Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Louise F. Rogers, Chief, San Mateo County Health
Kimberlee Kimura, Director, Health Administration
Subject: Agreement with Excel Interpreting, LLC for Language Interpretation Services
RECOMMENDATION:
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Adopt a resolution authorizing an agreement with Excel Interpreting, LLC for language interpretation services, for the term of July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2022, in an amount not to exceed $1,000,000.
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BACKGROUND:
In October 2006, your Board accepted the “Linguistic Access Study: Summary of Findings and Recommendations Report.” A key recommendation noted in the report was to expand the availability and use of oral language services and translation services to wider a range of settings and languages.
Since 2010, County Health has contracted with various agencies to provide in-person interpretation services to the various Health divisions in order to bridge the language gap between our staff and the County’s limited English proficient residents to support the provision of high quality and timely care to our most vulnerable clients. County Health staff members utilize these services throughout the County in various settings, such as one-on-one clinic appointments, group counseling sessions, home visits, training sessions, and community meetings.
In FY 2017-18, 2,245 client interactions were served with in-person interpreters. We anticipate the demand in the upcoming fiscal years to increase due to a more diverse and changing client base, and due to better staff and community education on the rights of clients to be provided linguistically appropriate services in the language of their choosing.
DISCUSSION:
In February 2019, County Health released a Request for Proposals for qualified contractors to provide interpretation and translation services for all divisions of Health. Excel Interpreting, LLC competed in this process and is one of the two contractors that staff recommends be granted a contract to provide in-person interpretation services, based on its nine years of experience in the industry, online capacity to reserve and track interpretation requests, strong vetting process, and clear understanding of our service needs. Excel Interpreting, LLC, provides interpretation services in over 225 languages, including expanded capacity in the County’s threshold and emerging languages. (The second contractor, Purple Communications, Inc, will also provide in-person interpretation services, but only in American Sign Language, and the contract with Purple Communications, Inc. will be executed at the department level, since the amount anticipated to be expended under that agreement will not exceed $100,000.)
The resolution contains the County’s standard provisions allowing amendment of the County’s fiscal obligations by a maximum of $25,000 (in aggregate).
The agreement and resolution have been reviewed and approved by County Counsel as to form.
Approval of the agreement contributes to the Shared Vision 2025 commitment of a Healthy Community by allowing County health service providers to effectively communicate with limited English proficient people. It is anticipated that 98 percent of all interpretation request will be filled.
PERFORMANCE MEASURE:
|
Measure |
FY 2018-19 Estimated |
FY 2019-20 Projected |
|
Percent of interpretation requests filled |
94% |
98% |
FISCAL IMPACT:
The term of the agreement is July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2022. The amount of the agreement is not to exceed $1,000,000 for the three-year term. Of this amount, the following maximum budget obligations apply: $85,500 for Aging and Adult Services, $755,000 for Behavioral Health and Recovery Services, $5,500 for Environmental Health, $145,000 for Family Health Services, and $9,000 for Public Health, Policy and Planning. Funding is included in individual division Recommended Budgets for FY 2019-20; such funding is provided by a variety of sources, including Net County Cost. Similar arrangements will be made for future budget years.
The payment provisions of the agreement are different from the prior agreement - under a different vendor - because of County Health providers’ increased awareness of and demand for interpreter services.