IFB # S26-33152 In-Person American Sign Language Interpreting Services

You are invited to review and respond to this Invitation for Bid (IFB) # S26-33152, for In-Person American Sign Language (ASL) Interpreting Services for the Department of Rehabilitation (DOR) Van Nuys Foothill District and Branch Offices listed in Exhibit F. In submitting your bid, you must comply with these instructions. This Solicitation includes the Disabled Veterans Business Enterprise (DVBE) Incentive. IN ORDER TO SUBMIT A RESPONSIVE BID, BIDDERS MUST COMPLY WITH SECTION B), BIDDER MINIMUM QUALIFICATION. REFER TO ATTACHMENT 1 ¿ REQUIRED ATTACHMENT CHECKLIST TO REVIEW THE LIST OF REQUIRED DOCUMENTS DUE AT BID SUBMISSION. Note that all agreements entered into with the State of California will include by reference General Terms and Conditions (GTC 02/2025) and Contractor Certification Clauses (CCC 04/2017) that may be viewed and downloaded at Internet site website at https://www.dgs.ca.gov/OLS/Resources/Page-Content/Office-of-Legal-Services-Resources-List-Folder/Standard-Contract-Language If you do not have Internet access, a hard copy can be provided by contacting the person listed below. In the opinion of the DOR, this Invitation for Bid is complete and without need of explanation. However, if you have questions, please submit them in writing, via email to the Contract Analyst, Franklin.wilson@dor.ca.gov. All questions and answers will be posted on the Cal eProcure website at https://caleprocure.ca.gov/pages/index.aspx by the date listed in the Key Action Dates. Bidders are solely responsible for understanding the scope of work and all requirements, terms, conditions, evaluation criteria, etc., before submitting a bid. If the language is unclear or ambiguous, it is the bidder¿s responsibility to request clarification or assistance before submitting a bid. Please note that no verbal information will be binding upon the State unless the State issues such information in writing as an official Addendum. If the IFB is modified prior to the final bid submission date, the State will issue an Addendum. Gavin Newsom, Governor State of California Health and Human Services Agency Department of Rehabilitation 721 Capitol Mall Sacramento, CA 95814 2 A) Purpose and Description of Services This is a personal services acquisition for In-Person American Sign Language (ASL) Interpreting Services. The Contractor will provide current certified Sign Language Interpreters on an ¿as-needed¿ basis to meet the needs of the Department of Rehabilitation (DOR) Van Nuys Foothill staff hereafter referred to as DOR. See Exhibit A.1, ¿Description of Services and Deliverables¿ for a detailed description of services. Locations are listed in Exhibit F. B) Bidder Minimum Qualifications 1. Bidder must be in business to primarily provide sign language interpreting services. 2. License(s) and Permit(s) The Contractor shall be an individual or firm licensed to do business in California and shall obtain at his/her expense all license(s) and permit(s) required by law for accomplishing any work required in connection with this Contract. The Contractor shall provide a business license from the city/county in which you are headquartered is required at bid opening. If you are a corporation or a business outside of California, a copy of the California Certificate of Status from the Secretary of State¿s Office or a copy of the business¿ active on-line status information downloaded from the California Business Portal website must be submitted at bid opening. In addition, for corporations and limited liability companies, state agencies are required to verify with the California Secretary of State (SOS) office to confirm the Contractor/vendor is authorized to carry out business in California. You may view the lists and status at https://bizfileonline.sos.ca.gov/search/business. In the event any license(s) and/or permit(s) expire at any time during the term of this Contract; Contractor agrees to provide agency a copy of the renewed license(s) and/or permit(s) within 30 days following the expiration date. In the event the Contractor fails to keep in effect at all times all required license(s) and permit(s), the State may, in addition to any other remedies it may have, terminate this Contract upon occurrence of such event. If you are not sure what to provide at bid opening, please request clarification by the deadline to ask questions noted in the Key Action Dates. 3. Insurance See Exhibit D for Basic Insurance Requirements for the State of California. Proof of current insurance certificates for Commercial General Liability with limits of liability of $1,000,000 and $2,000,000 aggregate for bodily injury and property damage liability, Automobile Liability (Required if contractor has commercially owned vehicles that will be used to provide services during the life of this Agreement), and Workers' Compensation with liability limits of $1,000,000, if applicable. Certificate of insurance listing Commercial General Liability, Automobile Liability (if applicable) and Workers Compensation and limits of liability¿ is required at bid opening. If you do not have employees that require Worker¿s Compensation coverage, submit Attachment 7 Worker¿s Compensation Statement of Exemption. 