American Sign Language Interpretation for the Maryland Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Program

The Maryland Department of Health, Office of Children and Youth with Specific Health Care Needs, is requesting proposals for American Sign Language interpretation services for the Maryland Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Program, with proposals due December 2, 2026, under eMMA #PHPA 3733/BPM055049.

The scope requires a minimum of 50 hours of ASL interpretation over a three-year contract term (approximately 16 hours annually). Services include interpretation for four quarterly Advisory Council Meetings annually (up to 2 hours each), four pre-meetings annually (up to 1 hour each held one week prior), four post-meetings annually (up to 1 hour each held one week after), and potential ad-hoc meetings (up to 1 hour each). All meetings are scheduled virtually using Zoom or Google Meet, with typical meeting times beginning at 12:00 PM ET. Advisory Council Meetings typically include 12 council members and 5 program/department staff; pre- and post-meetings involve 4–5 attendees. Advisory Council Meetings are recorded but not publicly shared or broadcast live; pre- and post-meetings are typically not recorded unless council chairs request recording.

Applicants are not required to reside in Maryland but must register their business with the State of Maryland to conduct business there. The incumbent vendor is Birnbaum Interpreting Services. The Maryland Department of Health declined to disclose the anticipated yearly budget cap to maintain pricing competition; applicants must align their budgets with the 50-hour time-and-effort baseline over the three-year term and submit financial proposals using Exhibit B, with flexibility to insert additional rows and columns as needed while maintaining required elements.