Disability Business

Disability Business Technical Assistance Centers (DBTAC)Established to provide information, training, and technical assistance to employers, people with disabilities, and other entities with responsibilities under the ADADBTACs•10 regional centers; work with “state affiliates”•Established under the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), US Department of Education•800-949-4232•www.adata.org/dbtac.htmlAT Act “Title I” Programs•Statewide•Cross-age•Cross-disability•Credible, respected entities (1 in each state)•Knowledgeable about assistive technology•Collaborators with individuals with disabilities and disability organizations•History of working with education-related entitiesThe Need•Growing responsibility of education entities to prepare students for work that involves technology•Increasing utilization of technology as an instructional tool (computers; Internet)•Technology as a “delivery” system for education (e.g. varying modes of distance learningThe Issues•Teachers not prepared to utilize or integrate technology (generational/attitudinal)•Separate service delivery system (and funding) for many learners identified with “special needs”•Lack of awareness of potential technology-related barriers for persons with disabilities•Lack of consideration of needs of futureusers (e.g. “universal design”)•Legal requirement to provide for access to or accessible EIT in education settings clear in some cases, unclear in othersDBTAC+AT ACT=A Perfect Fit•2001 RFP for DBTACs included significant responsibilities for technical assistance, education and training, and information dissemination regarding E&IT access in education settings•RFP included significant additional funds to accomplish these activities•RFP included language encouraging collaboration; did not mandate AT Act Title I project involvement•Approximately 2/3 of AT Act projects involved in some way (not all receive funding through DBTAC)Mid-Atlantic Region•Compact geographical but highly populated region: Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia•Strong ADA Information Center, housed at TransCen, Inc., a non-profit known for school-to-work transition initiatives; school/business partnerships; systems change in education•Strong, “mature” and stable AT Act programs•AT Act projects housed at universities (DE; PA; WV) and have history of working with higher ed or other educational entities (including as subcontractors)Mid-Atlantic Accessible Education-Based Information Technology Consortium•State-by-state activities focused on promoting awareness of accessible EIT concerns in education settings; information and referral; training; technical assistance•Regional activities include resource for more advanced assistance; training; single regional website; coordination of resourcesActivities•TA regarding legal obligations•Dissemination (newsletters; media)•Demonstrations of accessibility•Resources for borrowing accessible EIT/AT•Training on EIT•Promotion of best practices (e.g. encouraging educational entities to purchase IT consistent with 508 standards)Start-Up •Began October 1, 2001•Staff designated or recruited in each AT Project and at TransCen•Capacity-building activities: EASI courses; vendor webcasts to familiarize staff with particular products and accessibility features (on-going)Start-up (continued)•Identification of products for use in training and demonstration (on-going)•Identification of existing resources (e.g. Q&As, fact sheets developed by AccessIT; WebAIM; W3C; ATAP)•Development of relationships with vendors (product donations; discounts; demonstration; trainings)•Administrative activities (communication; data collection)Accomplishments: Awareness•Press releases announcing collaboration•Targeted outreach (p/cs; meetings)•Integration of EIT information in ongoing AT Act project activities•Dissemination of materials at conferences; exhibits•Newsletter articles: What is EIT? What is the importance of accessible EIT in Education? What is this new resource (Mid-Atlantic Consortium)?Accomplishments to date: Systemic Changes•Development of model accessible website “template” for state education agencies, which can be adopted by LEAs (VA)•Development of model university guidelines on web accessibility (PA)Key activities: Coordination with other Federal Programs•RERCs•Title I AT Act•Title III AT Act•Regional Technology In Education Consortia (ESEA Title III, Technology for Education Act of 1994)•State Parent Training and Information Centers•University Centers on Excellence in Developmental Disabilities•Other federally-funded education-related programsTraining and Demonstrations•Statewide conferences (e.g. “Doing IT Right”)•IT accessibility equipment demonstrations•Addition of equipment to device lending programsFindings Based on first 7 months On the administrative, instructional (K-12; higher ed) and student/family/consumer levels:1.Lack of awareness of the issues regarding access to EIT for persons with disabilities2.Lack of awareness of the legal requirements (where they exist) regarding access to EITFindings (continued)3.Lack of knowledge of standards (508, W3C, state-specific)4.Lack of knowledge about resources for learning more about requirements and standards5.Lack of knowledge about AT or accessible EIT products (or inaccessible…)ContactsDelaware: Beth Mineo Mollica, Directormineo@asel.udel.edu, 302-651-6790District of Columbia: Alicia Johns, Program Manager; ajohns@uls-dc.com, 202-547-0198Maryland: Paul Rasinski, Executive Director, rasinki@charm.net, 410-554-9235Pennsylvania: Amy Goldman, Project Director, piat@temple.edu, 215-204-3862Virginia: Ken Knorr, Director; knorrkh@drs.state.va.us, 804-662-9995West Virginia: Jack Stewart, Program Manager; jstewart@wvu.edu, 304-293-4692