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ExpectMore.govExpectMore.gov home pageEXPECT FEDERAL PROGRAMS TO PERFORM WELL, AND BETTER EVERY YEAR.
 
Program Assessment

Program

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Telecommunications Relay Service

The purpose of this program is to enable hearing and speech impaired individuals to use communications services, such as the telephone network. To this end, the program subsidizes providers of various types of telecommunications relay services, from basic text-based relay to video communications.

Rating

What This Rating Means

NOT PERFORMING
Results Not Demonstrated

A rating of Results Not Demonstrated (RND) indicates that a program has not been able to develop acceptable performance goals or collect data to determine whether it is performing.
  • The program provides for a unique service that enables hearing and speech impaired individuals to use communications networks; however it has not developed goals and measures by which to judge its performance.
  • The program has grown significantly, from $44 million in 2000 to $331 million in 2005. The program subsidizes a variety of service options, and the use of Internet-based services has grown rapidly, which has increased the size of the Fund. The increasing use of Internet-based services is expected to continue to drive the growth of the Telecommunications Relay Service.
  • Financial and program management should be strenthened. Internet-based services offered through the program entail a greater risk for misuse than traditional services, due to greater anonymity and enhanced functionality. While instances of misuse have been identified, the precise extent of potential misuse has not yet been estimated, due to a lack of program measures.

Improvement Plan

About Improvement Plans

We are taking the following actions to improve the performance of the program:

  • Beginning to develop a set of performance measures that provide insight into the program.
  • Taking steps to limit misuse of the Telecommunications Relay Service program, particularly in Internet-based services.

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