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The Richard West Assistive Technology Advocacy Center (ATAC) of Disability Rights New Jersey (DRNJ) serves as New Jersey’s federally funded assistive technology project through a sub-contract with New Jersey’s Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Its purpose is to assist individuals across New Jersey in overcoming barriers in the system and making assistive technology more accessible to individuals with disabilities throughout the state of New Jersey.

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Featured Content

Register Today: Inclusive Technology in Education Conference

March 25, 2023

Join us for THE LEAST RESTRICTIVE CONFERENCE EVER! The Richard West Assistive Technology Advocacy Center (ATAC) is proud to partner with a cadre of NJ educators to organize and produce a full day professional learning event focused on inclusive education.

Visit our Inclusive Technology in Education Conference page

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Register Today: Introduction to PODD 2 Day Event

March 30 – 31, 2023

PODD Training is a two-day course that will demonstrate the use of a Pragmatic Organization of Dynamic Display (PODD) approach developed by Gayle Porter (Melbourne, Australia). Generic templates for multi-page “light tech” communication books have been carefully designed to support genuine communication for a variety of functions throughout the day. These templates may be customized for a range of access methods and other individual needs.

Visit our Introduction to PODD webpage for details

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FREE Opportunity to Learn About Assistive Technology

To obtain your FREE access to this online learning opportunity please fill out the form.

The Richard West Assistive Technology Advocacy Center (ATAC) is pleased to announce a continuation of the partnership with the Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA) to provide complimentary unlimited access to the ATIA Learning Center. The Learning Center provides access to an array of recorded learning sessions focusing on all aspect of assistive technology.  Learn more about the ATIA Learning Center at https://www.atia.org/learning-center/ 

Watch our information session about the ATIA Learning Center

Please note: This opportunity is only for New Jersey residents and those who work for NJ agencies.

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AT Act Reauthorized by Congress

From Association of Assistive Technology Act Projects (ATAP):

Congress Passes Bill to Modernize the Assistive Technology Act WASHINGTON, DC – As part of the final passage of the National Defense Authorization Act, the U.S. Congress also agreed to reauthorize the Assistive Technology (AT) Act by including The 21st Century Assistive Technology Act (AT Act) in the final package. Bipartisan sponsors of the AT Act include Representatives Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA), and Joe Sempolinski (R-NY) and Senators Bob Casey (D-PA), Susan Collins (R-ME), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK).

In response to final passage, Audrey Busch-Treussard, Executive Director of the Association of Assistive Technology Act Programs (ATAP) stated:

“ATAP appreciates all efforts undertaken by Congress to reauthorize the AT Act. There is an urgent and acute need to provide assistive technology to individuals with disabilities and through this modernization of the law, our State and Territory AT Act programs can meet growing demands within an increasingly vulnerable population. ATAP looks forward to supporting all our programs as they seek to expand their capacity to serve and support the disability and aging communities.”

About AT Programs AT Act programs, last reauthorized by Congress in 2004, operate in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and four territories. The AT Act Programs are available for persons with all types of disabilities, all ages, in all environments (education, employment, community living and information technology). AT Act programs provide a continuum of services that increase the access to, and acquisition of assistive technology through state financing activities (such as financial loans, cooperative buy, funds of last resort, etc.), device reutilization (including recycling, repair, refurbishment, and device exchange), device loan/borrowing and device demonstration services.

The full text of the bill is available on ATAP’s website.

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ATAC provides funding to sub-contractors throughout New Jersey in order to effectively provide the core services of the AT Act:

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