Wyoming Department of Workforce Services

 VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION SERVICES

Telecommunications Relay

Wyoming Relay is a free service that allows people who are hard of hearing or deaf to talk to people who use a standard telephone. A person, called a Communications Assistant (CA), will answer when you call the Relay Service. The CA calls the person you wish to reach and relays voice or text (TTY/TDD) messages between the parties.

History

In 1991, Governor Mike Sullivan and the Wyoming State Legislature created the Wyoming Telecommunications Relay Service to provide telephone access to people who are deaf, deaf-blind, hard-of-hearing, or speech-disabled. The service is paid for with money raised by a special fee charged on every sp y telephone line in the state.

Specially trained Wyoming Relay operators (Communication Assistants or CAs) place calls and remain on the line during the call to relay messages either by text to the deaf, deaf-blind, hard-of-hearing, and speech-disabled or verbally to hearing parties. Wyoming Relay provides services 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with no restrictions on length or number of calls.

Costs

There is no charge when using Wyoming Relay for a local call. Long distance calls made through Wyoming Relay can be billed to the carrier of your choice upon request. If a long distance carrier other than Sprint is not requested, the call will be billed at a special rate by Sprint, and charges will appear in a separate line on your phone bill. Credit cards, calling cards, third party billing, and collect calls are accepted.

Obtaining Equipment

Since 1992, Wyoming residents who are deaf, hard-of-hearing, deaf-blind, or speech disabled, and meet the financial guidelines, have been provided with special equipment which currently includes TTYs, VCO devices, signaling devices, and amplified phones at no charge.

For eligibility information, please contact the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation at 1-800-452-1408 (V/TTY), or when in Casper at (307) 577-0539. Send mail to 851 Werner Court, Suite 120, Casper, WY 82601, or email Lori Cielinski.

International Calls

Wyoming Relay can place and receive calls from anywhere in the world (using English or Spanish-language only). Callers from other countries must dial 1-605-224-1837 to reach Wyoming Relay users. Toll charges will apply.

Confidentiality

All Wyoming Relay calls are strictly confidential. Federal law requires strict confidentiality for the CAs. Therefore, no part of the conversation is revealed or stored, neither in written or oral form.

Using Pay Phones

Relay users can make local telephone calls from pay phones free of charge. Long distance relay calls using a pay phone can be billed as a collect call, to a third party, to a calling card, or to a prepaid card.

Emergency Use

Dial 9-1-1 directly in case of an emergency to save valuable time. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that 9-1-1 call centers be equipped to accept TTY phone calls. Wyoming Relay processes all calls, including emergency 9-1-1 calls, through an out-of-state operator.