

AGENCY CONTACT’S EMAIL

ADDRESS

EMAIL DESCRIPTION

mailto:brian.tedesco@va.gov mailto:brandi.luna@va.gov mailto:Justin.Cole4@va.gov

1.0 PII BACKGROUND

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Office of Information & Technology (OIT), Compliance, Risk, and Remediation, Office of 508 Compliance strives to provide high-quality effective, and efficient information technology (IT) services to those responsible for providing care to veterans at the point of care as well as throughout all the points of veterans' health care in an effective, timely, and compassionate manner. VA depends on information management/IT systems to meet mission goals.

VA provides reasonable accommodations to VA employees as required by the

Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended. Accommodations include certified sign language interpreting services, video remote interpreting (VRI), certified communication access real-time translation (CART) services, and qualified transcriber services.

Services procured for VA employees with disabilities are required to be handled with the greatest of sensitivity and confidentiality.

Under the provisions of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, in Title V, Section

501, Federal agencies are required to provide reasonable accommodations for qualified applicants and employees with disabilities, barring undue hardship. Title V, Section 504, stipulates that an individual with a disability, solely because of the disability, shall not be excluded from participation in or be denied the benefits of any Federal program or program receiving Federal financial assistance.

The VA requires relay conference captioning (RCC) and VRI-identified Federal relay services to communicate with individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, deaf/blind, or speech disabled, including Federal employees, for communications with and within the

Federal Government.

Qualified interpreters are skilled professionals who adhere to a strict code of ethics and facilitate communication between two parties that do not share the same language.

American Sign Language (ASL) has a linguistic structure quite different from English;

therefore, a skilled interpreter must be able to interpret effectively, accurately, and impartially both expressively (voice-to-sign) and receptively (sign-to-voice) in any given communication situation.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Title II and Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), as well as other state and Federal laws, require the provision of auxiliary aids and services (i.e., interpreting services) necessary to ensure effective communication with deaf, hard of hearing, or deaf/blind individuals. An interpreter should be certified by either the Registry of the Interpreters for the Deaf (RID), the

National Association of the Deaf (NAD), the American Consortium of Certified

Interpreters (ACCI), the Board for Evaluation of Interpreters (BEI), or possess the other suitability qualifications as stated in criteria section 5.6.3.4.

Each individual who requires interpreting services is unique with differing communication needs. Interpreters are assigned to clients based on these needs, certification level, experience, and other factors. Specialized credentials are available for educational and legal settings. “Interpreting” involves translating the spoken word into sign language and vice-versa to enable deaf persons to communicate with hearing persons. The terms “signing” and “interpreting” are often used interchangeably; however, “interpreting” requires a high degree of skill that many persons who have sign language abilities do not possess. An interpreter has completed an interpreting training program and/or is certified by a recognized certifying body such as the National Registry of

Interpreters for the Deaf (Chapter 306, Federal Personnel Manual, Subchapter 5, Section

5-3(a)).

The functional performance criteria require that all electronic and information technologies are usable for people who may be blind or have low vision, are deaf or hard of hearing, have limited motor control or dexterity, or have speech or communication disabilities. These are the core requirements to achieve compliance with the Section 508 portion of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, as amended by the Workforce Investment Act of

1998 (P.L. 105–220) requires that when Federal agencies develop, procure, maintain, or use electronic and information technology, they must ensure that it is accessible to people with disabilities. Federal employees and members of the public who have disabilities must have equal access to and use of information and data comparable to that enjoyed by non-disabled Federal employees and members of the public.

The performance requirements set forth below ensure the VA remains in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and other associated statutes and orders pertaining to reasonable accommodations for the deaf and hard of hearing.

There are numerous types of interpreting situations, such as:

• American Sign Language (ASL)/English interpreter (translation between ASL and spoken

English), Signed Exact English (SEE), Contact Sign (formerly known as PSE), close vision, and sign-supported speech.

• Transliterator (translation between English-based sign language and spoken English).

