Last night I finally got some answers to my questions about why CapTel service still isn't available in my home state of Massachusetts, even after 35 other states have gotten the captioned telephone service up and running. Those who have tried it say that CapTel is simply awesome. As easy to use as the closed captioning on your TV, it's a breakthrough in communication that truly has life-changing potential for thousands of deaf and hard-of-hearing people throughout the U.S. At the monthly meeting of the Greater Boston Chapter of Self Help for Hard of Hearing People (SHHH), Dennis A. Selznick of Sprint Relay Services gave an overview, and Greater Boston SHHH President Karen Rockow gave a clear update of the progress it is making toward approval in Massachusetts. CapTel is offered under the same state-run relay services that provide TTY and Voice-Carry-Over (VCO) for written translations of conversations and Video Relay for on-line sign-language interpreters. TTY and VCO services require the user to first engage an operator, who transcribes and transmits what the other party is saying and displays it over a TTY or computer terminal. The user can't hear what the other person is saying, and there are delays as the operator mediates the conversation. With CapTel, the operator is invisible, and the caller can use whatever hearing he or she has to listen to the other party, using the scrolling captions on the five-line LCD screen of a special CapTel telephone to fill in the gaps, just as they would when watching captioned television. The service is so easy to use that people who in the past would did not bother going through the steps required to learn and to use VCO or TTY services are gravitating to CapTel quickly and easily. But adoption of the service is a state-by-state proposition, and some states, including the one I live in, apparently have had a hard time getting out of their own way. Karen Rockow explained that an outdated Massachusetts state law that originally created the state relay service was written in such a way that it's technically illegal to offer the CapTel service as it's currently configured. It will require a change in the law by the state legislature to get CapTel on track. When that legislation will be voted on, and whether it will pass, still are open questions.
According to Rockow, the 1980s-era enabling legislation in Massachusetts included a provision that relay-service call centers be located within the state to provide employment to state residents. However, because CapTel services are currently so small and specialized, there is only one CapTel call center in the U.S. located in Wisconsin. At the relay center, a trained operator patches into the CapTel user's calls and, using sophisticated voice-recognition software, transcribes and transmits real-time captioning of the speaker on the other end to the five-line LCD display on the user's special CapTel phone. The states levy taxes or user fees to pay for relay services, which are most often offered free or at nominal cost to deaf and hard-of-hearing consumers under common-carrier laws requiring that state-licensed service providers provide equal access to all consumers. Unfortunately, maintaining relay call centers in every state would multiply costs enormously, and while Selznick said CapTel eventually will have several relay centers around the country, there is no immediate plan to put one in Massachusetts. Therefore the original enabling legislation preventing the deployment of relay services handled through out-of-state call centers will have to be changed. Rockow said there is a bill before the state legislature that will effect just such a change. But Selznick encouraged SHHH meeting attendees to advocate for quick passage of the change, as it's anyone's guess whether it will be voted on during the current legislative session, or whether it will have to wait until next year. Readers in Massachusetts: I'll be posting more information on the CapTel legislation and how to contact your state representatives about moving it forward.
Posted by David at 12:22 PM on Nov 15, 2005 in CAPTIONING, ISSUES & ADVOCACY
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