Federal Relay Conference Training

Terry Reeves:  [0:01] Good morning everyone. My name is Terry Reeves and I'm the Strategic Employment Program Manager here at the department. I'd like to welcome each and everyone of you to the Federal Relay Training Sessions. Our speakers today are Ms. Chanelle M. Glazier and Angela Officer. Chanelle is the Federal Relay Marketing Outreach Manager and Angela is the Senior Program Manager for the Sprint Corporation Telecommunications Company.

[0:31] Before they come, I want to mention that this event will be streamlined and recorded for future viewing. The captioning link for the streaming is www.doi.gov/events, and the captioning link for the recording is www.doi.gov/accesscenter, that's a-c-c-e-s-s-c-e-n-t-e-r, one word. Please help me welcome the speakers for the hour, Miss Chanelle Glazier and Miss Angela Officer.

Chanelle Glazier:  [1:24] Hello, everyone. Good Morning. My name is Chanelle and I'm so glad you all could come and also those of you watching online as well, thank you. We're here today to talk to you about Federal Relay and do a training session. Before I get too far in depth with the session, let me tell you that I'm brand new. I've only done this job a few months. Angie is here as my support system.

[1:46] Any questions that I can answer, she will. Because of the video situation, we are going to ask all questions to wait until the end. Now, if during the presentation you have something for clarification and something simple to ask, go ahead and interrupt me and ask that. Otherwise, we'll save major questions till the end.

[2:06] Before we talk about Federal Relay Surveys and explain what else it has, I would like to give a little history of the Federal Relay and how it all began.

[2:17] I should see here Congress decided that there should be a Telecommunications Act for deaf and hard of hearing people, so that they could have access to the telephone systems. In 1988, Federal Relay was set up. The government of course is very strict with guidelines, regulations and all of that, and Federal Relay is here to adhere to all of the regulations that are set up by the Federal Government.

[2:41] Federal Relay started in April of 1993. There was an RFP and a very detailed contract. The RFP had all the guidelines and designs that we had to comply with to provide services to all agencies. Sprint won that contract for a Federal Relay and has had it ever since. There have been multiple RFPs which Sprint has always won and we have been the sole provider of almost 22 years for the Federal Relay Service.

[3:21] Federal Relay with Sprint, we work with the GSA, The General Services Administration. They are the ones who monitor the contract and make sure that we are compliant with each of the agencies. Each agency, to receive services, must have a task order through us, that they fund for their deaf and hard of hearing employees to allow them to use our services.

[3:44] You are here, so you obviously have a task order for our services with Federal Relay, which is great. Some people may not quite understand the difference between the Federal Relay and the general state or national relay services. This PowerPoint delineates the differences between those two types of services.

[4:08] With Federal Relay, we have to comply with all certification and accreditation we are also Fiber weight compliant. There are specific IT security standards through the GSA that we comply with and we are also FIPS compliant. We follow those standards and we have very strict confidentiality.

[4:28] The interesting thing about confidentiality is that traditional relay is also confidential. Traditional relay follows the FCC standards. We exceed that. We have the FCC standards and then we also have the privacy act of 1974, plus the IRS acquisition procedures that we have to comply with. We also do a privacy impact assessment.

[4:52] As you can see, Federal Relay has many more security requirements than state and national relay does.

Angie Officer:  [5:00] Hi, my name's Angie Officer, I also work with the Federal Relay. I did want to emphasize that you should be aware, other providers do not comply with these security standards that are listed here. We meet FCC and GSA security requirements.

[5:18] Each agency has its own individual security requirements as well. We meet with each agency to make sure we comply with exactly what they need. For example, the IRS has extremely strict requirements, which we ensure we're in compliance with.

[5:34] We are the experts of working with the government in terms of terminology, security requirements, etc. Like Chanelle said, we have been doing this work now for 22 years.

Chanelle:  [5:47] Thanks for that addition, Angie. Speaking of experts, I should tell you that Angie has been in the filed for a very long time. She's been working with Relay for 23 years and Angie said, "Ha. Thanks Chanelle. That really makes me feel old." [laughs]

[6:04] Let's talk about why your employees should use Federal Relay Service. We provide functional equivalency for deaf and hard of hearing employees. They can do everything in their desk, in their office, right where they work. They can function just like a non‑deaf or hard of hearing employee can and have equal access.

[6:25] We help agencies meet Section 504 compliance by giving those deaf and hard of hearing employees equal access to the telephone system in the workplace.

