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Agenda Item
ASR
Control 24-001131 |
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MEETING
DATE: |
01/28/25 |
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legal entity taking action: |
Board
of Supervisors |
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board of supervisors district(s): |
All
Districts |
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SUBMITTING Agency/Department: |
County
Executive Office (Approved) |
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Department contact person(s): |
Jessica
Witt (714) 834-7250 |
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Molly
Nichelson (714) 834-7218 |
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Subject: Cooperative
Agreements for Translation, Interpretation and Video Translation
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ceo CONCUR |
County Counsel Review |
Clerk of the
Board |
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Concur |
Approved Agreement to Form |
Discussion |
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3 Votes Board Majority |
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Budgeted: N/A |
Current
Year Cost: N/A |
Annual
Cost: N/A |
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Staffing
Impact:
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No |
#
of Positions: |
Sole
Source: No |
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Current Fiscal Year Revenue: N/A
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Prior Board Action: N/A |
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RECOMMENDED
ACTION(S):
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1. |
Authorize the County Procurement Officer
or Deputized designee to execute Regional Cooperative Agreements for Written
Translation Services, effective upon Board of Supervisors approval for a
five-year term: 1) Accent on Languages, Inc. 2) Bureaucom, LLC 3) Cal Interpreting & Translations 4) Continental Interpreting Services,
Inc. 5) Corporate Translation Services, LLC
dba Language Link 6) Datagain, Inc. 7) Fox Medical Case Management, Inc. dba
Fox Translation Services 8) Interpreters Unlimited, Inc. 9) LinguaLinx Language Solutions, Inc. 10) MAGNUS Language Services Corp., dba
MAGNUS 11) Translating Services, Inc. dba Lazar
Translating & Interpreting 12) Trustpoint Translations, LLC 13) Volatia Language Network, Inc. |
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2. |
Authorize the County Procurement Officer
or Deputized designee to execute Regional Cooperative Agreements for
Interpretation Services, effective upon Board of Supervisors approval for a
five-year term: 1) Accent on Languages, Inc. 2) Cal Interpreting & Translations 3) Continental Interpreting Services,
Inc. 4) Corporate Translation Services, LLC
dba Language Link 5) Fox Medical Case Management, Inc. dba
Fox Translation Services 6) Interpreters Unlimited, Inc. 7) MAGNUS Language Services Corp., dba
MAGNUS 8) Translating Services, Inc. dba Lazar
Translating & Interpreting 9) Trustpoint Translations, LLC 10) Volatia Language Network, Inc. |
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3. |
Authorize the County Procurement Officer
or Deputized designee to execute Regional Cooperative Agreements for Video
Translation - Captioning & Subtitling Services, effective upon Board of
Supervisors approval for a five-year term: 1) Cal Interpreting & Translations 2) Continental Interpreting Services,
Inc. 3) Interpreters Unlimited, Inc. 4) MAGNUS Language Services Corp., dba
MAGNUS 5) Trustpoint Translations, LLC |
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4. |
Authorize the County Procurement Officer
or Deputized designee to execute Regional Cooperative Agreements for Video
Translation - Voice Over Services, effective upon Board of Supervisors
approval for a five-year term: 1) Cal Interpreting & Translations 2) Interpreters Unlimited, Inc. 3) MAGNUS Language Services Corp., dba
MAGNUS 4) Trustpoint Translations, LLC |
SUMMARY:
Approval of
Regional Cooperative Agreements for Written Translation, Interpretation
Services, Video Translation - Captioning and Subtitling and Voice Over Services
with various Contractors for language interpretation and translation services
will ensure equal access to County services, programs, benefits and public
information, in accordance with the County’s Language Access Policy.
BACKGROUND
INFORMATION:
Orange County is
one of the largest and most diverse regions in the world, with a notable
variety of languages, ethnicities and cultures represented. According to the 2024-2025
Orange County Community Indicators Report, 30.2 percent of Orange County
residents were born in other countries and 47 percent of all residents over the
age of five speak a language other than English at home.
On April 7, 2020,
the Board of Supervisors (Board) directed the County Executive Officer to
formally develop a County of Orange (County) Language Access Policy that
establishes standards and procedures for providing equal access to County
services and programs to all residents, regardless of their proficiency in
English.
On December 11,
2020, the County Executive Office (CEO) created its Language Access Policy.
This policy is housed in the Communications Department in the CEO. There is a
Language Access Coordinator that oversees the program and works with County
departments to ensure proper compliance with the County’s Language Access
Policy.
The County is
committed to meeting the diverse language needs of its residents, regardless of
their level of English proficiency. To this end, the County has already been
publishing health, public safety, and other critical programs and services
information translated into the most prevalent languages spoken in the County,
as determined by the most recent United States Census-currently Spanish,
Vietnamese, Korean and Chinese-ensuring that all residents, including those
with limited English proficiency, have access to essential information.
