W. Va. Code R. § 150-21-10
Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 38, September 20, 2024
Section 150-21-10 - Operational standards10.1. Communications assistant - 10.a. Communications Assistant qualifications. 10.a.1. Mandatory - The applicant shall specify how it plans to meet the necessary proficiency requirements for CAs. This discussion will include, but not be limited to, the level of proficiency to be required for skills in typing, grammar, and spelling.10.a.2. Required -- The applicant shall require that all prospective CAs take and pass a quantifiable, performance-based Proficiency Examination. This examination shall cover spelling, typing, dictation, procedures, including the handling of emergency calls, characteristics of ASL as it may be reflected in the written language of TT users, deaf culture, ethics and confidentiality, and professional judgment. This test shall have as its minimum requirements the proficiency skills for CAs mandated by this Commission. The relay center shall make sure that material from these tests is not available to the CAs before testing time and must change portions of the tests from time to time. Any CA who cannot pass this examination within a three-month training period shall not be utilized as a CA. CAs shall be retested at least annually.
Trainees shall be identified to both parties at the onset of each conversation to mitigate potential for criticism of CA quality.
10.b. Training -- 10.b.1. Mandatory -- The applicant shall describe how its staff will be trained to effectively meet the specialized communications needs of individuals with hearing and speech disabilities. Each applicant shall demonstrate how initial and ongoing training will be provided by including with its application an outline of a proposed training plan including, but not limited to, a list of required courses, course descriptions, time frames and required curriculum for certification. Furthermore, the applicant shall indicate at what level it considers CAs to be fully trained in this capacity.10.b.2. Required -- All relay center staff, including management, shall receive training to include, but not be limited to, American Sign Language (ASL) "gloss" and grammar, deaf culture, acquired deafness, needs of speech impaired users, operation of relay telecommunications equipment, ethics and confidentiality.10.b.3. Training shall include both simulated and live on-line call handling.10.b.4. Appropriate portions of in-service training shall be provided by experts from the deaf, hard of hearing and speech impaired communities in the field of language interpreting, ASL and deaf culture and speech impairment.10.2. Required -- Procedures for relaying communication.10.2.a. CAs must simultaneously convey the full content, context and intent of the communication they translate. The key word is intent. Unless requested otherwise by a user, the CA shall relay all calls according to the following procedures. 10.2.a.1. Those users who have limited written English language skills will need their calls translated into English so that hearing persons can understand the call and communication occurs. The hearing person's English must be translated back into written English at a level that the deaf person can understand. TT users may instruct the CA to voice in standard English or word for word the content the TT user types.10.2.a.2. CAs shall, to the best of their abilities, let the TT user know the non-TT user's tone of voice.10.2.a.3. CAs shall also keep the user informed on the status of the call, such as dialing, ringing, busy, disconnected or on hold.10.2.a.4. The TT user shall have the option of telling the CA what aspects of the call that he/she will handle. For example, the TT user may request to introduce relay services to the called party, rather than have the CA do it.10.2.a.5. When the CA needs to explain relay to a hearing user, the CA shall also type "explaining relay" for the benefit of the TT user. Conversely, when the CA needs to explain relay to a TT user, the CA will inform the hearing user that the CA is explaining relay. Upon request by the user, the CA shall not announce a call as a relay call, permitting the caller to provide explanation, if any. The CA shall not reveal the caller's disability unless the caller requests that information to be relayed.10.2.a.6. When speaking for the TT user, the CA shall adopt a conversational tone of voice appropriate to the type of call being made.10.2.a.7. CAs shall indicate to the TT user if another person (hearing) comes on the line.10.2.a.8. When a line is busy and redialing is requested by the customer, a CA shall redial at least two times, with a fifteen (15) second delay between redialing.10.2.a.9. All comments directed to either party by the CA shall be relayed. These comments shall be typed in parentheses, for example, "(Will you accept a collect call?)" All comments directed to the CA by either party shall also be relayed, for example, "Yes, I'll accept the collect call."10.2.a.10. If either party communicates in the third person, the CA shall relay in the third person.10.2.a.11. To correct a typing error, CAs shall not backspace, but continue in a forward direction by typing "xx" (common TT convention for error) and then typing the word correctly.10.2.a.12. When necessary, CAs shall verify spelling of proper nouns, numbers and addresses that are spoken. This shall be relayed as discussed in 9 above.10.2.a.13. The CA will stay on the line until both parties have terminated the call. If necessary to process a complaint or compliment, the call will be transferred to a supervisor.10.2.a.14. CAs shall not counsel, advise or interject personal opinions or additional information into any relay call. Furthermore, the CAs shall not hold personal conversations with anyone calling the TRS even when prompted by callers.10.2.a.15. Callers shall not be required to give their full names or the full name of the party they are calling. This information shall not be recorded in any form without the permission and knowledge of the caller (except for long distance billing purposes). It is understood that for