Angie:  [6:36] This is Angie here. If I could just add, I wanted to give a little bit of background.

[6:43] If you remember the FTS 2000 Network way back when. Everyone who is making government long‑ distance calls from a government agency used that FTS system. Then, people started to realize, how can deaf or hard of hearing people make telephone calls from their government agencies? The General Service Administration or the GSA realised they needed to design and put out an RFP.

[7:11] They wanted to make sure that all government agencies had access for their deaf and hard of hearing employees. Again, it's all about functional equivalency, making sure deaf and hard of hearing employees have the same access as employees who can hear. Making sure everyone has equal access.

[7:28] It's also for people who have a speech disability and also for people who can hear to call a deaf or hard of hearing employee through the Federal Relay Service.

[7:38] This service is available to the general public as well. For example, if someone has a question about an IRS refund check, that person from the general public can call the IRS through Federal Relay. That call would be billed to the IRS as an incoming call.

Chanelle:  [8:00] Thanks for adding to that history. Angie, I know, knows so much history, so it's really fun working with her because she has so much of that background information.

[8:11] As I mentioned, we have strict security requirements that we make sure we comply with. If you have any questions or issues about security you can be sure, if you are using Federal Relay Service, it is compliant.

[8:25] We work with individual preferences per agency and make sure that we match what they need. We have services in Spanish, services in English and some services available in both languages, which I'll explain in a later slide. We have over 20 years of experience in providing this Federal Relay Service.

[8:47] The first product or service that I'd like to talk about today is Relay Conference Captioning or RCC. Have you used that service before? If you can raise your hand? Somebody thinks they've used it perhaps. [laughs]

[8:59] RCC is a tool to allow people to have access from their laptop. Now, there's a new service, as of last week, you can access RCC from a mobile device. You put your conference call number in, then there's a speaker phone in the room, when anyone talks, there's a remote captionist who listens in and captions what's being said.

[9:23] The deaf or hard of hearing person views that conference call on their laptop simultaneously as the call actually happening. If they want to say anything, they just type their comment in and the captionist reads that out loud into the meeting.

[9:38] It's super for small meetings or for webinars and things of that nature. It can either be in person or it can be remote, where people are dialing into a conference call. The captioning is really quick and very very high standard. It's equivalent to television captioning. You only need 12 hours advance notice to reserve that.

[10:02] If you have seen CART before, that's where you have an actual live captionist in the room, who's typing and sending it to a TV screen. Typically those people take 48 hours advance notice, whereas this RCC program only needs 12 hours.

[10:18] RCC also has many different styles. You can change many options, for example the colors. I'd like to show you a demonstration of RCC, so you can see what it looks like. Do we have an Internet connection here? I'm not sure. If I can access the Internet to show you a demo.

[10:39] [silence]

Chanelle:  [10:51] While we're waiting for the video to load.

[11:01] We may not be able to get through a firewall to show you a video Angie said. What I'll do is, send a link to that PowerPoint later, so you can go into the website and see the demonstration of RCC. Let me explain why it is so great.

[11:19] The captionist identifies by name who's speaking into the meeting and you can also customize what you like. You can make the fonts bigger, smaller. It's great. It gives you, as the customer, choices on how you would like to see the information.

[11:38] If you are not sure how to book your RCC, go to www.fedrcc.us www.federalrelay.us/tty and click, "Book and Event now." You'll see a screen like this. You fill out your contact information. Make sure your email address, when you put that in, type your work email. It won't accept a personal email or a Gmail account. It has to be a government email address.

[12:07] Explain what the call is, what the event is. The more information you can provide here, the better the captionist will be able to match your needs. They'll have that preparatory material.

[12:21] You'll pull up this list, and it has your agency name. You can see 1,400 is your agency code. I have some forms here to explain how this agency works. Before you leave, write 1,400 on that form, so you don't forget that is your agency code.

[12:42] We do have a few tips on how to best utilize the RCC service. During the meeting, be considerate of other speakers. Sometimes if there are side conversations going on, suggest that that is kept to a minimum. That allows the captionist to best be able to hear the person who is speaking into the meeting.

[13:05] Make sure that the speaker phone is close to whoever is speaking to make it easy for the captionist, ask people to introduce themselves by name. Before they speak. I would say, "This is Chanelle," and say whatever I wanted to say. That would allow the captionist to put my name in.

