Accessibility Tools and Gaps Accessible Emergency Communications for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons November 2, 2005 Cheryl Heppner, Executive Director Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons

National Report – December 2004 Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons Emergency Preparedness and Emergency Communication Access: Lessons Learned Since 9/11 and Recommendations by Deaf and Hard of Hearing Consumer Advocacy Network Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons Text or PDF:

Major Finding Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons Current emergency communication systems for deaf and hard of hearing persons were given a failing grade. Emergency communication is the top priority because we must know: When there is an emergency How to protect ourselves How to access resources during recovery

Television – Emergency Info Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons Visual access to emergency information is required by FCC regulations Three actions taken against TV stations in 2005 – California wildfires, DC area tornadoes, Florida hurricanes

Television – Emergency Info Lessons Learned from “Katrita” Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons Visual information not provided on TV Need for realtime captioning of all news programs Captions blocked crawls or other text and vice versa TVs in shelters didn’t have captions Cable subscribers had access to much more information New Orleans couple needed sign language interpretation Sign language interpreter cut off screen

Television - Gaps Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons 1.Caption quality, monitoring and need for skilled, accurate captioners Captioning by voice-to-text software being tested; Congressional funding sought for captioner training 2. Migration of TV, phone, Internet to wireless hand- held devices and Internet sites Captions needed, caption capability of all devices w/screens of any size 3. Options such as RCA Alert Guard TV Informs of alert, watch, or warning, even when using the TV to view videos or DVDs. RCA acquired by Chinese company; project manager left and no other companies yet producing this.

Television - Gaps Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons 4. Battery-operated portable TVs with captioning needed Only one known: Toshiba MD9DP1 (9” DVD combination) 5. Readability of captions for visually impaired 6. Ability to activate captions quickly Need button on front of TV, remote control; standards that require captions to appear quickly w/turn on, channel changes

Television – Digital TV Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons FCC originally set transition to DTV for December 31, 2006 – analog programs will stop Congress now addressing extension of deadline

Television – Digital TV Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons Some broadcast, cable and satellite networks are not captioning their DTV feeds Sometimes captions are stripped or not re-encoded for digital broadcasts Some older cable boxes can’t decode captions Some caption displays must be activated through HD/digital cable box Purchasing and hooking up a DTV is a repeat of the challenges in early days of TV captioning.

Television – Digital TV Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons Digital TV Access: FCC information on DTV:

Television – Emergency Alerting System (EAS) Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons Takes over airwaves for emergency message Intended for use in national emergencies but can be used by state and local officials Rarely used in many areas, so no way to ensure it will be reliable and accessible

Radio – NOAA Weather Radio Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration provides information broadcast to Weather Radios Information starts as text and is converted to audio Several can provide text to inform that there is alert, watch, warning but may give no other information Some can be connected to strobe lights, a vibrator, siren, and home alerting systems Some make you choose between audible alert or voice description instead of having both.

NOAA Weather Radio (con’t) Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons Some radios may have jack for audio Weather Radio Improvement Program (WRIP) needs funding to provide full text of information – best case scenario 3 years to implement Current equipment will not be able to receive full text when it becomes available Emergency management officials do not always make use of the system Doesn’t give school closings, traffic info, but can alert or wake you for many events where seconds may count.

Radio – Gaps Lessons from “Katrita” Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons Need for battery powered radios with text capability Some radio stations that were able to keep on the air were the only source of information in the aftermath.

Radio - Gaps Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons Need for development of digital radio services Radio Data System (RDS) text is sent over an FM radio signal Particularly important to develop for emergency use by deaf/hard of hearing consumers in personal vehicles Some vehicles like Toyota Prius have screens to display RDS Scrolling text of latest headline news now being done by British Broadcasting Co., refreshed every 20 seconds, 24 hrs/day Radio receivers coupled with “smart” broadcasting system would be able to send emergency text info to any radio within certain geographical area, and automatically turn on radio if not in use

Telephone – Tools Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons Landline phones Wireless phones Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) Telecommunication Relay Service – landline, wireless, IP “Traditional” TTY/Voice, voice carry over, IP Relay, Video Relay Service