some calls, having the full name would help facilitate the call. The CA may ask for that information and explain how it may facilitate the call. However, the CA shall not refuse to make a call if the caller does not wish to give full names.10.2.a.16. CAs will uniformly recognize an "s" typed at the TT user's option, at the beginning of a call, to indicate that the user is speech impaired. Applicants shall propose procedures for fulfilling this requirement. This convention shall be included in all informational material produced and distributed to explain relay usage.10.2.a.17. CAs will leave messages on answering machines or other voice processing systems if the voice or TT caller activates one while actually making the call. Applicants shall propose procedures for fulfilling this requirement, and the procedures shall include the following steps: 10.2.a.17.A. The CA will inform the caller when an answering machine has been reached.10.2.a.17.B. The CA will ask the caller if she/he wishes to leave a message.10.2.a.17.C. The CA will leave the caller's message, either by voice or by TT.10.2.a.17.D. The CA will confirm to the caller that the message has been left.10.2.a.17.E. The caller will only be charged for one call regardless of the number of redials required to leave the message.10.2.a.18. CAs will retrieve messages from voice processing systems and relay a TT message to a voice user or a voice message to a TT user. Applicants shall propose procedures for handling this requirement, and the procedures shall include methods for obtaining any necessary system access codes from the user and statements regarding the confidentiality of that information.10.3. Confidentiality and conversation content. 10.3.a. Mandatory -- Applicants shall outline the policies the applicant will use to preserve confidentiality. Applications shall also include plans to maintain security and privacy of the work environment at the proposed site. Specific policies shall be developed in the start-up period after the contract is awarded. Such policies include protocols employees are encouraged to use to prevent unintentional disclosure of relayed conversations.10.3.b. Required -- 10.3.b.1. A copy of the Confidentiality Policy shall be provided on request and made available during workshops, seminars, outreach and community awareness programs, and posted at the operations center.10.3.b.2. The contractor shall not permit the CAs to make any value judgment regarding legality or obscenity of the content of the message and shall ensure that the CAs relay all messages received.10.3.b.3. The contractor shall be restricted to collecting only that personal information necessary to provide and bill for the relay service being rendered except when necessary to respond to customer complaints. This information shall not be used for any other purpose.10.3.b.4. CAs, supervisors, and trainers must be required to sign a pledge of confidentiality promising not to disclose the identity of any callers or fellow CAs or any information learned during the course of relaying calls, either during the period of employment or after termination of employment.10.3.b.5. When training new CAs by the method of sharing past experience, trainers shall not reveal any of the following information: 10.3.b.5.A. names, genders, or ages of the parties of the call10.3.b.5.B. originating or terminating points of the call10.3.b.5.C. specifics of the information conveyed10.3.b.6. CAs shall not discuss, even among themselves or their supervisors, any names or specifics of any relay call, except as required in the course of resolving complaints. CAs may discuss the general situation that they need assistance with in order to clarify how to process a particular type of relay call. CAs should be trained to ask questions about procedures without revealing names or specific information that will identify the caller. If a user is in an emergency or life-threatening situation or causes an emergency situation to exist by threatening the CA or relay center, names and specific information may be disclosed by the CA to a supervisor to expeditiously address the situation.10.3.b.7. Watching or listening to actual calls by anyone other than the CA is prohibited except for on-the-job training and monitoring quality of service. The application shall outline the procedures and controls that assure such exceptions are limited to absolutely necessary circumstances.10.3.b.8. A CA or supervisor who, after investigation, is found to have violated the confidentiality rules and regulations shall either be terminated immediately or be given a warning and automatically terminated the second time it occurs. Applications shall specify the policy for reviewing alleged violations of confidentiality.10.3.b.9. Obscenity Directed to the Communications Assistant -- CAs do not have to tolerate obscenity directed at them. An application should specify how the contractor will handle these situations. It is acceptable to transfer callers using obscenities directed at the CA to a supervisor to determine why the caller is using obscenities and to explain that this is inappropriate.10.3.b.10. Communications Assistant Identification. 10.3.b.10.A. The method to be used in the TRS is for the CA to identify by identification number (not name) at the beginning and before completion of each call. A method must be established which will allow identification of the CA in the event a complaint is filed or a user wants to compliment the work of the CA.10.3.b.10.B. CAs must maintain confidentiality as to the identity of fellow CAs' employee identification (ID) number as delineated above.10.3.b.11. Caller-Provided Information -- A service provider may require that a caller provide NPA/NXX type information to identify the caller's local calling area if that information is necessary to distinguish local calls from toll calls and to allow for faster call set-up times. The applicant must specify how such information would result in faster call set-up times and provide justification that no other equipment is available which would avoid the necessity for callers to provide their phone number.