[13:22] The more advanced materials you can provide the better service you'll get. RCC is an excellent tool and hopefully you'll use it and understand how great it is for you meetings.

Angie:  [13:35] This is Angie. I do have two important things I wanted you to remember. When you register for RCC services, you receive a confirmation. That has a link in it. That link you can forward to anyone who will be participating via RCC. I highly recommend, if you can.

[13:58] A tip is go in and cut and paste all these tips and then with the link to the participants. That way, people will read them before the meeting and settle sensitive before they participate. For example, it's very important to identify yourself by name before speaking. Reminding them of tips will make the call go much better.

[14:20] The deaf or hard of hearing person is reading the text of what's happening. If you don't identify yourself by name on the call, the deaf or hard of hearing person is much more lost because they don't hear who's speaking. They need to read whose speaking.

[14:36] Secondly, this is about the transcript. Once your call is over, the good news is you don't have to worry about taking notes of your meeting. The minutes are available via transcript after the call, if you save the transcript. It's saved up to 12 hours after your meeting. After 12 hours, if you don't have it, it is thrown into the garbage.

[15:02] If you call after 12 hours and say, "Oh, I'm sorry I forgot to grab the minutes of that, I still need the transcript of that. Can you send it?" We will not be able to. It will be gone after 12 hours. I highly recommend after a RCC session, make sure that you save a copy of the transcript, right after the call is over, and so you won't forget to do it. It won't be available after 12 hours if you forget.

[15:27] Keep in mind, those transcripts are not perfect. The English won't be 100 percent perfect because the captionist is listening to what the people are saying and typing that.

[15:38] It is important for hearing people to speak closely to the speaker phone. If you're sitting far away the captionist may not hear exactly correctly and they'll type what they hear. They are doing their best to caption all the information. The more you can help them, the better.

[15:54] Like Chanelle said, RCC is a wonderful tool. It is very popular tool in the federal government agencies. Many people use this service all the time.

Chanelle:  [16:07] Angie's right. The transcript is very helpful for deaf and hard of hearing people. They don't have to take notes. Many people who can hear, also like the transcript. It's a good tool. They can keep the notes for themselves. It's a win, win for everyone who joined the meeting.

[16:23] The next services I'd like to talk about are VRI and VRS. These are two of my favorite services.

[16:31] VRI or Video Remote Interpreting is access between two or three people that are in the same room without an interpreter present. Today, we have Susan, an interpreter, interpreting our meeting. If I didn't have an interpreter here, I could use any device, including a mobile device to pull up an interpreter.

[16:57] There are many different service providers, Sorensen, Purple, ZVRS. Many people already have those programs downloaded on to their laptop or mobile device. The government sometimes doesn't let people download those apps, but you can get a device to access this service.

[17:16] Let me explain how VRI works.

[17:21] Like I said, you can use any app that you've already developed and you call the 877 number that's listed here. 877‑689‑7775. An interpreter will show up on your screen. They will ask, "Which agency?" That's for billing information. You tell them which agency.

[17:42] Say, you have a person there with you in the room, your interpreter on your video monitor will interpret the conversation between the two of you. That's VRI.

[17:53] VRS is very similar except that it is not intended for two people being in the same room. VRS is for placing a call, someone in different office, different building. It is like a regular phone call, but there's an interpreter. You're signing into the computer and that interpreter is interpreting the phone call for you.

[18:20] For some people, they may say, because of security requirements of the firewall it's not working. Here are different access methods. I'll send the PowerPoint to Terri. She can send it out to you so that everyone has access to all of these access methods.

[18:36] I do want to clarify the differences between VRI and VRS. You use the same device to access the two services, sometimes it can be a little confusing. VRI is when both parties are in the same location and VRS when there is a phone call. You're talking to the same person in the room.

Angie:  [18:58] This is Angie. The good news is, with Video Remote Interpreting, or VRI, this is a very popular resource for deaf and hard of hearing people. They can use their native language, American sign language to communicate via an interpreter with someone in the same room. It's avaliable on demand. You don't need to make an appointment, and you don't need a card to bill it to.

[19:22] Let me give you an example. You're working in your cubical, you're working away and your boss comes in and says, "I'd like to talk to you for a minute." and you say "Sure, just one moment." You dial into VRI and an interpreter shows up on your screen and you have an natural conversation with your boss right there in your cubical.

[19:39] It's just like you're hearing counterparts sitting in your cubical next to you, can talk to their boss when they walk in, you can do the same thing. If the janitor comes into your cube and has a question about cleaning, you can pull an interpreter up right on your laptop. You can use the service at any time.