The purpose of
these Regional Cooperative Agreements is to assist County departments in
providing members of the public, regardless of their English language
proficiency, with communications in the prevalent languages relevant to
accessing County programs, services, and information. This includes, but is not
limited to infographics; flyers; signage posted in public spaces; and videos.
Additionally, these Agreements will facilitate an expansion of services,
ensuring broader access to a wider range of vendors that can support the
translation and interpretation needs, further enhancing the County’s ability to
serve its diverse community effectively.
Request for Proposal (RFP)
On September 17,
2024, the County Procurement Office released an RFP for Written Translation,
Interpretation Services, Video Translation - Captioning and Subtitling and
Voice Over Services (Services) via the County’s online bidding system to
solicit proposals from qualified respondents to provide the described Services.
Due to the need for these Services countywide, Regional Cooperative Agreements
(Contracts) are being issued. The Orange County Preference Policy (OCPP) was
applicable and incorporated into this solicitation. Three OCPP qualified
proposals were submitted. Based on final scoring, two OCPP qualified
Contractors under the Orange County Local Small Business (OCLSB) preference
policy were recommended for award receiving a five percent point advantage;
however, only one of the two qualified OCLSB Contractors was awarded a Contract
as the second elected not to move forward with the contracting process after
discovering potential operational challenges that would affect the delivery of
the requested services; and one Contract was awarded to an OCPP qualified
Contractor under both the OCLSB and Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise
preference policy receiving an eight percent point advantage.
The RFP written
response requirements contained rigorous components that called for a minimum
of three years’ experience in the referenced services with an emphasis on the
public sector.
In addition to
advertising the RFP in the newspaper and County's online bidding system, the
RFP was also advertised within Orange County to Chambers of Commerce, various
community groups and on LinkedIn to reach a robust number of potential
suppliers thus securing an ample number of proposals.
The County ultimately received eighteen
proposals which included the various Services requested. Four of the eighteen
responses were deemed non-responsive. All fourteen responsive proposals were
thoroughly reviewed and independently scored by an RFP evaluation panel
comprised of seven subject matter experts. The RFP evaluation panel members
consisted of one expert from outside the County, and six from County
departments who work on language access on a consistent basis. The evaluation
panel recommended all fourteen responsive respondents for award; the below
reflects thirteen Contractors as Natively Fluent, Inc. is the qualified OCLSB
Contractor who decided not to contract with the County.
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Contractor |
Written
Translation |
Interpretation
Services |
Video
Translation - Captioning & Subtitling |
Video
Translation - Voice Over |
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1. |
Accent on
Languages, Inc. |
X |
X |
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2. |
Bureaucom, LLC |
X |
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3. |
Cal Interpreting
& Translations |
X |
X |
X |
X |
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4. |
Continental
Interpreting Services, Inc. |
X |
X |
X |
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5. |
Corporate
Translation Services, LLC dba Language Link |
X |
X |
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6. |
Datagain, Inc. |
X |
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7. |
Fox Medical Case
Management, Inc., dba Fox Translation Services |
X |
X |
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8. |
Interpreters
Unlimited, Inc. |
X |
X |
X |
X |
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9. |
LinguaLinx
Language Solutions, Inc. |
X |
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10. |
MAGNUS Language
Services Corp., dba MAGNUS |
X |
X |
X |
X |
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11. |
Translating
Services, Inc. dba Lazar Translating & Interpreting |
X |
X |
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12. |
Trustpoint
Translations, LLC |
X |
X |
X |
X |
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13. |
Volatia Language
Network, Inc. |
X |
X |
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A Notice of Intent
to Award letter was posted to the County’s online bidding system on December
27, 2024. No protests were received.
Due diligence on the thirteen responsive
Contractors has been completed; there are no concerns that must be addressed
with respect to the Contractors’ ownership/name, litigation status or conflicts
with County interests. Reference checks were conducted on all recommended
Contractor’s and returned satisfactory evaluations; reference information for
each Contractor is listed below. In addition, the six current incumbent
Contractor’s recommended for placement on the new panel have satisfactory
current performance.
