SPOKEN INTERPRETATION SERVICES

VENDORS ON STATE CONTRACTS
REAL-TIME CAPTIONING
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA INTERPRETERS
LANGUAGE LINE SERVICES
MINNESOTA RELAY SERVICES (MRS)
VOICE OR HEARING CARRY OVERS

VENDORS ON STATE CONTRACTS

The State of Minnesota has contracted with vendors to provide interpreter services.

Contracts for foreign languages include Amharic, Arabic, Cambodian, Cantonese, Croatian, French, German, Hmong, Japanese, Laotian, Mandarin, Nuer, Oromo, Russian, Somali, Spanish, and Vietnamese.

REAL-TIME CAPTIONING

Computer-aided real-time captioning employs trained, qualified transcriptionists to provide verbatim transcription of the spoken word to written text. Transcription may be delivered via laptop (for a single user) or via large projection screen (for multiple users). As with any interpreted event, speak one-at-a time; pause to allow smooth transitions and full communications, and encourage participants to enunciate and to project.

The Department of Administration, Materials Management Division, maintains a list of contract service providers capable of performing real-time captioning.

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA INTERPRETERS

The University of Minnesota keeps a list of people willing to interpret Hmong, Lao, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Thai and Vietnamese. Call 612-624-4055. Service agreements are negotiated independently and range from approximately $25 to $50 per hour depending on language, complexity, time and travel.

LANGUAGE LINE SERVICES

The Department of Administration (DOA) has contracted with Language Line Services for a foreign language phone interpretation service called Language Line. It covers 160 languages and is available 24 hours per day, seven days a week. The cost of this service is $2.75 per minute (FY02) and is billed to your cost center by MNet (Intertech). All costs are usage-based and there is no monthly fee. The basic procedure is:

When receiving a call:

1. Use Conference Hold to place the non-English speaker on hold.
2. Dial 1-800-367-9559
3. Press 1 for Spanish.
• Press 2 for all other languages (speak the name of the language at the prompt).
• Press 0 or stay on the line for assistance.
4. Enter on your telephone keypad or provide the representative:
• 6-digit Client ID: 509052
• Organization Name: State of Minnesota Non-Emergency
• Access Code: can be obtained by calling the Help Desk at 651/296-3628 . If you already have a long-distance access code - the "Language Line" feature  may be  included with this code (no need for an additional code) - but this DOES need  to be requested. This code allows billing of the call to the proper telephone number. 
• An interpreter will be connected to the call.
5. Brief the interpreter. Summarize what you wish to accomplish and give any special instructions.
6. Add the non-English speaker to the line. When the call is complete, say to the interpreter, "end of call." The interpreter will reply, "end of call."

When placing a call to a non-English speaker, begin at Step 2. For assistance when placing a call to a non-English speaker, press 0 to transfer to a representative at the beginning of the call.

Language Line can handle several different methods of communication.  For more information, call DOA's Telecommunications Office at 651-296-6013.

MINNESOTA RELAY SERVICES (MRS)

MRS is a telephone telecommunications service that connects people who have a hearing disability or a speech impairment with people who can hear. The service is provided 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

All calls are confidential. Long-distance calls are billed through the MRS Long Distance Service unless other instructions are given before the call is placed (such as collect, calling card, or third-party billing). Direct-billed calls appear on your regular monthly phone bills.

You can place several calls with only one call to MRS (when finished with one call, tell the communications assistant the next number you want to call). For more information on how to use the MRS, call 1-800-657-3775 (Voice and TTY). Here are the general procedures:

Computer Users:

• Access MRS by dialing 1-800-627-3529. Set your communications software to follow this protocol at speeds ranging from 300 to 2400 (Note: it may be helpful to set your timeout to 100 seconds), 8 bit, no parity, one stop bit, Full Duplex.
• When calling at a rate of 300 or below, follow the above setting using Half Duplex.

Voice and TTY User:

• Dial 1-800-627-3529 (metro area) or 1-800-627-3529 (outside metro area).
• Give the communications assistant (CA) the area code and phone number you want to call and the area code and number you are calling from.
• Speak or type directly to the person you are calling. The CA will relay your conversation to that person. Speak or type "GA (go ahead)" every time you finish speaking to let the other  person know it's his/her turn to talk.

For emergencies:

• In case of an emergency, TTY users should call the TTY-equipped 9-1-1 center or emergency services center in their Minnesota community. You will need to verify the phone number for emergency calls in your area. Remember: call 9-1-1 direct; calls placed directly and immediately to the local TTY emergency number can save valuable time in urgent situations.

To schedule a MRS presentation:

• For presentations for employees, groups or organizations, call 651/602 - 9005 Voice/TTY or 1-800-657-3775.

VOICE OR HEARING CARRY OVERS

Voice Carry Over (VCO) allows deaf or hard-of-hearing persons who prefer to speak, to talk directly to a hearing person. The CA types only the hearing person's comments. Hearing Carry Over (HCO) allows a speech-impaired person to listen directly to the hearing person. The CA voices what the speech-impaired person types. For more information about using HCO or VCO, dial 1-800-657-3775 (Voice or TTY).

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