• Oral interpreter (words are silently mouthed and gestures are used to convey spoken English).

• Tactile interpreter (translation for deaf/blind individuals where the client places his/her hands on the interpreters to feel the formation of signs).

• Low-vision interpreter (for individuals with vision impairments who can only read signs at close range).

• Deaf interpreter (using a deaf person as an intermediary between a hearing person and another deaf, deaf/blind, or hard-of-hearing person).

• Video interpreter (providing services from a remote location through video conferencing technology).

2.0 APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS

In the performance of the tasks associated with this performance work statement, the contractor shall comply with the following:

1. 44 U.S.C. § 3541-3549, "Federal Information Security Management Act

(FISMA) of 2002"

2. "Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014"

3. Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) Publication 140-2, "Security Requirements For Cryptographic Modules"

4. FIPS Pub 199. Standards for Security Categorization of Federal Information and Information Systems, February 2004

5. FIPS Pub 200, Minimum Security Requirements for Federal Information and Information Systems, March 2016

6. FIPS Pub 201-2, "Personal Identity Verification of Federal Employees and Contractors," August 2013

7. 10 U.S.C. § 2224, "Defense Information Assurance Program “Carnegie

Mellon Software Engineering Institute, Capability Maturity Model®

Integration for Development (CMMI-DEV), Version 1.3 November 2010;

and Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute, Capability Maturity

Model® Integration for Acquisition (CMMI-ACQ), Version 1.3 November

8. 5 U.S.C. § 552a, as amended, "The Privacy Act of 1974"

9. Public Law 109-461, Veterans Benefits, Health Care, and

Information Technology Act of 2006, Title IX, Information

Security Matters

10. 42 U.S.C. § 2000d "Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964"

11. VA Directive 0710, "Personnel Security and Suitability Program," June 4, 2010, https://www.va.gov/vapubs/index.cfm

12. VA Handbook 0710, Personnel Security and Suitability Program, May 2, 2016, https://www.va.gov/vapubs/index.cfm

13. VA Directive and Handbook 6102, "Internet/Intranet Services," August 5, 2019 http://www.va.gov/vapubs/index.cfm http://www.va.gov/vapubs/index.cfm

14. 36 C.F.R. Part 1194 "Information and Communication Technology Standards and

Guidelines," January 18, 2017

15. Office of Management and Budget (0MB) Circular A-130, "Managing

Federal Information as a Strategic Resource," July 28, 2016

16. 32 C.F.R. Part 199, "Civilian Health and Medical Program of the

Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS)"

17. NIST SP 800-66 Rev. 1, An Introductory Resource Guide for Implementing the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Security

Rule, October 2008

18. Sections 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. § 794d), as amended, January 18, 2017

19. Homeland Security Presidential Directive (12) (HSPD-12), August 27, 2004

20. VA Directive 6500, "VA Cybersecurity Program," January 24, 2019

21. VA Handbook 6500, "Risk Management Framework for VA Information

Systems - Tier 3: VA Information Security Program," March 10, 2015

22. VA Handbook 6500.2, "Management of Breaches Involving Sensitive

Personal Information (SPI)", July 28, 2016

23. VA Handbook 6500.3, "Assessment, Authorization, And Continuous

Monitoring Of VA Information Systems," February 3, 2014

24. VA Handbook 6500.5, "Incorporating Security and Privacy into the

System Development Lifecycle", March 22, 2010

25. VA Handbook 6500.6, "Contract Security," March 12, 2010

26. VA Handbook 6500.8, "Information System Contingency Planning", April 6, 2011

27. VA Handbook 6500.11, "VA Firewall Configuration", August 22, 2017

28. Ol&T Process Asset Library (PAL), https://www.va.gov/process/. Reference

Process Maps at https://www.va.gov/process/maps.asp and Artifact templates at https://www.va.gov/process/artifacts.asp