[19:57] Keep in mind, if you have a personal issue, and you don't want other people to acces your conversation, if you work in a cubical environment they will be able to hear that. Bring your iPad, say, you're talking to your supervisor, bring it in their office, close the door, and use the iPad to call VRI. You're watching the interpreter right through your iPad and having that sensitive conversation with your boss.

[20:25] Your boss would give the VRI operator the cellphone number or the office number of the office that you're in. I want to tell you a personal story. There was a gentleman who did not have good English skills, he was an engineer, and he wrote notes back and forth to his supervisor to communicate. That's just how they communicated and it was a struggle.

[20:49] They didn't have a great relationship, he felt like he had limited communication access, he wasn't comfortable writing or emailing with English. Now he uses VRI and his supervisor is amazed how much this gentleman knows. He knows this stuff. He can express himself now in his native language and the interpreter interprets it in english for the boss. The boss had no idea how brilliant this gentleman was and he's had two promotions since he started using VRI.

[21:21] It is a powerful communication tool, it helps so many people, get promotions and enhanced their work performance because they can communicate. They're not limited to English anymore. VRI is a great, great tool.

Chanelle:  [21:38] Thank you, Angie. That's why VRI and VRS are my favorite tools.

[21:46] Now I'd like to explain Caption Telephone or CapTell. Have you all seen CapTell before? I see several people saying they have. Caption Telephone is a great phone for someone who has a hearing loss and can't quite hear enough on the phone, but uses their own voice to speak. They say what they'd like to say, hear what they can hear, and then anything that they missed is being captioned.

[22:11] The person that they're speaking to on the telephone, their words are showing up on a captioning screen and it makes that call go very, very smoothly. CapTel uses re‑voicing technology, and so it's the smoothest it can possibly be. CapTel phones can be gotten through the federalrelay.us. If you go to that and click CapTel it will show you all the information on how to get a free phone. If you don't want to wait to get one free, you can get one immediately by paying for that and it's only $75.

[22:48] The next service is Federal IP. This is my other favorite acces tool. Federal IP is Internet‑based relay. It means, you're placing a call through the relay. You don't need a phone, you don't need a video camera, you're just using the Internet. You do need to register before using the service and you're assigned a 10‑digit number. You do all this online, and then you just say who would you like to call.

[23:19] The relay operator will answer, they will type what the other party's saying to you and read aloud what you're saying. If you know what a text telephone or a TTY is, it's an ancient tool now, it's really antiquated technology, this is a quicker version of that tool by putting everything online. You acces Federal IP by going to www.federalip.us.

[23:47] This is great, because you can change the font style, the colors, maybe even in the middle of a call, if you have somebody who's deaf, blind or has low vision. They may want those fonts to be bigger, and it's all about how they'd like to access the services and what tools they would like to use.

[24:09] With Federal IP, you put your agency name, as you can see on this field, and then you put the phone number that you'd like to call to, and then you type any dialing instructions. You may want to say, "Please don't announce the call and tell them that I'm deaf and hard of hearing, just cut right to the chase and start the call." Any specific things you'd like to mention, you outline there in the dialing instructions.

[24:35] This is a service that's provided in English and Spanish. Operators are unable to translate between the two languages, but you're able to choose if you'd like either English or Spanish. Once you fill the screen now, you click "Confirm" and proceed with your call. If you ever have an issue or a problem, you can always call in to customer service, which you can see that information in here, on your right‑hand‑side of your screen.

[25:04] If you ever need to make that 911 call, it's also easy to access 911 services, making it an equivalent service for deaf and hard of hearing users. That is our service in a nutshell. If you'd like additional information or resources, we have those ready at these websites listed.

[25:26] Last, but certainly not least, I would like to open it up to questions, recommendations, ideas, anything you'd like for the Federal Relay, we are definitely open for suggestions. I'll take questions now. Anyone have any questions in the audience? We have one here. "While you were presenting, I thought of several things. My question is...If I had a staff meeting in my office, I'm wondering...I noticed there were a few options you presented today that might work.

[26:12] If I was in a meeting, say, in a conference room, with maybe 10 people in the room, and I'd have a live interpreter present. Say, for a meeting, I don't have an interpreter, if, at the last minute, they'd say, 'We need you now! We have a meeting!' and I'd have a booked‑alive interpreter.' which of these that you talked about today would be the best for that situation?"

