National AT Reuse Scene Jeremy Buzzell Office of Policy and Planning Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services U.S. Department of Education.

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