29. One-VA Technical Reference Model (TRM) (reference at https://www.va.gov/trm/TRMHomePage.aspx)

30. VA Directive 6508, "Implementation of Privacy Threshold Analysis and

Privacy Impact Assessment," October 15, 2014

31. VA Handbook 6508.1, "Procedures for Privacy Threshold Analysis and

Privacy Impact Assessment," July 30, 2015

32. VA Handbook 6510, "VA Identity and Access Management", January 15, 2016

33. VA Directive and Handbook 6513, "Secure External Connections", October

12, 2017

34. VA Directive 6300, Records and Information Management, September 21, 2018

35. VA Handbook, 6300.1, Records Management Procedures, March 24, 2010 http://www.va.gov/process/ http://www.va.gov/process/maps.asp http://www.va.gov/process/artifacts.asp http://www.va.gov/trm/TRMHomePage.aspx) http://www.va.gov/trm/TRMHomePage.aspx)

36. NIST SP 800-37 Rev 1, Risk Management Framework for Information

Systems and Organizations: A System Life Cycle Approach for Security and

Privacy, December 2018

37. NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 4, Security and Privacy Controls for Federal

Information Systems and Organizations, January 22, 2015

38. 0MB Memorandum, "Transition to IPv6", September 28, 2010

39. VA Directive 0735, Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12

(HSPD-12) Program, October 26, 2015

40. VA Handbook 0735, Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12

(HSPD-12) Program, March 24, 2014

41. OMB Memorandum M-06-18, Acquisition of Products and Services for

Implementation of HSPD-12, June 30, 2006

42. OMB Memorandum 04-04, E-Authentication Guidance for Federal

Agencies, December 16,2003

43. OMB Memorandum 05-24, Implementation of Homeland Security

Presidential Directive (HSPD) 12 - Policy for a Common Identification

Standard for Federal Employees and Contractors, August 5, 2005

44. OMB memorandum M-11-11, "Continued Implementation of Homeland

Security Presidential Directive (HSPD) 12 - Policy for a Common

Identification Standard for Federal Employees and Contractors, February

3, 2011

45. OMB Memorandum, Guidance for Homeland Security Presidential

Directive (HSPD) 12 Implementation, May 23, 2008

46. Federal Identity, Credential, and Access Management (FICAM) Roadmap and Implementation Guidance, December 2, 2011

47. NIST SP 800-116 Rev 1, Guidelines for the Use of Personal Identity

Verification (PIV) Credentials in Facility Access, June 2018

48. 0MB Memorandum M-07-16, Safeguarding Against and Responding to the

Breach of Personally Identifiable Information, May 22, 2007

49. NIST SP 800-63-3, 800-63A, 800-63B, 800-63C, Digital Identity

Guidelines, December 2017

50. NIST SP 800-157, Guidelines for Derived PIV Credentials, December 2014

51. NIST SP 800-164, Guidelines on Hardware-Rooted Security in Mobile

Devices (Draft), October 2012

52. Draft National Institute of Standards and Technology lnteragency

Report (NISTIR) 7981 Mobile, PIV, and Authentication, March

53. VA Memorandum, VAIQ #7100147, Continued Implementation of

Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12), April 29, 2011

(reference https://www.voa.va.gov/documentlistpublic.aspx?Node1D=514)

54. 1AM Identity Management Business Requirements Guidance document, May

2013, (reference Enterprise Architecture Section, PIV/IAM (reference https://www.voa.va.gov/documentlistpublic.aspx?Nodel0=514)

55. _VA Memorandum "Personal Identity Verification (PIV) Logical Access

Policy Clarification," July 17, 2019, https://www.voa.va.gov/DocumentView.aspx?DocumentlD=4896

56. Trusted Internet Connections (TIC) Reference Architecture Document, Version 2.2, Federal lnteragency Technical Reference Architectures, Department of Homeland Security, June 19, 2017,

57. https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/TIC Ref Arch v2.2 2017.pdf

58. OMB Memorandum M-08-05, "Implementation of Trusted Internet Connections (TIC), November 20, 2007

59. OMB Memorandum M-08-23, Securing the Federal Government's Domain Name System

Infrastructure, August 22, 2008

60. VA Memorandum, VAIQ #7497987, Compliance - Electronic Product

Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT)- IT Electronic Equipment, August