Telephone – Wireless Gaps Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons Some hearing aid compatible wireless phones now available and labeled, but still offer limited choices and require careful shopping accessiblewireless.html

Telephone – TTY Gaps Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons Consumers are migrating from landline TTY use Need for longer battery life, ability to use off the shelf batteries – reinforced by Katrina story

Telephone – Telecommunications Relay Service Gaps Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons IP- Based TRS -- IP Relay, VRS – have grown phenomenally but can’t handle emergency calls CapTel can be used for 911 calls Priority Service Restoration established to get relay services back in operation in emergencies Backup plans to transfer calls, emergency power sources needed (Hamilton Relay in La. showed ability to adapt)

Telephone – Reverse 911 Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons Works the opposite of 911 – emergency operations center calls you; with software can “blast” to many phones at one time Can make TTY calls IF your community buys that feature in its package Emergency message must be well-paced and spoken clearly Some localities give a number to call for more information that connects to a voice menu system. DC Emergency Ctr repeats voice message twice, then sends TTY msg People with unlisted phone numbers may need to register Good example of info for deaf/hard of hearing residents: Dane County, WI --

Telephone- Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons Now taking off as wireless did GAPS Ability to handle emergency calls FCC recently ruled that some companies must make VOIP work with E-911 May be used with cordless phone, but not all are hearing aid compatible or have jacks for cochlear implant patch cords

Telephone – Other Lessons Learned from “Katrita” Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons Shelter staff had no knowledge of, or plans to provide accessible telephones, TRS services and were often resistant to volunteers, businesses trying to help provide it Hotels providing temporary shelter did not always have accessible telephones.

Text Alerts Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons Variety of local text alerts, free or for fee Most can be made to computer, pager, PDA, cell phone and may allow selection of multiple devices Governments e.g. DC, Virginia’s Arlington & Fairfax counties Local TV stations Emergency Network The Weather Channel AccuWeather Storm Warn TRS Weather Some states distribute weather radios, text devices Maine, North Carolina

Wireless Text Devices - Gaps Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons Wireless coverage not uniformly available Wireless devices w/text not always interoperable Devices and cost of monthly service not affordable for many Lack of portable pagers/PDAs with screens and keys readable for deafblind Text message information often brief; assumes consumer will go to radio or TV for more information, or make phone call

Text Devices - Gaps Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons Need for all to have option to turn on automatically for emergency messages, connect to auxiliary alerting devices Need for all mobile text devices to have GPS/terrestrial- finding ability Need for all to have backlit displays & keys, adjustable font size, compatibility with Braille and large print displays Consumers want ability to call 911 directly from text devices (offered only in Sacramento, CA)

Visual and Audible Alarms Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons Effectiveness varies from consumer to consumer, location to location Low frequency alarms are being explored Investigation also underway on use of different colored lights or other visual signaling – e.g. one for sheltering in place, one for evacuating the building New public safety vehicle system with different strobe lights, sirens at frequency better heard inside vehicles

Visual and Audible Alarms – A Major Public Safety Issue Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons Fires are the #1 Emergency Only hard-wired systems with audible/visual alarms in all occupancy areas are truly safe Systems for deaf/hard of hearing cost far more than comparable off-the-shelf systems

Message Boards Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons Along highways and in public transportation – often the only way consumers access to info while on the road Rail Network TV on MARTA in Atlanta provides broadcast TV with captions

Other Gaps Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons Pop-up software needs to have the ability to override user settings and pass through emergency messages while blocking other pop-ups. Sound and public address systems need to have quality standards (Many lessons from Katrina shelter experiences) National Support Service Provider Program needed for training to help deafblind individuals in emergencies Federal and/or state emergency equipment distribution for deaf/hard of hearing individuals at little or no cost Audiologists must be part of the recovery team (Katrina – hearing aids lost, damaged by moisture, needing batteries)

NVRC and CEPIN Project Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons Community Emergency Preparedness Information Network TDI grant from Department of Homeland Security Subcontracted to 4 regional centers Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons (NVRC) 3951 Pender Drive, Suite 130 Fairfax, VA V TTY – Fax Cheryl Heppner Regional Director Lise Hamlin Regional Emergency Preparedness Specialist