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Telecommunications Access of Maryland Joins Maryland Department of Disabilities

As of July 1, 2020, Telecommunications Access of Maryland (TAM) is officially an agency of the Maryland Department of Disabilities (MDOD), after 12 years under the administration of the Maryland Department of Information Technology (DOIT).

The move is an exciting transition for TAM! Joining MDOD’s network, which is focused on coordinating and improving accessibility for Marylanders, will give us access to more resources to connect with the people we serve. By joining forces, we will have even more opportunities to bring Maryland Relay and the Maryland Accessible Telecommunications (MAT) program to Marylanders who are Deaf, hard of hearing, late-deafened, DeafBlind, or have cognitive, mobility or speech difficulty.

With the move comes some exciting new changes for the look of TAM too. New TAM, Maryland Relay, and MAT logos have been unveiled to unify the branches that make up Telecommunications Access of Maryland. The overall goal of this updated look is to create a visual that highlights the different parts of TAM and gives Marylanders a better understanding of the services and products within the department.

“Moving TAM to MDOD made great sense for both our staff and the people we serve, as our agencies share in our mission to ensure all Marylanders have equal access to the telephone, ”says David Bahar, director of TAM. “TAM is still very much committed to our core Maryland Relay and MAT programs, and we will now have additional resources to reach even more individuals and families who would benefit from access to our programs. We are excited to join the MDOD team.”

“MDOD and TAM have a shared vision of promoting equality of opportunity, access, and choice for Marylanders with disabilities,” says Carol Beatty, Maryland Secretary of Disabilities. “We look forward to working with Director Bahar and his team to help build on TAM’s history of  excellent outreach and service.” While TAM is now legally a part of MDOD, our office is remaining in our current location at 301 West Preston Street, Suite 1008A in Baltimore.

Our clients can still access Maryland Relay and apply for the MAT program just as they always have, and we will be providing advanced telecommunications technologies and high-quality services as we always have, but now with even more resources at our disposal.

For more information about TAM, Maryland Relay, or the MAT program, please visit MDRelay.org or call 800-552 7724 or 410 767 6960 (Voice/TTY) or 443-453-5970 (Video Phone).