11, 2014 (reference

61. Document Libraries, EPEAT/Green Purchasing Section, https://www.voa.va.gov/documentlistpublic.aspx?Node1D=552)

62. Sections 524 and 525 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of

2007, (Public Law 110-140), December 19, 2007

63. Section 104 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, (Public Law 109-58), August 8, 2005

64. Executive Order 13834, "Efficient Federal Operations", dated May 17, 2018

65. Executive Order 13221, "Energy-Efficient Standby Power Devices,"

August 2, 2001

66. VA Directive 0058, "VA Green Purchasing Program", July 19, 2013

67. VA Handbook 0058, "VA Green Purchasing Program", July 19, 2013

68. Office of Information Security (OIS) VAIQ #7424808 Memorandum, "Remote Access", January 15, 2014, https://www.voa.va.gov/DocumentListPublic.aspx?Nodeld=28

69. Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996, 40 U.S.C. §11101 and §11103

"Veteran Focused Integration Process (VIP) Guide 3.2", December 2018, https://www.voa.va.gov/DocumentView.aspx?Documentl 0=4371

70. VA Memorandum "Proper Use of Email and Other Messaging Services", January

2, 2018, https://www.voa.va.gov/DocumentListPublic.aspx?Nodeld=28

71. VA Handbook 5975.1, “Processing Requests for Reasonable Accommodation and

Personal Assistance Services for Employees and Applicants with Disabilities,” http://www.voa.va.gov/documentlistpublic.aspx?Node1D=514) http://www.voa.va.gov/documentlistpublic.aspx?Nodel0=514) http://www.voa.va.gov/DocumentView.aspx?DocumentlD=4896 http://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/TIC http://www.voa.va.gov/documentlistpublic.aspx?Node1D=552) http://www.voa.va.gov/DocumentListPublic.aspx?Nodeld=28 http://www.voa.va.gov/DocumentView.aspx?Documentl http://www.voa.va.gov/DocumentListPublic.aspx?Nodeld=28

April 18, 2022

3.0 SCOPE OF WORK

The contractor shall provide effective communication access services to ensure all information and events are accessible to employees who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have other disabilities affecting their communication access for the United States and its territories. The contractor shall provide sign language interpretation. Language services may include, but are not limited to, the following: VRI and RCC/CART.

These services ensure accessibility to VA programs and services for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing and comply with Federal laws, including the

Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and ADA Title II.

The contractor is responsible for providing qualified and vetted interpreting services upon request for short- and long-term engagements supporting VA deaf and hard-of-hearing employees. It is incumbent on the prime contractor to verify each interpreter’s capabilities and take corrective action if performance problems arise.

Interpreter services may range from simple to complex. The contractor should be able to work in a high-pressure, fast-paced environment and stay within the role of interpreter/captioner. In the performance of services under this contract, the interpreter/captioner shall adhere to the provisions of this contract.

The contractor shall provide interpreting services from American English as spoken language to American Sign Language using the mode or means of communication style that is most appropriate for the deaf/hard-of-hearing employee. The contractor shall provide CART services from spoken English to written English in real-time.

Nonpersonal services: The Government shall neither supervise contractor employees nor control the method by which the contractor performs the required tasks. It shall be the responsibility of the contractor to manage its employees and guard against any actions that are of the nature of personal services or give the perception of personal services. If the contractor believes that any actions constitute or are perceived to constitute personal services, it shall be the contractor's responsibility to notify the contracting officer (CO) immediately by email.

The contractor shall be responsible for all coordination of services from receipt of request through fulfillment of the request.

The contractor is responsible for the following:

• Provide qualified and vetted interpreters with the qualifications as stated in this work statement.

• Schedule and manage service requests ensuring all requests are fulfilled.

• Ensure all services are provided in a quality manner in compliance with this work statement via a sound quality control program.

