8
Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program
Telecommunications Access for the Deaf and Disabled
Administrative Committee (TADDAC)
March 25, 2016
10:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program, Main Office
1333 Broadway, Suite 500, Oakland, CA 94612
The Telecommunications Access for the Deaf and Disabled Administrative Committee (TADDAC) held its business meeting at the Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program (DDTP or Program) main office in Oakland, California.
TADDAC Members Present:
Frances R. Acosta, At Large Seat/Spanish Speaking User, Vice Chair
Ken Cluskey, Hard of Hearing Community Seat
Devva Kasnitz, Mobility Impaired Seat
Tommy Leung, Disabled Community - Blind/Low Vision Community Seat, Chair
Kenneth Rothschild, Proxy for Steve Longo, Deaf Community Seat
TADDAC Members Absent:
Nancy Hammons, Late Deafened Community Seat
Steve Longo, Deaf Community Seat
Robert Schwartz, Office of Ratepayer Advocates
TADDAC Non-Voting Liaisons Present:
Jonathan Lakritz, CPUC, Program Manager, Communications Division
Barry Saudan, CCAF, Chief Executive Officer
CCAF Staff Present:
Patsy Emerson, Committee Coordinator
Karen Evangelista, CRS Administrative Assistant
Barry Saudan, President and CEO
Reina Vazquez, Receptionist/Committee Assistant
David Weiss, CRS Relay Services Department Manager
CPUC Staff Present:
Helen Mickiewicz, Legal Division
Alan Solomon, Communications Division
Others Present:
Don Brownell, Revoicer for Devva Kasnitz
Christa Cervantes, Hamilton Relay (on the phone)
Otis Hopkins, Attendant to Tommy Leung
TADDAC Chair, Tommy Leung, called the meeting to order at 10:05 a.m.
I. Welcome and Introduction of TADDAC Members
The Committee Members, California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) staff and the California Communications Access Foundation (CCAF) staff introduced themselves. Patsy reported that Nancy Hammons had sent an email notifying the Committee that she’d had an accident and was not feeling well enough to attend the meeting.
II. Approval of Agenda
The agenda was approved without modification.
III. Review of Minutes of the February 26, 2016 TADDAC Meeting
The minutes were approved as written.
Review and follow-up on TADDAC Action Items List from the February 26th meeting.
Action Item #64: Ken Cluskey will gather suggested tips for using CapTel from attendees at his town hall meeting on April 23rd and bring them back to TADDAC for inclusion in the “Tips for Using CapTel” document.
Ken expressed his concern that any tips he gets from people who use IP-based CapTel will be separated from tips from land-line based users when putting together the final document. Christa Cervantes of Hamilton Relay assured Ken that she would be at the meeting and that she would work with CCAF to compile the tips and that they would be reviewed by the Committees and the CPUC for appropriateness before being included in the final document.
Action Item #35: Committee members to assist CRS Vendor outreach efforts by sending information on community events to David Weiss.
David Weiss reported that committee members had been sending information about events to him, but hopes that he gets more from southern California members. This item’s status remains ongoing.
Before moving on to the next agenda item, Ken Cluskey stated that he would like to add an Action Item to the list. Ken reminded the Committee that in previous discussions about social media, he had mentioned his work with the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) and the possibility of getting a link to the DDTP put on their webpage. Ken spoke with the HLAA president and she is very open to the idea, and asked Jonathan Lakritz how to proceed from here.
New Action Item #66: Ken Cluskey to work with CPUC & CCAF to develop ways to put links to DDTP/California Phones on the HLAA national website as well as on local chapter websites.
IV. Administrative Business
A. Report from CPUC Staff
Jonathan Lakritz began his report by introducing Alan Solomon who is replacing Linda Gustafson as the Communications Division Program and Project Supervisor. Alan comes with a wide range of experience as an ombudsman and a mediator and is well versed in the state contracting process, having worked for the Energy Commission and the Department of Mental Health. Alan will be providing the CPUC updates at future committee meetings and told the members that he is looking forward to working with them all.
Jonathan then reported that Robert Schwartz is retiring soon and the Office of Ratepayer Advocates (ORA) is looking for a new person to represent the ORA at committee meetings.
