COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

Inter-Departmental Correspondence

Health System

DATE:

June 7, 2010

BOARD MEETING DATE:

June 29, 2010

SPECIAL NOTICE/HEARING:

None

VOTE REQUIRED:

Majority

TO:

Honorable Board of Supervisors

FROM:

Jean S. Fraser, Chief, Health System

SaraT L. Mayer, Director, Health Policy and Planning

SUBJECT:

Agreement between the County of San Mateo and viaLanguage, Inc.

RECOMMENDATION:

Adopt a Resolution:

1)

Authorizing the President of the Board to execute an Agreement with viaLanguage, Inc. for document translation services for the term July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2013, for a maximum obligation of $150,000; and

2)

Authorizing the Chief of the Health System or designee to execute contract amendments which modify the County's maximum fiscal obligation by no more than $25,000 (in aggregate), and/or modify the contract term and/or services so long as the modified term or services is/are within the current or revised fiscal provisions.

BACKGROUND:

In October 2006 your Board accepted the “Linguistic Access Study: Summary of Findings and Recommendations Report.” A key recommendation noted in the report included expanding the availability and use of oral language services and translation services to a wider range of settings and languages. As part of implementation of this recommendation, the County of San Mateo entered into an Agreement with Avid Translation to provide in-person interpretation and translation services to Health System divisions for the term of July 2008 to June 2010. This contract will expire on June 30, 2010, and therefore a competitive Request for Proposals process was completed for new contractors, those selected include Avid Translation and viaLanguage, Inc.

DISCUSSION:

In order to adequately serve the County’s limited English proficient (LEP) clientele, it is necessary to ensure continued access to language assistance services. Upon entering into this Agreement, viaLanguage, Inc. will provide document translation assistance to the following Health System divisions: Aging and Adult Services, Behavioral Health and Recovery Services, Community Health, Correctional Health, Family Health Services, Health Policy and Planning and San Mateo Medical Center.

In January 2010 Health Policy and Planning released a Request for Proposals for qualified contractors to provide interpretation and translation services for the Health System. viaLanguage, Inc. competed in this process and is one of the contractors selected to provide interpretation and translation services for clients of the Health System. A contract for the second contractor, Avid Translation, was presented to your Board on June 8, 2010.

The contractor has assured compliance with the County's Contractor Employee Jury Service Ordinance, as well as all other contract provisions that are required by County ordinance and administrative memoranda, including but not limited to insurance, hold harmless, non-discrimination and equal benefits.

The Agreement and Resolution have been reviewed and approved by County Counsel. The Agreement has been reviewed and approved by Risk Management.

Approval of the Agreement contributes to the Shared Vision 2025 commitment of a Healthy Community by allowing the County’s health service providers to effectively communicate with limited English proficient people. It is anticipated that 80% of clients will be satisfied with document translation services for FY 2010-11.

Performance Measure(s):

Measure

FY 2009-10
Estimate

FY 2010-11
Projected

Percentage of clients satisfied with document translation services

77%

80%

FISCAL IMPACT:

The term of the Agreement is July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2013. The total amount for the three-year period will not exceed $150,000. Of that amount the following maximum budget obligations apply: $15,000 for Aging and Adult Services, $40,000 for Behavioral Health and Recovery Services, $20,000 for Community Health, $6,000 for Correctional Health, $15,000 for Family Health Services, $24,000 for Health Policy and Planning and $30,000 for San Mateo Medical Center. Funding will be included in individual division Recommended Budgets for FY 2010-11, FY 2011-12 and FY 2012-13; they will be covered by funds from a variety of funding sources, including Net County Cost.

1.

General description of RFP

To provide quality language translation and interpretation, including American Sign Language, assistance services to San Mateo County on an as needed basis.

2.

List key evaluation criteria

1. Applicant’s Experience- providing similar services to healthcare organizations.

2. Cultural Competency- demonstrated understanding of the value and importance of cultural competence in both administration and provision of services.

3. Quality Assurance- there is a clear commitment to ensuring quality services and training of interpreter/translator base.

4. Organizational Capacity- history of successfully providing services and managing contracts with public or private agencies.

5. Administration & Rates- fees and other costs are clearly delineated and rates are reasonable and realistic.

6. Financial Stability- demonstrated capacity to remain fiscally stable and responsible throughout the three-year contract period.

3.

Where advertised

An announcement was posted on Craigslist on January 7, 2010, and also on the website of the Northern California Translators Association (NCTA) on January 8, 2010. NCTA also distributed the announcement through their 63-member, e-mail listserv on January 8, 2010. NCTA is the umbrella organization representing most agencies qualified to submit an RFP.

4.

In addition to any advertisement, list others to whom the RFP announcement was sent

The RFP announcement was sent to all applicants who responded to either the Craigslist or NCTA advertised listings.

5.

Total number of RFP’s sent to prospective proposers

37

6.

Number of proposals received

10

7.

Who evaluated the proposals

• Zhanna Abuel, Community Program Specialist, Aging and Adult Services

• Joe Balabis, Community Health Planner, Health Policy & Planning

• Ellie Dwyer, Supervising Mental Health Clinician, Behavioral Health and Recovery Services

• Sandra Estrin, Program Supervisor, Community Health/Environmental Health

• ST Mayer, Director, Health Policy & Planning

8.

In alphabetical order, names of proposers (or finalists, if applicable) and location

• American Translation and Interpretation Services – Los Altos, CA

• Avantpage – Davis, CA

• Avid Translation – San Mateo, CA

• Bilingva – Campbell, CA

• Communicaid, Inc – San Jose, CA

• Iinterpret, Inc – Palo Alto, CA

• Interpreters Net – Placerville, CA

• Lan Do & Associates, LLC – San Francisco, CA

• LinguaLinx, Inc – Cohoes, NY

• viaLanguage, Inc – Portland, OR