It is critical that interpreters assigned to this contract acquire and maintain extensive knowledge of the VA culture and terminology that relates to the client’s/employee’s work.

It is requested that the contractor coordinator be ASL-certified, as then they can fully understand the requirements for interpreters, screen potential interpreters, anticipate the needs of the employee client, and on short notice provide interpreting services.

4.0 PERFORMANCE DETAILS

4.1 PERFORMANCE PERIOD

The period of performance (PoP) shall be a 12-month base period with four 12-month option periods and two optional tasks. The total PoP for this contract shall not exceed 60 months, inclusive of all options.

Any work at the Government site shall not take place on Federal holidays or weekends unless directed by the CO.

There are 11 Federal holidays set by law (USC Title 5 Section 6103) that VA follows: Under current definitions, five are set by date:

• New Year's Day: January 1

• Juneteenth: June 19

• Independence Day: July 4

• Veterans Day: November 11

• Christmas Day: December 25

If any of the above falls on a Saturday, then Friday shall be observed as a holiday.

Similarly, if one falls on a Sunday, then Monday shall be observed as a holiday.

The other six holidays are set by a day of the week and month:

• Martin Luther King's Birthday: Third Monday in January

• Washington's Birthday: Third Monday in February

• Memorial Day: Last Monday in May

• Labor Day: First Monday in September

• Columbus Day: Second Monday in October

• Thanksgiving: Fourth Thursday in November

4.2 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

Interpreting services will be provided using video remote equipment, with the interpreter located at the contractor's site. Meetings with the contractor will be conducted remotely with the program manager at the contractor's site.

5.0 SPECIFIC TASKS AND DELIVERABLES

The contractor shall perform the following:

Task Frequency

Project Management N/A

Contractor Project Management Plan Due the last Friday of every month.

Individual VA Privacy and Information

Security Awareness and Rules of Behavior

Training Certificates

As required

Monthly Call Detail Report (Includes VRI

Session Detail Report and RCC/CART

Session Detail Report)

Due the last Friday of every month.

VRI As required

VRI Session Detail Report Due the last Friday of every month.

CART As required

RCC/CART Session Detail Report Due the last Friday of every month.

5.1 PROJECT MANAGEMENT

5.1.1 CONTRACTOR PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN

The contractor shall deliver a contractor project management plan (CPMP) that lays out the contractor's approach, timeline, and tools to be used in the execution of the contract. The CPMP should take the form of both a narrative and graphic format that displays the schedule, milestones, risks and resource support to include restrictions, and a description of your business model with safeguards in place to ensure safety, security, and privacy.

The CPMP shall also include how the contractor shall coordinate and execute planned, routine, and ad hoc data collection reporting requests as identified within the

PWS. The initial baseline CPMP shall be concurred upon and updated monthly or five business days after any major change. The contractor shall update and maintain the VA PM-approved CPMP throughout the PoP. All electronic document deliverables will be Section 508 compliant.

Deliverable: CPMP

5.1.2 REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

In support of invoice and quality management processes, the contractor shall provide the COR with a monthly Call Detail Report in electronic form in an accessible

Microsoft Excel document. The report shall include detailed instructions/explanations for each required data element to ensure that data is accurate and consistent. These reports shall reflect data as of the last day of the current billing cycle and be Section 508 compliant.

The Call Detail Report shall cover all work completed during the reporting period

(inclusive of the total amount of translation services, obligated, utilized, and remaining) and work planned for the subsequent reporting period. The report shall also identify any problems that arose and a description of how the problems were resolved. If problems have not been completely resolved, the contractor shall provide an explanation including their plan and timeframe for resolving the issue. The contractor shall provide details on all unfulfilled requests in the reporting period. The contractor shall monitor performance against the CPMP and report any deviations. It is expected that the contractor will keep in communication with VA accordingly so that issues that arise are transparent to both parties to prevent escalation of outstanding issues. The contractor is only authorized to perform services up to the timeframe and dollar value obligated on the contract. The contractor shall provide a notification if the VA nears 80% usage of its currently obligated services.

