Annual Report to Congress: Fiscal Years 2004 and 2005
Both the Assistive Technology Act of 1998 (AT Act of 1998) and the Assistive Technology Act of 2004, as amended (AT Act of 2004) require that the Secretary of Education submit to Congress a report on the activities funded under those respective acts. This document satisfies these requirements for FY 2004 and FY 2005 and reports on the activities of two programs authorized under the AT Act of 1998 and AT Act of 2004:
- State Grants for Assistive Technology (AT), which provides grants
for state programs designed to increase access to and acquisition of AT for
individuals with disabilities; and
- Alternative Financing Programs (AFP), which provides grants to support loan programs that help individuals with disabilities purchase AT devices and services.
The document is divided into Parts I and II. Part I of the document is divided into two sections:
- The first section of Part I focuses on activities of the State Grants for
AT program during FY 2004 under the AT Act of 1998. The data are presented
in graphics, tables and text. Among the topics covered are: how many and what
types of individuals received AT-related training and technical assistance
from programs; how programs increased public awareness of AT; how many and
the types of agencies with which programs coordinated activities; how AT-related
outreach was conducted by programs; what kinds of alternative financing mechanisms
for the purchase of AT were made available by programs and the use of alternative
financing; how many states offered device demonstrations, recycling, exchange,
and lending; consumer satisfaction with programs; and how many states achieved
AT-related legislative or policy changes through their activities, the policy
areas affected by those changes, and examples of changes.
- The second section of Part I focuses on activities of the State Grants for AT program during FY 2005 under the AT Act of 2004. This information is presented mostly as text. Among the topics covered are: how states developed state plans for AT to describe how they would implement a statewide AT program consistent with the amendments to the AT Act; an analysis based on these state plans describing how states intend to implement the state-level and state leadership activities required by the AT Act of 2004; an explanation of how measurable goals were developed for the State Grants for AT program.
Part II of the document focuses on the activities for both FY 2004 and 2005
of alternative financing programs (AFP) authorized under Title III of the AT
Act of 1998. The data are presented in tables and text. Among the topics
covered are: state-by-state data on features of financial loans available for
the purchase of AT; state-by-state data on structures of AFP; state-by-state
and national data on how many loans have been provided and for what amount;
national data on characteristics of recipients of loans; national data on what
kinds of AT the loans purchased
COMPLETE REPORT
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