This contract is mandatory for Dept. of Children and Families, Dept. of Workforce Development, and Dept. of Health Services. All vendors have agreed to extend the same pricing to any other state or local government agency. Some vendors have additionally agreed to extend pricing to “Community Partners” and are noted on the Lists. Community Partners are private organizations that buying agencies have contracted with to provide services, that are paid with public funds. Any Community Partners that utilize this contract, their relationship with the vendor is completely independent of any agency, and has no consequence to the agency.
This contract is comprised of four sections:
Section A - Written Foreign-Language Translation Services
Section B - Telephone Conference-Call Foreign-Language Oral Interpretation Services
Section C - In-Person Foreign-Language and American Sign Language Interpretation/Translation Services
Section D – Other Interpretation Services, which include VRI, CART, and Bilingual Testing Services
Each section has a separate Qualified Contractors List, hereafter referred to as “List”. Vendors on the List have agreed to or met all general requirements specified in the CFD00407 Request for Bid Document (attachment), as well as the requirements specific to that type of service found in the respective section’s Specifications (attachment).
There are four (4) Lists, one for each Section A-D. Vendors for all Lists are sorted approximately in order of price, lowest to highest.
All lists additionally indicate if the vendor is an MBE, will extend to Community Partners, and indicates any special skills they claim.
The last tab of each List is the Vendor Detail tab, which provides contact information for each vendor qualified for that section.
For Section A – Written and Section C –In-Person, there are separate tabs for each Core Language and one tab for Non-Core
Languages. Core Languages are the ones determined by the User Group that are most likely to be needed based on prior usage and the current population trends. Each tab may have a different group of vendors, because vendors were not required to provide all languages. For example, there are several vendors that bid only ASL, or a single foreign language. Prices may vary for each Core
Language. Any language not identified as a Core Language falls under Non-Core Languages. Vendors were required to provide a single, not to exceed price for all Non-Core Languages. The buying agency may negotiate down from that price for more common languages, but the price may never exceed that.
Section A - Written pricing is by word for translation based on the word count of the original English document. Pricing is set by delivery time, with the shorter turnaround generally costing more. Section A also includes proofing only, which again is based on the word count and delivery time. This would be used to have the vendor proof a previously translated document. It also includes
Layout services for an hourly rate, upon request, if the translation of the document results in the need for extensive reformatting of the document, such as modifying placement of images or captions. Some vendors also offer a discount if a single document is requested translated into multiple languages at the same time to be deducted off the total cost of those translations.
Section C – In-Person pricing is based on an hourly rate. These services are distinguished as Long-Term assignments or Short-Term assignments and have unique pricing and terms that are described in the Specification document for that Section. For Long-Term assignments there is a single hourly rate regardless of the time of the shift. For Short-Term assignments, there are separate rates for during business hours, defined as Monday-Friday 6:00am-6:00, for time outside of normal business hours, and for travel time. For either Long-Term or Short-Term assignments, vendors are allowed to assess a one-time, flat fee for any shift that is scheduled with less than 24 hours-notice, and they can charge an add-on to the hourly rate if the buying agency requests a WI Court Certified interpreter. This List specifies the Regions and Counties that the vendor will serve. The second to last tab of the workbook is the
Service Location tab, which has a map of Wisconsin that indicates which counties are in each region. The List also indicates if services are available 24/7/365 or with less than 24 hours-notice.
The Section B – Telephone List is quite easy to read. All vendors were required to provide all Core Languages to qualify and to charge one single per minute price for all languages. The Vendor Detail tab of this workbook contains the languages for which the vendor claims it can provide interpretation.

Section D – Other Interpretation Services is new and is comprised of three distinctly different services. It is a very large file and may take time to load because there are images in it provided by the bidders of their systems. The first tab is VRI Pricing and is by minute. Each vendor that made the List has two tabs after that which provides detail about their product. That information will be useful for IT staff to determine if the product will work for you. The next pricing tab is called CART Pricing and is priced by the hour.
Each vendor that made the List has one tab after that which provides detail about their product. And the final pricing tab is Bilingual
Testing and is priced by the test. Each vendor that made the List has one tab after that which provides detail about their testing.
