ASL Sign Language Interpretation, CART Services, and Travel

Questions & Answers / Clarifications

This document provides answers to vendor questions regarding the Sign Language Solicitation 1232SA26Q0122, clarifying requirements and historical data.

• Demand: FY25 saw 110-175 service hours, with demand reduced after an administration change.
• Short-Notice Requests: In FY25, there were 8 requests with less than 48 hours' notice, and 11 assignments were cancelled with insufficient notice.
• Incumbent Contractor: Vital Signs is the current incumbent, with Access Interpreting providing services for the National Capital Region.
• Historical Pricing: Sign Language Interpreting and Video Remote Interpreting are historically priced at $99/hour. Onsite CART is $175/hour, Remote CART is $150/hour, and TypeWell is $99/hour.
• Service Delivery: All services are contractor-provided; no internal staff resources are utilized.
• Award Type: The requirement is anticipated to result in a single award.
• Travel: Travel must be negotiated and approved prior to confirmation of an assignment.
• Remote/Video Services: Over 90% of service requests are virtual.
• Subcontracting: Labor performed by interpreters, if not a similarly situated entity, counts towards the 50% subcontracting restriction.
• Scheduling Portal: Commercial off-the-shelf platforms are acceptable for online scheduling.
• Usage Volumes: FY25 estimates include 56-65 CART work hours and 110-150 ASL work hours, with a total of 111 requests for all services.
• Surge Periods: Generally, no anticipated surge periods or mission-critical coverage windows.
• Points of Contact: Multiple points of contact for scheduling and escalation are accepted.
• Pricing Structure: Separate hourly rates for on-site ASL interpreting and video remote ASL interpreting will be considered. Pricing for TypeWell services will also be considered.

This Q&A document clarifies historical data, pricing expectations, and service delivery methods, which may influence bidder proposals and pricing strategies. It confirms that separate rates for different ASL interpreting methods and pricing for TypeWell services will be considered.

Statement of Work (SOW) / Performance Work Statement (PWS)

To provide support for American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters, Communication Access Real-Time Translation (CART) services, and/or transcriber services to meet the needs of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Research, Education & Economics (REE) Mission Area employees, applicants, and visitors.

• Provide interpreting services nationwide, including in-person services in various rural and urban locations across the United States.

• Services include Deaf and Hard of Hearing Interpretation (full-time, on-call, by request), Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART), and TypeWell transcription.

• Various types of interpreting situations are covered, including ASL/English, transliteration, oral interpretation, tactile interpretation, low vision interpretation, deaf interpretation, trilingual interpretation, and video interpretation.

• Contractor is responsible for all coordination of services from request to fulfillment.

• Online portal availability: 98% during normal business hours.

• Request fulfillment (10 days in advance): 98%.

• On-call interpreters/transcribers for urgent requests.

• Arrival at assignments: Sign language interpreters 30 minutes prior, captioners 1 hour prior.

• No more than four instances in 12 months of interpreters/transcribers/captioners failing to arrive.

• Interpreting skills demonstration: 98%.

• Customer preferences met: 95%.

• No more than six instances in 12 months of customer dissatisfaction.

• Professionalism demonstrated: 98%.

• Reporting: At least 90% of reports submitted on time.

• Period of Performance: Base award of twelve months, with four additional option years.

• Estimated need: Approximately 200 hours of sign language interpreting services annually, with potential for higher volume.

• Place of Performance: Various locations throughout the United States, both remotely and in person.

• Interpreters must be qualified and vetted, meeting specific criteria for certified and non-certified interpreters, including experience and proficiency in various communication modes.

• CART providers must be NCRA certified.

• TypeWell transcribers require at least three years of experience.

• Contractor must provide an online scheduling portal and a vendor point of contact.

• Administrative support includes maintaining consumer profiles, scheduling, invoicing, and verification.

• Vendor responsiveness: Respond to requests within 48 hours via the online portal.

• Business attire is required and must not be distracting.

Solicitation / RFP / RFQ

This document is a Request for Quotation (RFQ) for ASL Sign Language Interpreting and CART Services, including travel. The government is procuring these services to support human resources functions.

• ASL Sign Language Interpreting

• CART Services

• Travel

• Period of Performance: Base year from 02/27/2026 to 02/26/2027, with four option years.

• Quotations are due by close of business on 02/02/2026.

• The evaluation method is Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA).

• Technical Acceptability includes meeting all solicitation requirements and having an acceptable past performance rating.

• Offerors must be registered in SAM.gov.

• Not explicitly stated as a set-aside, but various small business categories are addressed in the FAR clauses.

• The solicitation incorporates numerous FAR clauses by reference, covering a wide range of requirements including labor standards, representations and certifications, and contract administration.

• Offerors must submit a completed SF18, a contractor quote pricing document, and the Performance Work Statement (Attachment 01).

Form / Attachment / Pricing Sheet

This document is a price quote template for vendors to enter their hourly rates and provide a price quote for services. It outlines the structure for pricing the base period and four option years.

• Tasks: Interpreting and Other Services, and Travel costs for difficult to fill, remote in person requests (CART Services).
• Hours: Specified for each task (200 for Interpreting, 70 for Travel).
• Hourly Rate: A field for vendors to input their rate.
• Estimate: A field for the total estimated cost per task.
• Periods: Includes a BASE Period (2/27/2026-2/26/2027) and four Option Years (Option 1 through Option 4), each with a one-year duration.
• Totals: Fields for BASE Period Total, Option 1 Total, Option 2 Total, Option 3 Total, Option 4 Total, and a Grand Total.

This document is critical for bidders to understand the pricing structure and to submit their proposed costs for the services required. Bidders must complete this form by entering their hourly rates and calculating the estimated costs for each task and period to be considered for the opportunity.