National AT Reuse Scene

Jeremy BuzzellOffice of Policy and Planning

Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative ServicesU.S. Department of Education

The Perfect Storm

• Reauthorization of the Assistive Technology Act• New Freedom Initiative• Interest from OSERS’ leadership• Hurricane Katrina

Goal!

• To increase the availability of assistive technology (AT) through promoting and supporting the appropriate, effective reuse of AT devices at the state and local level.

Goal!

Appropriate reuse:• Is safe for consumers and reusers• Results in positive outcomes for

consumers• Is environmentally friendly

Goal!

Effective reuse:• Meets the needs of consumers• Produces cost savings• Is sustainable• Has a positive or neutral effect on

the AT field

Goal!

• Don’t create a new regulated reuse bureaucracy• Don’t undermine consumers’ options

for getting new AT from systems that that support them

Sherlock Holmes

• Federal Interagency Committee on Disability Research• Meetings with AT Act Programs

and others• National Conference on AT Reuse

Flight of the Phoenix

• Technical Assistance Center• Special Demonstrations of

AT Reuse

If you build it, they will come.

All Creatures Great and Small

• No two programs are alike . . .• But no two programs are that different.• There is little evidence that any one

model is better than another . . .• But there is plenty of evidence that every

model could be better.

A Simple Plan

Devices exchanges

• Easy to create but not easy to fill or get data

• Significantly outperformed by hands-on device reuse activities

Scary Movie

•Working conditions• Reuse practices• Legal infrastructure• Sustainability

Brewster’s Millions

• Reuse saves money.• But it also costs money –

especially if you want to do it right.• There is no silver bullet when it

comes to sustainability.

My One and Only

• Reuse is A solution, but it is not THE solution.• Reuse has an important role in

getting AT into the hands of people with disabilities – but who/what defines (and will continue to define) that role?

The Pursuit of Happyness

Reuse changes lives.

The Future of AT Reuse

Show me the money!

The Good

• Focus on the environment• Focus on technology• Recession/unemployment• Upcoming legislation: Rehabilitation Act,

IDEA, AT Act• Two centers funded by NIDRR: • Center on the Effective Delivery of Rehabilitation Technology (RT) to

Improve Employment Outcomes for Persons with Significant Disabilities• Access to Technology in Resource Limited Environments

The Bad

• Upcoming legislation: Rehabilitation Act, IDEA, AT Act• Current lack of leadership at ED• Insufficient data, unanswered

questions• Industry fears and liability

The Ugly

• Foreign conflicts• Health care reform• Recession/unemployment• Fear of liability• Rumors