California Court Interpreter Education & American Sign Language Requirements, RFP CFCC-2021-91RB

Update: April 30, 2021
Intent to Award

Update: March 23, 2021
Questions and Answers

The Judicial Council of California (Judicial Council) seeks the services of a Contractor with experience to assist the Court Interpreters Program (CIP) with researching potential learning management systems (LMS’s), developing online modules for court interpreter education in four topic areas, identifying recommended American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter certifications that could be accepted by the Judicial Council, and developing an online course (6-8 hours of content) that will be required before the ASL interpreter may work for the California court system.

The Judicial Council is the policymaking body of the California court system. It is responsible for ensuring the fair, impartial, and consistent administration of justice. The Language Access Services Program (LASP) works to develop policies and provide services to ensure equal access to justice for court users who are limited English proficient or deaf/hearing-impaired. It is comprised of the CIP and the Language Access Implementation (LAI) unit. CIP works on court interpreter services, and LAI works on making the courts more language accessible via resources such as signage, technology, and translated forms.

The Court Interpreters Advisory Panel (CIAP) is a standing advisory committee to the Judicial Council. It is charged with making recommendations to the council on the certification, registration, renewal of certification and registration, testing, recruitment, training, continuing education, and professional conduct of interpreters. It also makes recommendations concerning interpreter use and the need for interpreters in court proceedings. CIP provides staff support to CIAP and assists its members with developing policy recommendations. CIP also oversees the credentialing process and development of education resources for almost 2,000 California certified and registered court interpreters.

In 2015, the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Inc. eliminated testing for the Specialist Certificate: Legal (SC:L) credential for American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters. The consultant under this contract will also identify recommended and current American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter certifications that could potentially be accepted by the Judicial Council and develop an online course (6-8 hours of content) that will be required before the ASL interpreter may work for the California court system.

Questions regarding this RFP should be directed to solicitations@jud.ca.gov and must be received no later than 3pm PDT, March 17, 2021. Electronic copy proposals must be emailed to solicitations@jud.ca.gov. RESPONSES DUE: April 9, 2021, 3:00 P.M. (PDT). The RFP Attachments are: