Do all city departments or a city assisted program have to have TDDs to communicate with people who have hearing or speech impairments?
No. Public entities or city assisted programs that communicate by telephone must provide equally effective communication to individuals with disabilities, including hearing and speech impairments. If telephone relay services, such as those required by title IV of the ADA, are available, these services generally may be used to meet this requirement. The city currently uses Textnet to communicate by phone with those that are deaf. Relay services involve a relay operator who uses both a standard telephone and a TDD to type the voice messages to the TDD user and read the TDD messages to the standard telephone user. Where such services are available, public employees must be instructed to accept and handle relayed calls in the normal course of business. However, State and local agencies that provide emergency telephone services must provide “direct access” to individuals who rely on a TDD or computer modem for telephone communication. Telephone access through a third party or through a rela
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