Jonathan went on to discuss new equipment and accessory pilots and began with the iPhone pilot, noting that the initial phase is complete and the pilot report has been distributed to the committee members. In reviewing the results of the pilot and looking at the experiences of the National Deaf-Blind Distribution Program (NDBEDP), it has become clear that training is the key to making more sophisticated adaptive devices successful for the consumer. Training is often a larger hurdle in terms of time and resources than the actual equipment itself. CD is looking at several paths for the distribution of iPhones, one of which is to develop a program that focuses on training but allows consumers the flexibility to bring their own device, following the model of the Lighthouse for the Blind. Jonathan pointed out that the monthly service charge for Internet service has been an ongoing challenge for many participants in the pilot and that CD has been working with two providers who participate in the California LifeLine program to see if there is any way they might ‘marry’ the two programs. The idea is to develop a bring-your-own-device training program that would also provide adaptive accessories which would enable the DDTP to customize telecommunications setups to the needs of each individual. Jonathan hopes to have more information to share about their progress on this issue next month.
Jonathan then reported on equipment pilot programs, beginning with the Odin VI. The pilot program initial results have been mostly positive with some concerns about Odin’s customer service, but those issues are being addressed as they come up. Odin also has an application pending to become a California LifeLine provider, which if approved should be a big help to consumers. The Clarity cordless phone with battery backup was also approved as a pilot and distribution of the phones will begin shortly, and finally, the ClearSounds answering machine has been added to the DDTP/CTAP program and is now being distributed. In response to Frances Reyes Acosta’s question about how people get involved in the pilots, Barry Saudan explained that the Odin pilot participants have all been recruited through the service centers. If the consumer is identified as a good candidate for wireless and they are hard of hearing or have a visual impairment, they’ve been asked to participate. Other pilots have involved contacts made at service centers as well as the call center.
Jonathan moved on to contracts and reported that CD is almost through the current contracting cycle and contracts have been awarded to AllWorld Language Consultants for the ASL interpreting services in both northern and southern California, to Hanna Interpreting Services for the foreign language translation services, and to CCAF for the primary program and contract administrator contract.
Before Jonathan began his report on marketing campaigns, Kenneth Rothschild commented on the new interpreting contractor, AllWorld Language Consultants (ALC). Kenneth reported that the Deaf-Blind representative on EPAC was unable to participate in their last meeting because there were no tactile interpreters available to interpret for him, and asked if any follow-up was done with ALC after this. Jonathan replied that Alan Solomon had contacted ALC shortly after the meeting and notified them that future failures to provide interpreters would jeopardize their contract. Alan added that the contractor was very apologetic and had informed him that ALC was working to recruit more interpreters. Tommy Leung asked if we are allowed to find our own interpreters, at ALC’s cost, if ALC gives notice that they are unable to provide an interpreter. CRS Manager David Weiss, who manages the interpreting contract for CCAF, replied that the ALC contract states that they have 72 hours before the meeting to inform CCAF if they are not able to find an interpreter, and that CCAF staff then takes over and reaches out to other agencies to fill the job. David added that the contractor can also be assessed liquidated damages for failure to perform the terms of their contract. Alan added that the goal is to prevent an interpreter no-show from happening again.
Jonathan then resumed his update with a report on the marketing campaigns which are continuing on a two-week cycle every month, alternating between northern and southern California. CTAP is also conducting a special Spanish language promotion in the Fresno area in coordination with Univision which features an interview with a CCAF Outreach Specialist, and is running a newly redone English language ad to which a person signing in ASL has been added. Tommy Leung mentioned that he had heard the TV ads and one was promoting a CCAF event with free hearing screenings. Jonathan replied that the Outreach department frequently conducts what are called Distribution Events where we partner with an audiologist who will provide a screening at the event and then sign the customers’ certification forms, allowing them to enroll in the Program and take their equipment home with them the very same day.
Regarding Speech Generating Devices (SGDs), Jonathan reported that 146 applications for the equipment have been approved and 19 are currently pending. CD is preparing an updated report on the last 12 months of SGD distribution which should be ready to share with the Committees in April.
