Clarification of Justice Department's Mandate About TTYs in Shelters

I checked with the Justice Department about the settlement agreement that mandated that domestic violence shelters have TTYs, and was told the following:

1. The settlement addressed only the obligations of a county-operated shelter, under title II of the ADA. Shelters run by counties MUST have TTYs, and must train staff on how to use them.
2. Shelters run by nonprofits (covered by title III of the ADA) were not part of the settlement agreement, and are not required to have TTYs, unless they allow residents to make outgoing calls on more than an incidental basis.
3. Rape treatment centers were not part of the settlement agreement, but the same analysis applies. If it is a rape treatment center run by a county (title II), it likely must have a TTY, and staff must be trained. If it is a rape treatment center run by a nonprofit (title III), then it is not required to have TTYs, unless they allow outgoing calls on more than an incidental basis.
4. Please note that callers seeking to use the services of a domestic violence shelter or rape treatment center would prefer to communicate directly with the counselor on the phone, rather than going through a third party operator. Therefore, I strongly recommend that all domestic violence shelters and rape treatment centers get TTYs, and train their staff on how to use them.
5. More and more, the deaf and hard of hearing communities are obtaining video phones, and using sign language on video to communicate. Those with video phones will call a video relay operator, and the operator will communicate with them using sign language, and the operator will converse with the shelter or rape treatment center using voice. As this develops, TTYs will still be used, but it will be important to train staff to be ready to take these calls that use the services of a relay operator. This will functionally be no different than taking relay calls that use a TTY.
6. TTY numbers should be advertised, on websites and in outreach materials.
7. Having a TTY number, even when not mandated by law, sends an important message to the deaf and hard of hearing communities, a message that you are welcoming them, and are prepared to serve them.
8. The Justice Department’s enforcement of the ADA is primarily complaint-driven. If they get the right case involving a title III nonprofit domestic violence shelter or rape treatment center that does not have a TTY, they may decide that where life and death consequences are involved, a TTY will be required, even if the shelter or rape treatment center does not allow outgoing calls on more than an incidental basis. This has really not been tested yet, and it really makes little sense to have such an artificial distinction in these cases. While it makes sense to allow a business (title III) to make callers rely on the relay operator system to call, it frankly makes less sense to have such a system when callers in crisis are trying to get help for domestic violence or rape. Congress overlooked this, and the drafters of the title III regulations overlooked this. It may be time to no longer overlook it, and mandate that all domestic violence centers and rape treatment centers be required to have TTYs, not just those operated by state and local governments. One thing I am sure of – no nonprofit domestic violence program or rape treatment center wants to be the test case.
Marc







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