FACT SHEET

THE ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY ACT

Background

In 1988 Congress passed the Technology Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act (P.L. 103-218).  The Act was reauthorized in 1994, and in 1998 Congress enacted the Assistive Technology Act (P.L. 105-394), commonly known as the “Tech Act.” Today, funding authorized by the Tech Act supports three programs, (1) assistive technology (AT) state grant programs in 56 states and territories, (2) the Protection and Advocacy for Assistive Technology program (PAAT) in 56 states and territories and (3) four national technical assistance programs. Thirty-two of the state assistive technology programs operate federal/state partnership alternative financing programs as described in President Bush’s New Freedom Initiative. In just over a decade, the state network for expanding access to AT has become robust and effective. The Tech Act programs have been a major force in helping children and adults with disabilities live more productive and independent lives in their schools, workplaces, neighborhoods, and communities.

State Tech Act Programs

The existing national network of state Tech Act projects consists of core programs that leverage significant additional state, local and private dollars and ensure exchange of information and best practices among the states. Core activities include:

• Public awareness
• Interagency coordination to improve state policies and programs
• Technical assistance and training to state policy makers, consumers, and providers
• Outreach, with special emphasis on rural and underrepresented populations

Examples of the critical work of state Tech Act programs include:

• Development and operation of equipment reutilization and equipment loan programs
• Development and implementation of policies designed to ensure access to assistive technology in the One-Stop Employment Centers as established by the Workforce Investment Act
• Development or expansion of Medicaid programs to include provision of assistive technology
• Development of state policies and practices to ensure accessibility of state information technology services
• Low interest loan programs to assist people with disabilities to purchase assistive technology
• Short-term assistive technology equipment loan programs that allow equipment to be tried prior to purchase ensuring better buying decisions
• Training and technical assistance activities
• Assistive technology assessment and evaluation through Vocational Rehabilitation, Independent Living, Special Education, etc.

Protection and Advocacy for Assistive Technology (PAAT)

State PAAT programs provide advocacy to individuals with disabilities of all ages who have been denied funding for needed technology by school systems, public and private insurance sources, employers and others. This program is specifically designed to assist individuals with disabilities, their family members and advocates in accessing assistive technology devices, including wheelchairs and other mobility devices. The program provides information, support and representation to people with disabilities who use a wide range of assistive technology, from simple devices such as shower chairs, to power wheelchairs with built in ventilators that cost tens of thousands of dollars. Additionally, PAAT programs have helped to dismantle or ease systemic barriers to the acquisition of technology, often in collaboration with the state Tech Act program. 

National Technical Assistance

The Act provides for technical assistance to the 56 state and territory assistive technology programs. Technical assistance is designed to enhance the efforts of the state grantees and to address issues raised by states and other entities through a variety of mechanisms.

Congressional and Administration Actions

In Congress, the Tech Act has enjoyed bipartisan support. In March 2002, the Subcommittee on 21^st Century Competitiveness of the House Education and the Workforce Committee held an oversight hearing on the Act. The Congress has repeatedly appropriated funding for the program. Increased awareness by Congress of the negative effects of the “digital divide” has further confirmed the need to continue and strengthen existing assistive technology programs if children and adults with disabilities are not to be left behind in the technological advances enjoyed in America today.

Over the years, however, federal funds to states have shrunk significantly, jeopardizing the growth and viability of these important programs. This is due primarily to the “sunset” provision for state Tech Act programs contained in the 1998 Act. This means that the state programs have been undergoing a sequential reduction in funding – from 100% to 75%, then to 50%. Then after three years, funding, under the sunset provision, is scheduled to shrink to zero, phasing out the programs altogether.

If legislation that waives or repeals the sunset is not enacted soon, 31 state programs could lose their funding, and people with disabilities will lose vital access to assistive technology. The programs that will be eliminated first are in the states of: Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin. In the following year, programs in an additional 11 states and territories would be eliminated, and, in fact, the future of all state programs will be in jeopardy if the 108^th Congress fails to act.

The FY 2004 Senate Labor-Health and Human Services-Education appropriations bill included language to extend the Tech Act state programs past the sunset and included level funding for both the state Tech Act projects and the PAAT programs.  

Recommendations

• The Congress must develop strong, bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the Assistive Technology Act of 1998, or develop new legislation to ensure the continuation of state assistive technology programs, state protection and advocacy programs and national technical assistance to help people gain and maintain access -- through the use of assistive technology -- to employment, education and community/independent living.
• The Congress should exemplify a strong federal role by supporting state Tech Act and Protection and Advocacy programs to enhance and expand the availability of assistive technology for people with disabilities.
• The Congress should support enhanced funding for all Tech Act programs.