10.3.b.12. Conflict of interest -- To avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest, applicants shall demonstrate in their applicants that they will operate this as an independent relay service. A service provider shall not use any information obtained from relay calls for any other services they may provide to users of the relay system and shall not make any such information available for sale.
10.4. Types of calls - 10.4.a. Mandatory. 10.4.a.1. The application must state and justify any type of call normally provided by common carriers which the applicant does not propose to complete as a basic service.10.4.a.2. The application should outline the procedure for receiving, transmitting and tracking emergency calls. A plan for handling emergency calls must be made available to the PSC prior to commencement of operations.10.4.a.3. The Relay Center must process West Virginia intrastate calls, interstate calls originating in West Virginia, interstate calls terminating in West Virginia and interstate calls made between two other states that are made by a West Virginia customer. The service shall be designed such that all calls made through the center will be billed from the originating telephone number to the terminating telephone number as if the call were made directly. The applicant must explain how these objectives will be accomplished.10.4.b. Required. 10.4.b.1. Billing: The service provider must establish methods which shall be used to ensure that calls are timely and accurately billed. The application must include a description of how the service provider will meet the following requirements: 10.4.b.1.A. The billing for each billable call made using the TRS shall be rendered by the same telephone company which would have rendered such billing had the call been made without utilization of the TRS.10.4.b.1.B. The TRS shall promptly, reliably, and accurately transmit all necessary billing information to the telephone companies needing such information for their billing purposes.10.4.b.1.C. The TRS shall perform all billing activity necessary to assure that TRS users are accurately and timely billed, when billing is warranted, for the following types of calls, at a minimum: 10.4.b.1.C.1. Direct dial10.4.b.1.C.2. Operator assisted, whether "operator" is live or mechanized10.4.b.1.C.3. Sent-paid coin10.4.b.1.C.4. Credit card10.4.b.1.C.5. Directory assistance10.4.b.1.C.6. Third-number billed10.4.b.1.C.7. "Collect" (Charge reversal)10.4.b.1.C.8. Person-to-Person10.4.b.1.C.9. Hotel/Motel/Hospital10.4.b.1.D. The TRS shall, under no circumstances, cause billing to be rendered to a TRS user for an uncompleted call.10.4.b.1.E. Billing time for charges applicable to TRS users shall commence when the line called for the TRS user, by the CA, answers. Billing time shall cease when the line called by the CA, for the TRS user, goes on hook or whenever the CA terminates the connection to that line, whichever comes first.10.4.b.1.F. TRS user billing time shall be measured in whole second increments.10.4.b.1.G. For purposes of calculating the mileage bands applicable for the billing of calls made by TRS users, the TRS shall treat all calls as if they were made directly between the points of origination and termination.10.4.b.2. Transfer Capability: The Relay Center must be equipped to allow for the transfer of calls when necessary to meet user needs.10.4.b.3. Operator Assistance: Service providers are required to provide access to operator assistance for the deaf, hard of hearing and speech impaired. This service would provide standard operator services normally provided to all telephone users upon commencement of operations.10.5. Enhancement. Access to 900 Services: The application should describe how access to 976 and other 900 number services can be provided and a methodology for billing the user directly for any charges incurred.
10.6. Policy and procedures manual. Required. Applicants shall provide with the application an outline of a proposed CA Policy and Procedures manual which shall include, but not be limited to, confidentiality, handling of emergency and crisis calls, consequences of non-compliance to policies, and functions and roles of a CA.
W. Va. Code R. § 150-21-10