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Contractor |
References |
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1. |
Accent on
Languages, Inc. (Current
Contractor) |
1. Alameda
County Public Health Department 2. County of San
Diego 3. City of
Oakland |
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2. |
Bureaucom, LLC |
1. Santa Clara
County Office of Education 2. Lawndale
Elementary School District 3. TM Cobb |
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3. |
Cal Interpreting
& Translations (Current
Contractor) |
1. California
Air Resources Board 2. California
Department of Developmental Services 3. Portland
Public Schools |
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4. |
Continental
Interpreting Services, Inc. |
1. City of
Paramount 2. JP Marketing 3. County of
Contra Costa |
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5. |
Corporate
Translation Services, LLC dba Language Link (Current
Contractor) |
1. King County
Library System 2. Los Angeles
Registrar-Recorder and County Clerk 3. Washington
County Justice Center |
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6. |
Datagain, Inc. |
1. International
Rescue Committee 2. Intra Health 3. Adams 12 Five
Star School |
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7. |
Fox Medical Case
Management, Inc., dba Fox Translation Services (Current
Contractor) |
1. Boston Public
Schools 2. Arlington
County 3. Energy and
Environmental Affairs |
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8. |
Interpreters
Unlimited, Inc. (Current
Contractor) |
1. Care Angel 2. Serco, Inc. 3. Riverside
Department of Public Social Services |
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9. |
LinguaLinx
Language Solutions, Inc. |
1. DSHS Office
of Equity, Access & Inclusion 2. Salt Lake
City School District 3. Metropolitan
Nashville Police Department |
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10. |
MAGNUS Language
Services Corp., dba MAGNUS |
1. Maricich
Health 2. California
Department of Toxic Substance Control 3. San Gabriel
Pomona Regional Center |
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11. |
Translating
Services, Inc. dba Lazar Translating & Interpreting |
1. Los Angeles
County Office of Education 2. Marion County
Health & Human Services 3. Los Angeles
International Airport |
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12. |
Trustpoint
Translations, LLC |
1. Penn Court
Services 2. Allegheny
Intermediate Unit 3. NINJIO |
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13. |
Volatia Language
Network, Inc. (Current
Contractor) |
1. Arlington
Virginia Department of Human Services 2. Waynesboro
Public Schools 3. Hill Valley
Healthcare, LLC |
These Contracts
include subcontractors. See Attachment N for the Contract Summary Form which
contains information regarding subcontractors.
All thirteen
responsive vendors listed above provide translation services to government
agencies across the country, specializing in government translation with a
multitude of governmental and non-governmental organizations clients. Vendors
were selected based upon their years of service, their current roster of
clients; and their ability to perform under high pressure situations. Each
vendor has a keen cultural understanding of the languages they interpret and
has demonstrated through past performance with other municipal agencies their
superior grammatical knowledge and their ability to interpret idioms, nuances
and metaphors in conversations. In addition, each vendor will be working with
CEO Communications to ensure there is a working glossary to ensure correct
County nomenclature is utilized in their translation projects.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The proposed
Contracts include a provision stating the Contracts are subject to, and
contingent upon, applicable budgetary appropriations being approved by the
Board for each fiscal year during the term of the Contracts. If such
appropriations are not approved, the Contracts may be immediately terminated
without penalty to the County.
In 2023 the
Language Access Program oversaw 541 translation projects and 1,699 translated
documents. In 2022 there were 516 translation projects and 1,635 translated
documents. The number one requested language for translation in both years is
Vietnamese, followed by Spanish, Chinese, Korean and other languages (Farsi,
Arabic, Russian, Khmer, Ukrainian and Armenian). See Attachment Q Translation
Services - 2023 Summary for a comparison of translation service requests
received in 2022 and 2023.
As of September
2023, all County departments are charged back for their translation service
requests via CEO Budget and Finance Office. As such, all translation costs are
born by County departments, including the Board of Supervisors. The highest
departmental utilizers of these translation contracts include the Orange County
Social Services Agency, the Orange County Health Care Agency, OC Community
Resources and the OC Sheriff-Coroner.
STAFFING IMPACT:
N/A
ATTACHMENT(S):
Attachment A - Contract
RCA-017-25010047 with Accent on Languages Inc.
Attachment B - Contract RCA-017-25010050 with Bureaucom, LLC
Attachment C - Contract RCA-017-25010051 with Datagain, Inc.
Attachment D - Contract RCA-017-25010052 with Cal Interpreting &
Translations
Attachment E - Contract RCA-017-25010053 with Continental Interpreting
Services, Inc.
Attachment F - Contract RCA-017-25010054 with Interpreters Unlimited, Inc.
Attachment G - Contract RCA-017-25010055 with Fox Medical Case Management, Inc.
dba Fox Translation Services
Attachment H - Contract RCA-017-25010056 with Corporate Translation Services,
LLC dba Language Link
Attachment I - Contract RCA-017-25010057 with Translating Services, Inc. dba
Lazar Translating & Interpreting
Attachment J - Contract RCA-017-25010058 with LinguaLinx Language Solutions,
Inc.
Attachment K - Contract RCA-017-25010059 with MAGNUS Language Services Corp.,
dba MAGNUS
Attachment L - Contract RCA-017-25010061 with Trustpoint Translations, LLC
Attachment M - Contract RCA-017-25010062 with Volatia Language Network, Inc.
Attachment N - Contract Summary Form
Attachment O - Final Rankings
Attachment P - Summary of Evaluators Scoring
Attachment Q - Translation Services - 2023 Summary