[26:37] That's a great question. For that, I would choose RCC, but again, it's a 12‑hour reservation time. They could easily keep up with a meeting like that, with up to 10 people in the room, but like I said, it's a 12‑hour advance reservation time.

[26:55] If you knew in the morning that there was a meeting that same afternoon, you could ask for an RCC session, it wouldn't be guaranteed that you would be able to get one in less than 12 hours. If it's a smaller meeting, maybe two or three participants, I would suggest VRI. That's on demand, no reservation needed, so you could pull an interpreter up the Internet immediately. The gentlemen in the audience says, "OK. Thank you!"

Angie:  [27:19] "Isn't that amazing, how many options you have now, you don't have just one option anymore?" The reason why we have so many options is because we listened to people who were deaf and hard of hearing, like you and others, to what they want from this service.

[27:35] If you have some dream of what would make your job more efficient and more productive in communication, let us know, and we will work to make it happen. I agree with Chanelle that, the situation you described, RCC would be ideal, and you'd have a transcript for after the meeting as well. I promise you, you're hearing coworkers after the meeting would say, "Can you please give me that transcript? I'd like the meeting minutes too."

[28:01] Question from the audience again, "RCC, you mentioned I can use..." [off mic] Can you copy sign, when you sign it put it out to the audience. We're just setting up communications access for other deaf people in the room so they can see withe the sign. The question asked says "I will actually just stand up, so that everyone can see me sign. I will go to the front." My question is, "If I want to use RCC for the people that are in my meeting, I'm not sure how to physically set it up. Does that mean I need, like, to bring an iPad to the room, and I read via an iPad?"

Chanelle:  [28:54] This is Chanelle, You can access it via a laptop or a work computer or an iPad, you can even read it on your mobile phone. https:// www . fedrcc . us https://www.federalrelay.us/tty, that's were you go and fill it out and click "Book and invent now." Put all of your information into that, and include your AB code.

[29:17] I've got the form with me today, so before I leave make sure I give you a form and it has step by step instructions on how to get services. So if it's more than 12 hours in advance, fill it out under "Request services." This is what the form will look like when you request it.

[29:34] It's funny, my conference room has a really large screen like a Smart TV, [laughs] and I'm wondering if I could use the Smart TV to put the captions on from RCC. It would be really big for everyone to read it. Angie said, "Can you tell us what the Smart TV is?" It's a Smart TV that hooks to the computer.

[29:55] If someone's typing on the computer, which is a small screen, the Smart TV shows a reflection of what's been typed on the laptop, so it just makes everything larger. It's cool, it just shows things nice and big.

Angie:  [30:09] This is Angie, if ever deaf and hard of hearing people wanted to join and read on the Smart TV, why not? Absolutely. You could all read the same screen. It would be more accesible for any coworkers on the room, sure thing, it would work. You're very welcome. Other questions? It looks like there's a question that's coming in from the audience way in the back.

[30:35] [crosstalk]

Man:  [30:35] Actually it's coming from the Internet. The question is from a woman named Holly, "Can we get copies of the presentation and cost for each service?" This is what she asked.

Chanelle:  [30:57] Hello, Holly, this is Chanelle, thanks for the question. I'm happy to send the PowerPoint. I will send it to Terry, and she can forward it to all of you. The prices of each service, I will work with that too, make sure Terry gets that within a week and she can send that along to everyone.

Angie:  [31:16] This is Angie speaking. Please keep in mind you do not need to worry about the cost of the service as a user. We have a task order from DOI and DOI headquarters. That task order covers your cost of using this services.

[31:36] I don't want you, as a user, to be concerned or think we're monitoring calls or DOI's monitoring during the calls, they are not. The GSA has designed this IFP to give functional equivalency in communication acces to employees to make sure they can be the most productive employees they can be. Do not be concerned about the cost, we have budget in place under that task order. We have the resources available for you to use the services as you need.

Chanelle:  [32:09] This is Chanelle, thank you Angie. Other questions?

Female Audience Member:  [32:17] I love that idea of VRI. Getting an interpreter last minute like talking to my boss, that happens a lot. Or, other employees that I need to communicate with last minute. If I'm using an iPad, do you provide iPads? Or I get my iPad from my work?

Chanelle:  [32:34] This is Chanelle. The iPad or any other device would be your liability to get. If you want to ask your agency or your office to provide you an iPad, probably would be a great idea, because its very useful for VRI services.

