U Jolie J I 0JrJ Co^ rejy ^ [s+- Wtoy, /S^a-Ve P.7lr f 1^1 ( ftI ii O O 103d CONGRESS ^£l 1 ZoDEf 1st Session 1 # To reauthorize and improve a program of grants to States to promote the provision of technology-related assistance to individuals with disabilities, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES July 26 (legislative day, Juke 30), 1993 Mr. Harkjn (by request) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources A BILL To reauthorize and improve a program of grants to States to promote the provision of technology-related assistance to individuals with disabilities, and for other purposes. 1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House ofRepresenta- 2 tives ofthe United States ofAmerica in Congress assembled, 3 That this Act may be cited as the "Technology-Related 4 Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Amendments 5 of 1993". 6 FINDINGS AND PURPOSE 7 Sec. 2. Section 2(b) of the Technology-Related As- 8 sistance for Individuals With Disabilities Act of 1988 (29 — — 2 1 U.S.C. 2201 et seq.; hereinafter referred to as "the Act") 2 is amended 3 (1) in paragraph (1) 4 (A) in the material that precedes subpara- 5 graph (A), by inserting "comprehensive," after 6 "implement a"; 7 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking out 8 "policies, practices, and procedures" and insert- 9 ing in lieu thereof "laws, regulations, policies, 10 practices, procedures, and organizational struc- 11 tures"; 12 (C) in subparagraph (C), by striking out 13 "of and funding for the provision of and in- 14 serting in lieu thereof "of, access to, provision 15 of, and funding for"; 16 (D) in subparagraph (F), by striking out 17 "and" at the end thereof; 18 (E) in subparagraph (G), by striking out 19 the period at the end thereof and inserting in 20 lieu thereof a semicolon and "and"; and 21 (F) by adding at the end thereof a new 22 subparagraph to read as follows: 23 "(H) increase the involvement of individ- 24 uals with disabilities (and, if appropriate, their 25 family members, guardians, advocates, and au- S 1285 is — 3 1 thorized representatives) in the planning, devel- 2 opment, implementation, and assessment of 3 technology-related assistance programs, and in 4 decisions related to the provision of assistive 5 technology devices and assistive technology 6 services."; 7 (2) in paragraph (3) 8 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking out 9 information, and training and public aware- 10 ness" and inserting in lieu thereof "and infor- 11 mation"; and 12 (B) by striking out subparagraph (B) and 13 inserting in lieu thereof a new subparagraph to 14 read as follows: 15 "(B) other assistance needed to ensure 16 that the comprehensive, consumer-responsive 17 statewide system developed with Federal sup- 18 port under this Act will continue after such 19 support has ended."; and 20 (3) by adding at the end thereof a new para- 21 graph to read as follows: 22 "(4) To promote systems change, in order to 23 facilitate access to, provision of, and funding for 24 technology-related assistance to individuals with dis- 25 abilities.". S 1285 is — — — 4 DEFINITIONS 1 2 Sec. 3. Section 3 of the Act is amended 3 (1) by adding at the end thereof three new 4 paragraphs to read as follows: — 5 "(9) CONSUMER-RESPONSIVE. The term 6 'consumer-responsive' means 7 "(A) accessible to individuals with disabil- 8 ities and, if requested or required by such indi- 9 viduals, their family members, guardians, advo- 10 cates, or authorized representatives; 11 "(B) meeting the needs of individuals with 12 disabilities in a timely and appropriate manner; 13 and 14 "(C) facilitating the full participation and 15 inclusion of individuals with disabilities in deci- 16 sions relating to 17 (i) the provision of assistive tech- 18 nology devices and assistive technology 19 services to particular individuals; and 20 (ii) the planning, development, imple- 21 mentation, and assessment of the statewide 22 system of technology-related assistance to 23 individuals with disabilities. 24 "(10) Protection and advocacy serv- — 25 ICES. The term 'protection and advocacy services' S 1285 is 5 1 means services that are authorized under part C of 2 the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of 3 Rights Act (42 U.S.C. 6041 et seq.), the Protection 4 and Advocacy for Mentally 111 Individuals Act of 5 1986 (42 U.S.C. 10801 et seq.), and section 509 of 6 the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794e) and 7 that assist individuals with disabilities and their 8 family members, guardians, advocates, and author- 9 ized representatives to gain access to assistive tech- 10 nology devices and assistive technology services. — 11 "(11) Systems change. The term 'systems 12 change' means reform that results in laws, regula- 13 tions, policies, procedures, practices, or organiza- 14 tional structures that facilitate access to, provision 15 of, and funding for assistive technology devices and 16 assistive technology services to individuals with dis- 17 abilities and other appropriate individuals or organi- 18 zations, in order to empower individuals with disabil- 19 ities to achieve greater independence, productivity, 20 and inclusion within the community and the work 21 force."; and 22 (2) by striking out paragraph (4); and 23 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (3), (5), (6), 24 (7), (8), (9), (10), and (11) as paragraphs (4), (6), 25 (7), (9), (10), (3), (5), and (8), respectively. S IS — — 6 MANDATED ACTIVITIES 1 2 Sec. 4. Section 101 of the Act is amended by striking 3 out subsection (b) and inserting in lieu thereof a new sub- 4 section to read as follows: — 5 "(b) Mandated Activities. Any State that re- 6 ceives a grant under this title shall undertake activities 7 to implement systems change, as defined in section 3. 