Deliverable: CALL DETAIL REPORT

5.1.3 TECHNICAL KICKOFF MEETING

A technical kickoff meeting shall be held within 10 days after award. The technical kickoff meeting shall be virtual via Microsoft Teams. The contractor shall coordinate the date and time with the CO, as the post-award conference chairperson, the VA PM

(co-chairperson), the 508 director, the contract specialist (CS), and the COR. The contractor shall provide an accessible draft agenda to the CO and VA PM at least five calendar days prior to the meeting. Upon Government approval of a final agenda, the contractor shall distribute the agenda to all meeting attendees. During the kickoff meeting, the contractor shall present for review and approval by the

Government, the details of the intended approach, work plan, and project schedule for each effort via an accessible Microsoft Office PowerPoint presentation. At the conclusion of the meeting, the contractor shall update the presentation with a final slide entitled “Summary Report” that shall include notes on any major issues, agreements, or disagreements discussed during the kickoff meeting. The contractor shall submit the final updated presentation to the CO for review and signature within three calendar days after the meeting. The contractor shall also work with the CS and the Government’s designated note taker to prepare and distribute the meeting minutes of the kickoff meeting to the CO, COR, and all attendees within three calendar days after the meeting. The contractor shall obtain concurrence from the CS on the content of the meeting minutes prior to the distribution of the document. All electronic document deliverables will be Section 508 compliant.

Deliverable: KICKOFF MEETING AND MINUTES

5.1.4 PRIVACY TRAINING

The contractor shall submit the status of VA Privacy and Information Security

Awareness and Rules of Behavior training for all individuals engaged in the task.

The status reporting shall identify a single contractor security point of contact, the names of all personnel engaged in the task, their initial training date for VA Privacy and Information Security and Rules of Behavior training, and their next required training date. This information shall be submitted as part of the weekly progress report.

The contractor shall submit VA Privacy and Information Security Awareness and

Rules of Behavior training certificates upon completion and have training certificates renewed annually in accordance with Section 9, Training, from Appendix C of the

VA Handbook 6500.6, “Contract Security.”

Deliverable: INDIVIDUAL VA PRIVACY AND INFORMATION SECURITY AWARENESS

AND RULES OF BEHAVIOR TRAINING CERTIFICATES

5.2 SCHEDULING MANAGEMENT

The contractor shall provide scheduling management for VRI and CART requests.

The contractor shall provide a single point of contact and a portal for VA users to make requests for interpreting/CART services. No matter the modality for requests from the VA to the contractor, the contractor system must maintain privacy and comply with all PII custodial requirements.

For requests, the contractor shall require and document the following information:

• Name of agency/administration/office

• Name of requestor

• Name of customer

• Type of service (VRI/CART)

• Date of Assignment

• Assignment name/description/topic

• Location

• Building address

• Room/office number

• Start time, end time

• Event description (please include as much detail as possible)

• Event link or location

• Event POC (full contact info)

• Prep materials (agenda, PPT, list of speakers’ names, etc.)

• Any other relevant information

The contractor shall maintain a profile for each consumer that, at minimum, includes the person's communication preferences, description of workplace terminology, and contact information. No matter the modality utilized to maintain these profiles, PII shall be protected at all times.

The contractor shall maintain an appointment schedule that can be accessed or provided to VA upon request.

Requests for service will frequently be during hours of service (8 AM-5 PM EST);

however, there are also times when meetings will be required after hours and on weekends.

5.2.1 SCHEDULING TIMELINE

In accordance with Directive 5975.1, the employee and/or the supervisor should contact the reasonable accommodation coordinator (RAC) to inform the RAC of the need for services and to establish initial contact with the contractor for future VRI and/or RCC/CART services. The end user will ultimately submit the service request to the contractor.

