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Terms Used In Maryland Code, HUMAN SERVICES 7-804

  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • including: means includes or including by way of illustration and not by way of limitation. See
  • Person: includes an individual, receiver, trustee, guardian, personal representative, fiduciary, representative of any kind, corporation, partnership, business trust, statutory trust, limited liability company, firm, association, or other nongovernmental entity. See
  • state: means :

    (1) a state, possession, territory, or commonwealth of the United States; or

    (2) the District of Columbia. See
(a) The Department in consultation with the Board shall:

(1) establish and administer a program to provide cost-efficient, 24-hour, dual party relay service to program participants at a comparable level of access and quality that a standard telecommunication service provides to a person without a hearing or speech disability;

(2) develop the program in collaboration with State programs currently serving disabled individuals and with community agencies or other organizations that have established relay programs; and

(3) maintain an information and referral service to provide information about the availability of the relay service.

(b) The Department in consultation with the Board shall:

(1) contract with a private vendor or nonprofit organization to provide the information and referral service required under subsection (a)(3) of this section; and

(2) provide appropriate staff assistance from the Department, including a director, to assist the Board in carrying out its duties under this subtitle.

(c) The director provided under subsection (b)(2) of this section shall:

(1) be an individual who is:

(i) deaf, hard of hearing, deafblind, or speech disabled; and

(ii) is a user of telecommunications relay services;

(2) direct the implementation of services and programs established in accordance with this subtitle and Subtitle 9 of this title; and

(3) advise the Department and the Secretary of Disabilities on regulatory policy and the administration of the Universal Service Trust Fund.