8 These activities shall include 9 "(1) a review and, where appropriate, modifica- 10 tion of laws, regulations, policies, practices, proce- 11 dures, and organizational structures that affect ac- 12 cess to, provision of, and funding for assistive tech- 13 nology devices and assistive technology services; 14 "(2) coordination among State agencies, in 15 order to facilitate access to, provision of, and fund- 16 ing for assistive technology devices and assistive 17 technology services; and 18 "(3) information dissemination and other activi- 19 ties, including training, that empower individuals 20 with disabilities to obtain technology-related assist- 21 ance and that facilitate a consumer-responsive sys- 22 tern.". 23 AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES 24 Sec. 5. Section 101(c) of the Act is amended S 1285 IS ———— 7 1 (1) in the material preceding paragraph (1), by 2 striking out "functions described in subsection (b)" 3 and inserting in lieu thereof "purposes of this Act"; 4 (2) in paragraph (1) 5 (A) in subparagraph (B), by adding "and" 6 at the end thereof; 7 (B) by striking out subparagraph (C); and 8 (C) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as 9 subparagraph (C); 10 (3) in paragraph (2) 11 (A) by striking out subparagraph (G); and 12 (B) by redesignating subparagraphs (H) 13 and (I) as subparagraphs (G) and (H), respec- 14 tively; 15 (4) in paragraph (4) 16 (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking out 17 "and" at the end thereof; 18 (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking out 19 the period at the end thereof and inserting in 20 lieu thereof a semicolon and "and"; and 21 (C) by adding at the end thereof a new 22 subparagraph to read as follows: 23 "(D) outreach activities to underserved 24 groups." 25 (5) in paragraph (6) S 1285 IS — 8 1 (A) by inserting after the first sentence, a 2 new sentence to read as follows: "The informa- 3 tion system may be organized on an interstate 4 basis or as part of a regional consortium of 5 States, thereby facilitating the establishment of 6 compatible, linked information systems."; and 7 (B) by striking out "preceding sentence" 8 and inserting in lieu thereof "preceding sen- 9 tences"; 10 (6) by redesignating paragraph (8) as para- 11 graph (15); and 12 (7) by inserting after paragraph (7) seven new 13 paragraphs to read as follows: 14 "(8) Alternative state-financed sys- — 15 TEMS. The State may support development and im- 16 plementation of alternative State-financed systems of 17 subsidies or loan mechanisms for the provision of 18 assistive technology devices and assistive technology 19 services to individuals with disabilities who need but 20 cannot afford such devices or services without assist- 21 ance, including 22 "(A) a loan system for assistive technology 23 devices; 24 "(B) a low-interest loan fund; 25 "(C) a revolving fund; S 1285 IS 9 1 "(D) a loan insurance program; and 2 "(E) a partnership with private entities for 3 the purchase, lease, or other acquisition or pro- 4 vision of Such devices or services. — 5 "(9) Support for expenses. The State may 6 use funds under this title for program-related ex- 7 penses of individuals with disabilities who are in- 8 volved in the planning, development, implementation, 9 or assessment of the statewide system, including 10 payments for travel, qualified interpreters, readers, 11 personal care assistants, and other services needed 12 for participation by these individuals. — 13 "(10) Demonstration of equipment. The 14 State may support a program of demonstration and 15 try-outs of assistive technology devices, including a 16 mechanism that allows the ultimate user of such de- 17 vice to use that device on a trial basis prior to its 18 purchase, in order to determine whether the device 19 meets the needs of that user. — 20 "(11) Partnerships. The State may support 21 partnerships with private non-profit and for-profit 22 agencies and organizations to promote greater par- 23 ticipation by business and industry in the develop- 24 ment, demonstration, and distribution of assistive 25 technology devices, and in the on-going provision of S 1285 IS 2 — 10 1 information about new assistive technology devices 2 to assist individuals with disabilities. — 3 "(12) Case management. The State may 4 provide case management services to help individuals 5 with disabilities to identify and obtain access to the 6 assistive technology devices and assistive technology 7 services they need, including, as appropriate, sources 8 of funding to obtain such devices and services. — 9 "(13) ADA assistance. The State may sup- 10 port activities to assist employers and others who 11 are subject to the requirements of the Americans 12 with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12111 et 13 seq.) on the uses of technology-related assistance to 14 meet the requirements of that Act. — 15 "(14) Recycling activities. The State may 16 support activities, including the establishment of in- 17 formation systems and recycling centers, for the re- 18 distribution of assistive technology devices and other 19 devices that may be used to create assistive tech- 20 nology devices.". 21 APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS 22 Sec. 6. (a) Designation of Responsible En- — 23 tity. Section 102(e)(1) is amended 24 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) through 25 (F) as clauses (i) through (vi); S 1286 IS