As for the tablet pilot project, Jonathan reported that we’re partnering with the California Foundation for Independent Living Centers (CFILC), an umbrella non-profit organization of the Independent Living Centers (ILCs). CFILC also administers the Assistive Technology Network, a federally funded program through the Department of Rehabilitation (DOR) that provides assistive technology on a short-term loan basis. CFILC has all the infrastructure in place to provide training and control inventory, so we are able to piggyback on the resources they already have. In response to Ken Cluskey’s question about the pilot design, Jonathan explained aspects of the state contracting process and that CD has been working with the CFILC to decide design questions such as the time frame of the pilot, who to target with the pilot, how many participants the pilot will have, the criteria for selecting participants, how the equipment is going to be distributed, what kind of training will be provided and by whom, and how the results are going to be analyzed in the end.
B. Report from CCAF
Barry Saudan referred the Committee to several of the January reports in the binder that highlight the results of various Program activities. Barry pointed out the correlation between advertising and calls to the call center as well as the effects of outreach events on certification forms distributed and the connection between forms downloaded from the website and new enrollment in the Program. Barry also noted trends in customer comments regarding the transition from analog to digital and the problems people are encountering with their devices, and pointed to comments about our exemplary customer service and Outreach staff. Barry concluded by looking at equipment distributed and noting that devices for the hard of hearing have the highest ongoing distribution rate, or 63% of all equipment shipped.
C. Report from the Chair
Tommy Leung reported that Ken Cluskey had sent him a petition regarding the upcoming ruling at the FCC about removing T-coils from smart phones and how this will negatively affect hearing aid users who rely on T-coils to use their phones. Ken acknowledged that T-coils are old technology, but that removing them from smart phones without having some other means of connectivity in place will present a real hardship to hearing aid users who would likely have to purchase new ones. Tommy reported that he had passed the petition on to the chair of the FCC’s Disability Advisory Committee (DAC) committee for further review and action. Tommy agreed to follow up with the chair and report back to TADDAC with the outcome.
Helen Mickiewicz spoke up at this time to explain the process of rulemaking and making comments and suggested to the Committee that they discuss the comments they would like to make to the FCC on the T-coil issue and forward their recommendation to CD to articulate to the FCC. Helen remarked that comments coming from the CPUC that endorse recommendations made by organizations such as the HLAA which have expertise in the field would have more impact than comments from individuals. The Committee agreed to add discussion about the issue to their next agenda and then to vote to submit a formal request to the CPUC to make comments on their behalf.
VII. Member Reports
The Committee decided to share member reports in the short time remaining before lunch. Devva Kasnitz began by informing the Committee of an opportunity for Committee members to contribute an article to an academic book about disability issues and suggested they get together and write about the DDTP and TADDAC and what we do. Since the deadline for submission of articles is April 1st, Devva agreed to submit her own abstract and if it is accepted, she’ll ask members to join her in completing the finished article.
Ken Cluskey shared his concerns about the upcoming town hall meeting about CapTel issues and whether he has the expertise to know which hints would really be helpful for CapTel users. Christa Cervantes of Hamilton assured Ken that she would be at the town hall meeting and that she would work with Hamilton, CapTel and CCAF to sort through all the comments and put together a list of tips which they feel would be beneficial for the consumer. Christa anticipates that she’ll be able to bring this information back to the Committee in June.
Frances Reyes Acosta reported that she is actively working on securing a venue for the planned October 28th off-site, most likely at Cal State Fresno or at the local Lighthouse for Children.
Lunch was taken from 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM
V. New Business
A. EPAC Report and Recommendations
Patsy Emerson noted that neither Brian Pease nor Sylvia Stadmire were able to attend the meeting today and offered to give TADDAC a brief recap of the things discussed at EPAC’s last meeting. Patsy reported that EPAC has been discussing many of the same issues that TADDAC has, mainly how to have a DDTP presence on social media, how to partner with other organizations and get links to the DDTP on their websites, and how to proceed with new equipment during the ongoing transition from analog to digital. EPAC has also discussed partnering with the federal and state LifeLine programs to help provide affordable internet access to our consumers. EPAC enjoyed an update on the National Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution Program (NDBEDP) from the Lighthouse for the Blind and learned from them that training is the most crucial, costly, and time-consuming element of the Program. Patsy concluded her report by informing the Committee that EPAC had voted unanimously to reappoint Brian Pease to the Mobility Impaired seat.