When a request for services is initiated with the contractor, the contractor shall provide a receipt of the request within two business hours. Within one business day of that receipt, the contractor shall provide a confirmation of scheduling or a request for additional required information from the end user/requester. The contractor shall schedule the services to be provided 48 hours from this confirmation unless a later date is requested. If the contractor is unable to confirm a request at least 48 hours prior to the day of the request, the contractor shall notify the end user and VA agency

POC that the request cannot be filled. This notice should be sent to the interpreting coordinator with as much advance notice as the contractor can provide. Conversely, if the service is successfully scheduled, the contractor shall send a confirmation with session details to the end user/requestor. The VA may schedule multiple interpreters to a single event and, similarly, the contractor may schedule multiple interpreters to a single event if it is determined to be required circumstances where more than one interpreter is necessary. Circumstances include events that exceed 1.25 hours, the deaf/hard-of-hearing individual having a prominent role, multiple modes of communication are needed, the content is highly technical, or the event is a large panel discussion.

Late requests (last-minute) may be received on occasion, which will require service with less than two business days’ notice; the VA anticipates about one late notice will be received per day. The contractor shall make every effort to meet these late requests, and if these requests cannot be met, provide a notice to the end user and the

PM why the request cannot be serviced.

On occasion, the contractor may need to cancel a scheduled service. In these cases, the contractor shall provide at least one day’s notice to the requestor/end user and the

PM for the cancelation of service inclusive of the reason for cancelation and options for rescheduling. Cancelations should be kept to a maximum of two cancellations per month. The contractor shall make every effort to keep originally scheduled services, inclusive of utilizing a different interpreter or service provider and articulating that change to the requestor/end user.

Sessions shall be scheduled for a timeframe, but the minimum reservation will be one

Request Received Confirmation of

Receipt (two business hours)

Confirmation of Services Scheduling or Return for Additional Detail

Provision of Service (48 hours or later from confirmation hour. Sessions are invoiced as follows:

Duration (hours) Interpreters (#)

1 1

1.25 1

1.5 2

2 2

3 2

5 2

1 (high-tech, high-profile, many deaf)

5.2.2 SESSION DETAIL REPORT

As a part of the monthly Call Detail Report, the contractor shall provide a monthly

Session Detail Report with the following information subject to change with

COR/PM approval:

• Session link or 10-digit code

• Reservation date/time or state on-demand service

• Agency bureau code

• Session key

• Session date

• Session start time

• Session title

• Actual session minutes

• Fixed rate per hour

Deliverable: SESSION DETAIL REPORT

5.3 VRI

The contractor shall provide VRI services accessible on multiple platforms, including laptops, tablets, or smartphones, and be compatible with the following video conferencing platforms:

• Video relay phones (CISCO)

• WebEx

• MS Teams

• Zoom (web-based)

The Government expects 1,400 hours of service each month based on historical volumes.

5.3.1 REQUIRED FEATURES

• All calls are confidential and no records of conversations are ever retained.

• Available sign language interpreting into English.

• On-demand or prescheduled time slots

• Internet and mobile availability

• Certified deaf interpreting (CDI) as needed.

5.3.2 INTERPRETER QUALIFICATIONS AND TRUST POLICIES

The contractor shall ensure its policies concerning interpreter qualifications, including education, experience, training, performance oversight, certifications, and background reviews are in line with current industry standards. Skills required include:

• All interpreters provided on this contract shall be qualified to interpret within the state where services are delivered (where the interpreter is located). States have differing requirements, which may include certification. Contractors are expected to identify and conform to any applicable state, education, and/or qualification requirements for sign language interpreters.

• The interpreters must comply with the Code of Professional Conduct established by the

Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf.

• At times, interpreters may be required for legal proceedings. These services will be requested in advance. The contractor must be able to fill requests with qualified/certified interpreters within the agreed-upon advance scheduling requirements.

• Criteria statement one for certified interpreters:

o Interpreters shall hold an active national certification (e.g., RID, NAD, BEI); and o Interpreters shall have a minimum of three years of professional experience; and o At least one of the three years of professional experience shall be in a professional office environment (e.g., government, legislative, accounting, finance, human capital, and/or legal).

