TO: Board of Supervisors
FROM: Christine Briceño, Chief Human Resources Officer
REPORT BY: Kevin Lemieux, Staff Services Manager
SUBJECT: Second Amendment to Professional Services Agreement with The Language People
RECOMMENDATION
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Approve and authorize Amendment No. 2 to Agreement 190090B with The Language People for a maximum annual amount of $25,000 for the term effective July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2026, with an option to extend for five additional years through June 30, 2031, to provide language proficiency testing and face-to-face interpretation services. (Fiscal Impact: $25,000 Expense; General Fund; Budgeted; Discretionary)
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BACKGROUND
The County has contracted with The Language People (TLP) since 2018 to provide Level One (oral proficiency only) and Level Two Certification (oral and written proficiency) of Spanish and Tagalog language fluency. TLP also provide Level One Certification (face-to-face proficiency only) of American Sign Language fluency, and face-to-face interpretation services on an as-needed basis for the County during community meetings, press conferences, and other events where the presence of a translator would be appropriate. With a continued and ongoing need for their services, the County is seeking approval of a second amendment to the Professional Services Agreement with TLP.
Under the proposed second contract amendment, Human Resources will continue to act as the proctor and coordinate all testing with TLP. The proposed amendment also includes the continuation of professionally certified face-to-face translation services for the County to use on an as-needed basis during, emergencies, community meetings, press conferences and other events where the presence of a translator would be appropriate.
If approved, this amendment includes an annual maximum increase for $20,000 to $25,000 to account for increased volume of testing, and updated prices from the vendor. The agreement is retroactively effective to July 1, 2024, to allow the County to make payment on invoices received as part of a reconciliation process with the vendor. In Fiscal Year 2025-2026 the County also plans to add Berlitz Language Center as an additional resource for language proficiency testing.
FISCAL & STRATEGIC PLAN IMPACT
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Is there a Fiscal Impact? |
Yes |
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Is it currently budgeted? |
No |
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Is it Mandatory or Discretionary? |
Discretionary |
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Discretionary Justification: |
It is necessary for the County to continue the agreement with a vendor that can provide bilingual verification of employees in the languages most used by the community. It is also critical to have translation services readily available in situations where the County needs to share a message with the entire community in multiple languages. |
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Is the general fund affected? |
Yes |
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Future fiscal impact: |
The proposed contract amendment is budgeted at $25,000 annually, with auto-renewal options for future fiscal years at the same amount. |
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Consequences if not approved: |
If the proposed contract amendment is not approved, the County will be without a vendor to certify that employees are fluent in languages spoken by the community, as detailed in the applicable Memorandum of Understanding and County Policy Manual. The County would also be without on-call translation services during emergency situations. The Language People is the only provider Human Resources has identified that provides each of these critical services. |
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ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION: The proposed action is not a project as defined by 14 California Code of Regulations 153798 (State CEQA Guidelines) and therefore CEQA is not applicable.