(Some agencies prefer to select specific contractor(s) for the entire agency to use. Check with your agency’s purchasing or civil rights compliance staff to see if your agency has designated which contractors should be used.)
If you are responsible for selecting a contractor the first step is to look over the List for the type of service you need. You will want to select the most cost effective vendor that meets your needs. Some agencies prefer to have one vendor that can provide all services the agency needs, for consistency of services and convenience to staff. There are a few vendors that are on all Lists. You will want to analyze your usage of the various services to determine if that is practical for your agency. You may also want to consider the range of languages offered in your selection of a vendor. Certified Minority Business Enterprises preference may be applied. Special skills, certifications, discounts, and service locations/hours may be a consideration for selection. Agencies should not use a vendor’s decision whether to extend to Community Partners as a criteria for selection.
Once you have selected a vendor, the next step is to set up billing accounts. This is particularly important for Section B – Telephone
Interpretation Services, or any other on-demand type of service, since services won’t be rendered until a valid billing account is provided. Each agency should have their own billing account(s). There is no “State” billing account. And the vendors are required to accommodate multiple billing addresses for any agency that wants them. That may require separate billing accounts, depending on the vendor’s system. When setting up accounts it is very important to indicate that you are utilizing contract CFD00407 so you will
receive the correct pricing. Once billing accounts are established, the agency will need to disseminate that information to their staff, so when the need arises they are prepared.
The process for ordering services varies by type.
Section A – Written Translation services can be requested by email primarily. There is an attachment, Section A – Written Work
Order Request, which may be submitted along with the document for translation to the vendor selected. It is recommended you use the form and include the accurate billing account information, word count, and price rate per word to ensure the work is billed appropriately.
Section B – Telephone Interpretation services are an on-demand service and must be obtained as needed. In this case, it is necessary that the billing accounts be set up in advance. To request service, the user simply calls the toll free number provided by the vendor, provides their billing account information, and indicates what language is needed. The user and their non-English speaking client are then connected to the appropriate interpreter. Services are billed on a per minute rate.
Section C – In-Person Interpretation services must be scheduled. To request service, the user usually calls the vendor to inquire about availability of an interpreter in the language needed at the time required. It is possible that the vendor does not have someone available that can accommodate a specific assignment. If that is the case, the vendor is required to decline the assignment immediately so the buying agency may contact another vendor to provide the services. Once the user has found a vendor that can provide an interpreter at the time needed, they are encouraged to send an attachment, Section C – In-Person Service Request to the vendor as a confirmation of the appointment to ensure accurate billing account information and pricing.
For In-Person services, the vendor may charge a two hour minimum including travel time. For Short-Term assignments travel time is paid time and should be considered when scheduling services. Vendors must receive prior authorization from the buying agency to charge travel times in excess of two hours. For more details, see attachment Section C – In-Person Specifications.

Section D – Other Interpretation Services (VRI, CART, and Bilingual Testing) generally must be scheduled, with the exception of ondemand VRI services. In most cases, they will be initiated with a phone call to the vendor. On-demand VRI services require advance set up of billing accounts and possibly of the technology, as well. Work directly with the selected provider to accomplish that.
A Request for Service (RFS) process may be utilized for large projects of Written Translation or In-Person Interpretation. See Section
A – Written Specifications and Section C – In-Person Specifications for more information. Prices may be negotiated down from the contract rates but may never exceed the contract rates.
Vendors are expected to bill at least monthly for services provided. The information required on the invoice varies by service type and can be found in each respective Specifications attachment. There should be sufficient detail on the invoice for the agency to determine what services were provided, what rate was charged, and that the services were provided to their agency. If there is a discrepancy on the bill, the buying agency must try to resolve the issue directly with the vendor. If the buying agency is not able to resolve the situation with reasonable effort, such discrepancies should be reported to the Contract Administrator. The staff responsible for authorizing payment should be informed about the correct rates for service to ensure that invoices reflect the
contracted rates.
Users that have unresolved or recurring issues with vendors on the contract are asked to report those issues to the Contract
Administrator. An attachment, User Complaint Form, is available for this purpose. Certain problems, as described in the respective
Specifications attachments, could result in specific interpreters or the entire vendor being removed from the contract.