• Criteria statement two for noncertified interpreters:

o Interpreters shall have a minimum of six years of professional experience; and o At least three of those years shall be in a professional office environment (e.g., government, legislative, accounting, finance, human capital, and/or legal); and o Experience shall not include time when the interpreter was in training, mentoring, or fulfilling an internship requirement.

5.4 RCC/CART

RCC and CART are generally used as interchangeable commercial terms describing live remote captioning services. This requirement covers live remote captioning accommodating deaf, hard-of-hearing, or visually challenged individuals participating in conferences, meetings, and other events involving multiple participants.

RCC/CART services are for locations within the United States and its territories.

The contractor shall provide live remote captioning accommodating deaf, hard-of-hearing, or visually challenged individuals participating in conferences, meetings, and other events involving multiple participants. Captioning shall be posted on multiple platforms, including laptops, tablets, or smartphones, and be compatible with the following platforms:

• WebEx

• Microsoft Teams

• Zoom (web-based)

The Government expects approximately 600 hours of service each month based on historical volumes.

5.4.1 REQUIRED FEATURES

The contractor shall assign at least one dedicated captioner to each session.

Captioning shall meet commercial industry standards for latency, accuracy, and speed.

The contractor shall ensure its captioners meet all requirements, including education, experience, training, performance oversight, certifications, and background reviews are in line with current industry standards.

All captioning sessions are confidential and captioners should not discuss or share contents of the meeting outside of attendees.

Service shall include text formatting options to accommodate those with limited vision. Meeting attendees shall have the ability to turn off captions if they are not needed.

Users shall have the ability to manipulate caption location, color, font, background, and size. Captions shall not obstruct the video feed.

5.4.2 CART CAPTIONING QUALIFICATIONS AND TRUST POLICIES

The contractor shall ensure its policies concerning captioner qualifications, including education, experience, training, performance oversight, certifications, and background reviews are in line with current industry standards. Skills required include:

• All captioners provided on this contract shall be qualified to caption within the state where services are delivered. States have differing requirements, which may include certification.

• Contractors are expected to identify and conform to any applicable state requirements for captioners.

• At times, captioners may be required for legal proceedings. These services will be requested in advance. The contractor must be able to fill requests with qualified/certified captioners within the agreed-upon advance scheduling requirements.

• Criteria statement one for certified captioners:

▪ Captioners shall hold an active certification; and

▪ Captioners shall have a minimum of three years of professional experience; and

▪ At least one of the three years of professional experience shall be in a professional office environment (e.g., government, legislative, accounting, finance, medical, human capital, and/or legal).

• Criteria statement two for noncertified captioners:

▪ Captioners shall have a minimum of six years of professional experience; and

▪ At least three of those years shall be in a professional office environment (e.g., government, legislative, accounting, finance, medical, human capital, and/or legal);

and

▪ Experience shall not include time when the captioner was in training, mentoring, or fulfilling an internship requirement.

5.5 VRI SURGE (OPTIONAL TASK ONE)

If the VA requires additional VRI, as described in PWS 5.2, this optional task may be exercised.

The contractor shall coordinate all activities as noted in subsection PWS 5.2. The contractor shall provide additional VRI services based on the option exercise. This optional task may be exercised at any time and from time to time throughout the TO period of performance up until the not-to-exceed amount listed in the line item. This optional task may be executed at any time during the base or option periods. This optional task PoP shall run concurrently with the period in which it was exercised.

5.6 RCC/CART SURGE (OPTIONAL TASK TWO)

If the VA requires additional RCC/CART services, as described in PWS 5.4, this optional task may be exercised.

The contractor shall coordinate all activities as noted in subsection PWS 5.2. The contractor shall provide additional CART services based on the option exercise. This optional task may be exercised at any time and from time to time throughout the TO period of performance up until the not-to-exceed amount listed in the line item. This optional task may be executed at any time during the base or option periods. This optional task PoP shall run concurrently with the period in which it was exercised.