Overview
The Assistive Technology Act and its federal funder (the Administration on Community Living, US Department of Health and Human Services) have many unique stipulations that must be considered in carrying out the program in a state or territory. Programs have diverse lead and/or implementing entities (e.g. state agencies such as Vocational Rehabilitation or Education; nonprofit community based organizations, and universities including but not limited to University Centers of Excellence in Developmental Disabilities [UCEDD]) that influence the administration of the State AT program. Further, AT programs vary in accordance with the demographics and other special challenges presented by their state/territory which may influence whether they are centralized, de-centralized, or hybrid and the extent to which partners and subcontractors are utilized to deliver the statewide, cross-age, cross disability assistive technology program.
For more detailed content information on a program administration topic, choose an active link listed below to go directly to that page.
Required Federal Reporting
This page provides information related to the required federal reporting, including:
- State Plan for Assistive Technology (SPAT) – Once every three years, each funded program is required to develop a State Plan for Assistive Technology, updated annually when there are significant changes.
- Annual Progress Report (APR) – The APR reflects the implementation of the State Plan during a given federal fiscal year.
- Data Reporting – Specific data elements and “performance measures” are collected by each program and entered into the National Assistive Technology Act Data System maintained by the Center for Assistive Technology Act Data Assistance (CATADA)
- Using Data for Program Improvement
Fiscal Management
This page provides information and guidance addressing the requirements of categorizing, tracking and reporting expenditures in accordance with the “split” (60-40 or 70-30) of resources between state level and state leadership activities as per the State Plan. Technical assistance documents include information on budget “cycles” to manage expenditure of the total grant award each year as well as fiscal assurances.
Advisory Councils
The AT Act describes the requirement to establish an advisory council “to provide consumer-responsive, consumer-driven advice to the State for, planning of, implementation of, and evaluation of the activities carried out through the grant, including setting the measurable goals described in subsection (d)(3).
Program Administration General Resources
Grant policies and regulations, ACL resources, and content that is more general to Program Administration and is not specific to federal reporting, fiscal management, and/or advisory councils can be found here.
New Directors Road Map
The Road Map is an orientation guide for new Section 4 AT Act Program Directors that provides information with suggested action steps related to the necessary required content knowledge for directing a Section 4 AT program.