3 4. Two References Two (2) references are required from partners that your organization has provided services to within the past two years. The partners should be organizations who provide services to individuals with disabilities, similar to DOR. Bidder is responsible for notifying their references that DOR will contact them for performance information. If references obtained are not favorable, DOR may reject the bid. 5. Required Minimum ASL Interpreter Qualifications (Attachment 6) At the time of Bid Submission, the Contractor must provide Attachment 6, which includes a complete list of current Certified American Sign Language Interpreter(s) who will provide American Sign Language Interpreting services to the DOR under the awarded contract. Attachment 6 includes first name, last name, the city or town the interpreter resides in, certification type and the ¿Valid through¿ date as shown on the certification card. The list must include only the interpreters who will provide services to DOR under the awarded contract. ASL Interpreters from the list must reside within 50 miles of the cities listed in Exhibit F. Alternate interpreter lists will NOT be accepted. ASL interpreters must be proficient in interpreting spoken English to ASL and ASL to spoken English. Contractor¿s Sign Language Interpreter(s) shall hold a minimum of one (or more) valid and current certification(s) of the following: ¿ Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) with a level no less than Comprehensive Skills Certificate (CSC), National Interpreting Certification (NIC), and/or Certificate of Interpretation (CI), Certificate of Translation (CT) both are required. OR ¿ Certification by National Association of the Deaf (NAD) with a level no less than Level III (Generalist), IV (Advanced) or Level V (Master) OR ¿ RID ¿ Certified Deaf Interpreter (CDI) NOTE: Proof of current certifications will be required when responding to an assignment request. 6. Certification Category The qualifications required for category I. The ASL interpreter must have all the current Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) and/or RID-NAD (National Association of the Deaf) certifications listed for Category I. Example: Category I qualifications would be met if an interpreter had a NIC certification (#1) or both Certificate of Interpretation (CI) and Certificate of Transliteration (CT) (#8). Category I Qualifications ¿ Non-legal, in person ASL Interpreting Contractor shall provide at least one of the following: 1. National Interpreting Certification (NIC) 2. NIC Advanced 4 3. NIC Master 4. National Association of the Deaf (NAD) III 5. NAD IV 6. NAD V 7. Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) ¿ Comprehensive Skills Certificate (CSC) 8. RID ¿ Certificate of Interpretation (CI) and Certificate of Transliteration (CT). Both required. 9. RID ¿ Certified Deaf Interpreter (CDI) For Category I the interpreter(s) will be in the same room with the deaf or hard of hearing individuals 7. Prohibition on Tax Delinquency Any Agreement that a state agency enters into after July 1, 2012, is void if the contract is between a state agency and a contractor whose name appears on either list of the 500 largest tax delinquencies pursuant to Section 7063 or 19195 of the Revenue and Taxation Code. In accordance with Public Contract Code Section 10295.4, agencies are required to cancel Agreements with entities that appear on either list. (Franchise Tax Board) https://www.ftb.ca.gov/about-ftb/newsroom/top-500-past-due-balances/index.html (Department of Tax and Fee Administration) https://www.cdtfa.ca.gov/taxes-and-fees/top500.htm 8. Federal Debarment, Suspension, Ineligibility and Voluntary Exclusion Expenditures from this Contract may involve Federal funds. The Federal Department of Labor requires all State agencies which are expending Federal funds to have in the Contract file a certification by the Contractor that they have not been debarred nor suspended from doing business with the Federal government. 9. Unruh Civil Rights Act and the Fair Employment & Housing Act Pursuant to Public Contract Code section 2010, if a bidder or proposer executes or renews a contract over $100,000 on or after January 1, 2017, the bidder or proposer hereby certifies compliance with the following: The contractor certifies compliance with the Unruh Civil Rights Act (Section 51 of the Civil Code) and the Fair Employment and Housing Act (Section 12960 of the Government Code); and if the contractor has an internal policy against a sovereign nation or peoples recognized by the United States government, the Contractor certifies that such policies are not used in violation of the Unruh Civil Rights Act (Section 51 of the Civil Code) or the Fair Employment and Housing Act (Section 12960 of the Government Code). (due at bid opening when applicable) 10. Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) The State of California seeks to realize the potential benefits of GenAI, through the development and deployment of GenAI tools, while balancing the risks of these new technologies. Bidder / Offeror must notify the State in writing if it: (1) intends to provide GenAI as a deliverable to the State; or (2), intends to utilize GenAI, including GenAI from third parties, to complete all or a portion of any deliverable that materially impacts: (i) functionality of a State system, (ii) risk to the State, or (iii) Contract performance. For avoidance of doubt, the term 5 ¿materially impacts¿ shall have the meaning set forth in State Administrative Manual (SAM) § 4986.2 Definitions for GenAI. Failure to report GenAI to the State may result in disqualification. The State reserves the right to seek any and all relief to which it may be entitled to as a result of such non-disclosure. Upon notification by a Bidder / Offeror of GenAI as required, the State reserves the right to incorporate GenAI Special Provisions into the final contract or reject bids/offers that present an unacceptable level of risk to the State. Government Code 11549.64 defines ¿Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI)¿ as an artificial intelligence system that can generate derived synthetic content, including text, images, video, and audio that emulates the structure and characteristics of the system¿s training data.¿