Female Audience Member:  [32:50] I have another question. What about an iPhone? Can I use an iPhone to access this services?

Chanelle:  [32:56] You definitely can.

Female Audience Member:  [32:58] OK, thank you.

Angie:  [33:01] This is Angie. Those are great questions. As far as the iPhone goes, make sure that you have good Internet coverage if you're walking around with it. If you don't have good coverage where you are, then the quality is just going to be OK. I recommend staying in a place where you know you have strong Internet access, if you are using your iPhone.

[33:23] You'll be insured to have good video quality. If you are walking around, sometimes the Internet coverage goes up and down, so your quality will not be consistent. If you have good Internet, then definitely yes, you can use that as a tool.

[33:37] Great, thank you. Any other questions? Is there another one for audio or online?

Female Audience Member:  [33:48] We have classrooms and DOI. Hi there. Can you hear me? We have classrooms in interior and we're wondering how to best use your services in our classroom environment for multiple people. A larger room with an instructor, or even in a laid back environment online.

Angie:  [34:20] That's a great question. In the classrooms that we're talking about, do they have a phone device, a speaker phone in the room?

Female Audience Member:  [34:27] Typically we just have a regular phone, not a speaker phone, but that could be something that we could add if needed.

Angie:  [34:45] We have a few solutions that would work in that situation. It seems like that would be more fit to RCC, because it's a classroom environment for captioning. If it's an individual or an one on one basis, I wouldn't recommend that, but what you're talking about, I would say RCC.

[35:02] Having a speaker phone in the room would make it much more effective and much easier. Then make sure that the people coming to the meeting bring their own mobile device, an iPad, laptop, or a phone. That way they can access via their mobile device and read the captioning.

[35:20] RCC is mobile, so people can use their personal phones to call in on it, if they would like. Make sure that people are speaking into the phone. That way would be captioned. Does that help and answer your question?

Female Audience Member:  [35:34] Yes. The person bringing...The person bringing their device, they would have an app on their phone or, would they have to install anything or have anything already on their device?

Chanelle:  [35:52] Another great question, let me answer that one. You can download the RCC app. It's not actually an app, it's a little bookmark. It puts a bookmark from the website on to the home screen of the phone. It's an easy process for both android and iPhones. I'm more than happy to send you that. It has all the instructions, and again, it's super clear. I'll make sure you get that too, so you can access that via any phone someone would bring.

Female Audience Member:  [36:29] Now I forgot my one more question. Sorry, I just completely forgot. [laughs]

Angie:  [36:44] Actually, if you forget a question you'd like to ask now and think of it later, feel free to send us an email, federalrelay@sprint.com. I also have business card, I'll pass those out before you leave. Send us an email with any questions. I also have these two flyers with me, and they have instructions on how to use our services.

[37:08] One is RCC, on the top of the page you'll see it says AB code and it's blank. Make sure you fill it out, it's 1,400. That's DOI's AB code. This other flyer talks about VRI, Video Remote Interpreting. I also have brochures with me. This have more detailed information and our contact information is included on them.

[37:34] Before we go, in addition, I also have little mirrors that are great to attach to your computer. Deaf and hard of hearing people love this. We don't hear when someone comes in to our cubical or our office behind us, so this little rear view mirror lets us see when someone comes in.

[37:52] We know that there's somebody entering our work space. Any deaf or hard of hearing person, if you have one of this rear view mirrors on your laptop, you won't be startled when someone walks in behind you. It looks like we have a couple more questions.

Male Audience Member:  [38:09] Is there an electronic version of those flyers that you are mentioning?

Angie:  [38:19] Yes, there is. We've gt everything electronic. I can send you that. What is the best way to get that to user? If I send it to Terry, can she email it to you?

Male Audience Member:  [38:29] Yeah, that's fine, but I've communicated with Chanel in the past, I can send an email.

Angie:  [38:39] That would great. Other questions? It looks like someone way in back may have one?

Man:  [38:44] From the virtual audience, Christina just asked, again, to hear the difference between VRI and IP.

Chanelle:  [39:03] Hello, Christina. This is Chanelle. VRI and IP are two completely different services. VRI or Video Remote Interpreting, is for when you have someone who's in the same room with you, and you'd like to communicate using a VRS device. If you have ZVRS app, a purple, or a quantum device, any type of equipment that's built in. Sometimes it's a video phone that's hooked up to a television or a computer screen, or maybe you're using an app on a mobile device.

