Board switches telephone interpreter vendor to Language Arts; administration to monitor service and replace copiers

At the Dec. 10 meeting the board received administrative services updates on procurement and printing needs, including a change in telephone-interpreter vendors and a multi-year plan to replace aging copiers with production printers.

Chief administrative services officer Robert Silva said, per regulation, the agency retendered telephone interpreter services and awarded the new contract effective Dec. 1 to Language Arts, replacing HANA interpreting services (used since 2022). Silva told the board that Language Arts provides telephonic interpretation in 200 languages and that the new vendor came in at roughly half the cost of the prior vendor.

Silva and staff said they will keep a close watch on performance. He described a situation in Southern California shortly after the vendor change in which an interpreter appeared uncomfortable with being sworn in; the agency followed up with the vendor and has a complaint and inquiry process that administrative law judges and parties can use to raise quality concerns. "We've subsequently communicated with the vendor more about that specific part of being sworn in and its obvious necessity," Silva said.

Silva also described equipment planning: the agency submitted schedule-9 call letter requests for capitalized equipment to the Employment Development Department fiscal programs division for the 2026–27 state fiscal year and plans to replace a dozen near-term copy machines with production printers over the next three years to better match pandemic-era telephone-hearing printing needs.

Board members asked whether interpreters are certified and how quality will be measured; Silva described an internal review and vendor engagement process to investigate complaints and assured the board the agency would monitor service closely.