[39:37] IP is Internet access where you're typing what you'd like to say. That's www.federalrelay.us, then you call in and you speak with someone in a different location. That call is via text. That's not an in person conversation, but it's like a phone call. Does that clearly explain the difference between the two?

Angie:  [40:03] This is Angie. Good explanation, Chanel. Let me just re‑enforce what she was explaining. Hopefully, I can clearly explain the differences between VRI. VRI lets someone who is deaf or hard of hearing use American Sign Language or ASL, which is their native language.

[40:23] There's an interpreter who sees them signing and interprets to the hearing person into English. It's two people in the same room, one of which is using American Sign Language

[40:35] IP is using a computer, not using Sign Language, but typing. IP is only text. The operator then relays that message between the deaf or hard of hearing person and the person who can hear. Does that help you clarify and see the difference between VRI and IP?

[40:55] Also, anther thing to let you know. IP is very popular for deaf or hard of hearing people who, for example, are engineers or IT people who work in that field. The reason why I say it's popular with that populations, is they're typing what they want to say, talking to the IT help desk, then you're giving that message and looking at different websites at the same time.

[41:20] You can have several windows open, and you're looking at different things at the same time. I'ts really cool.

Chanelle:  [41:26] Does that answer the question? This is Chanelle. I want to add one more little bit about IP. Again, that's my second favorite tool that I like to use. IP is really good because you can multitask. You can be on a conversation and have another computer open or whatever you'd like, and multitask.

[41:47] With VRS or VRI, you can't multitask. You're looking at the interpreter and you need to see what the interpreter says. You can't look away during the conversation. Other questions? Christina, did I answer your questions adequately?

Male Audience Member:  [42:08] She said yes.

Chanelle:  [42:10] She says yes! Wonderful. Other questions?

David:  [42:16] Hi, I'm David. Is there a active phone number now that someone in DOI can use if needed? Active phone number, Federal Relay number.

[42:33] [pause]

Chanelle:  [42:40] The Federal Relay phone numbers? Yeah, he's asking. Which product services are you talking about, Sir, to access?

David:  [42:48] I'm sorry, but I don't know if we even have one.

Angie:  [42:57] OK. This is Angie. You've asked us a though question. [laughs] The reason it's difficult is because each product or service has its own toll free phone number to dial in to. Say, if you would like to call someone who is deaf or hard of hearing and they're using VRI, you dial one toll free number. If you want to call someone who's deaf or hard of hearing who uses a TTY, you call a different toll free number.

[43:25] This brochure we're going to give you has a list of...I'm sorry, I'm dropping my brochure. Has a list of all the toll free numbers for each product or service. You'll them all in this brochure. As someone who hears who wants to call someone who's deaf or hard of hearing, it's important you know each service they like to use. Choose that phone number to call them. Do they use CapTel, VRS, VRI, HCO, TTY...there's multitude of services. I believe there are over 25 toll free numbers, which is why what seem like a simple question, is actually very difficult.

Female Audience Member:  [44:03] It's a good question.

Angie:  [44:04] It's a good question, it's just hard. Looks like we ave two more questions coming in? No, I'm sorry. I though I saw somebody saying two from the back and I thought you meant two more questions. Any other audience questions?

[44:22] [pause]

Man:  [44:27] There is one question. Cynthia wants to know if the brochure can be mailed.

Chanelle:  [44:47] This is Chanelle. Absolutely. I'm more than happy to mail you some. Please make sure if you give Terry your mailing address, then Terry, if you don't mind, passing that along to me. Also, let me know how many brochures you would like, Cynthia, for you office, and I'll mail it to you. I believe in the front row you have a question?

[45:10] [pause]

Female Audience Member:  [45:12] I would also love to have the flyer electronically. If you can send it to Terry, that'd be great. I have multiples questions. I remembered what they were, sorry. Is there a time frame for these services? Are they only available during certain times during the day? We have folks in different area codes, does that make a difference?

Chanelle:  [45:43] This is Chanelle. Each of the services has a different time period. Again, all that information on times is in the brochure, so you'll be able to see that. In fact, as of this week, VRI and VRS just expanded their hours. They're almost 24 hours now. [laughs] Very close to 24 hours service. It's great for people. Because we know there're people on all different time zone, east to west.

Female Audience Member:  [46:09] One more question. This is a contract question. I'm not sure if it's a Terry question? Or Federal Relay question. We add different bureaus in people from all over the country that roll up to DOI. Is this contract for everybody all bureaus? Everybody under the DOI umbrella? Or is bureau specific? Is that matter?

Chanelle:  [46:41] This is Chanelle. Outstanding question, because every agency sets it up differently. Yours, DOI has a blanket task order, so everyone under the DOI follows that same task order. All the bureaus would use that one general agency code of 1,400 of DOI and everybody's covered.

Female Audience Member:  [47:00] Thank you.

Chanelle:  [47:02] Sure, you are very welcome. Are there any other final questions?

Man:  [47:09] Just one more. Holly wants to know, also, is the brochure on your website?

Chanelle:  [47:25] Chanelle is answering. Thanks for asking, Holly. It's not available at this moment on the website, so you can not download a PDF version of the brochure. We'll definitely consider that, though. We should add that for future reference, thank you. Angie said all the content is there. All the content is on the website, so you'll find very similar content, just not the brochure in the PDF format.

Angie:  [47:49] This is Angie. Wonderful. Now I've got a question for you! I would like to ask for deaf or hard to hearing people who work for DOI, what equipment do you normally use? PCs? iPads? I just, out of curiosity...what do you use? A Z‑150? So she has a Z‑150? OK. That equipment do you use fed VRI and fed VRS on it?

[48:26] No, she said she doesn't, so really you're not compliant with DOI's security requirements, because you're bypassing Federal Relay by using another provider. I recommend going into the address book and put fed VRI and fed VRS into that. Again, our video interpreters are experts with government terminology.

[48:47] You'll get a better call. They are just very familiar with terminology that comes up, acronyms that are used in the government, et cetera. After the meeting is done, I can explain how you can add that to your Z‑150 address book, so you can have those services available. "I have an interpreter who comes in every Wednesday. I think maybe I can try to use this instead of having the interpreter come in every Wednesday, but I'll see."

Chanelle:  [49:21] Angie is repeating the question that was asked from the audience. She said she has an interpreter who comes in every Wednesday in person and she is thinking maybe instead of getting that live interpreter, she could use this services. I'm glad you brought that up. A lot of government agencies feedback. They have said they don't feel comfortable having a live interpreter on call all day, because there's not enough for the interpreter to do.

[49:44] They feel like, "I want to find something that I need to do, so i can keep this interpreter that we are paying for all day, busy." With all this different options, you don't have to have an interpreter sitting there, fiscally in the room, not doing anything. Just keep that in mind. Instead of having someone all day, you can use these tools for a quick call.

[50:06] If you could come up to the front to ask your question, because the people on line want to see you beautiful face. Conference calls, "I have people in Atlanta, people in Denver, et cetera. Can they use that for people in different states to call in to that 877 number and all of us to connect for a conference call?"

Angie:  [50:29] This is Angie. Another good question. On a conference call, if a lot of people are joining, it's always a good idea to have a live interpreter. There are so many people...It just is most effective, for a large conference call, to have a live interpreter. But if you have an one on one meeting with your boss, or a small conference call with two or three people, use this.

[50:52] In your situation, if you have an interpreter every Wednesday, do your big calls on Wednesdays, because you have that live interpreter there with you.

[51:00] For the other days of the week, you don't need to book an interpreter. You can use these services. And you can always use VRI on demand if someone walks into your office. It doesn't have to be a Wednesday, you don't have to have live interpreter there. It can be a five, 10 minute, 30 minute, one hour conversation, that interpreter will be available on call for you to just pop up on video.

[51:25] There's a question about our CC usage? OK. Remember, our CC isn't an on demand service. You do have to reserve that 12 hours in advance. I know, we've offered you so many options, it's kind of overwhelming sometimes, but if you have any questions, please send us an email and we are happy to answer any questions you have.

[51:48] Remember, no question is a stupid one. [laughs] Any question you ask is a smart question because you asked it, so feel free. Any time you want to ask anything, ask. Thank you. If you say, "I have another question" wait, I've got another one.

[52:04] Did you enjoy yourself today at the presentation? I think we're done. Chanel, any other last minute things? Chanel and I want to personally thank our interpreter today, Susan, who did a wonderful job. You are very welcome. Thank you so much for inviting us, Terry. If you have additional questions, stop by, we are here to answer them. Again, thanks, have a wonderful day. Super. Hopefully you'll use the Federal Relay services, so thanks so much. Bye bye. Don't forget, brochures are up here for you to take.