Billing Code 4154-01
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Administration for Community Living
Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB Review; Public Comment
Request; the State Plan for Assistive Technology (OMB Control Number 0985-0048)
AGENCY: Administration for Community Living, HHS.
ACTION: Notice.
SUMMARY: The Administration for Community Living (ACL) is announcing that the
proposed collection of information listed above has been submitted to the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance as required under section 506(c)(2)(A) of the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This 30-day notice collects comments on the information
collection requirements related to the proposed extension of the information collection
requirements relating to the State Plan of Assistive Technology (OMB Control Number 09850048).
DATES: Comments on the collection of information must be submitted electronically by 11:59
PM ET or postmarked. [INSERT DATE 30 DAYS AFTER DATE OF PUBLICATION IN THE
FEDERAL REGISTER].
ADDRESSES: Submit written comments and recommendations for the proposed information
collection within 30 days of publication of this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain
Find the information collection by selecting “Currently under 30-day Review – Open for Public
Comments” or by using the search function. By mail to the Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs, OMB, New Executive Office Bldg., 725 17th St. N.W., rm. 10235, Washington, DC,
20503, Attention: OMB Desk Officer for ACL.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert.Groenendaal@acl.hhs.gov (202) 7957356.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44
U.S.C. 3506), the Administration for Community Living (ACL) has submitted the following
proposed collection of information to OMB for review and clearance. Section 4 of the 21st
Century Assistive Technology Act (AT Act) provides grants to states and territories to operate
comprehensive statewide assistive technology programs (Statewide AT Programs) that increase
access to and acquisition of AT devices and services for individuals with disabilities and older
Americans. States and territories are required to apply to ACL in order to receive funds under
this grant program. Section 4(d) of the AT Act requires that this application contain:
(1) Information identifying and describing the lead agency and implementing entity (if
applicable) responsible for carrying out the Statewide AT Program and a description of how the
implementing entity (if applicable) coordinates and collaborates with the state;
(2) A description of how public and private entities were involved in the development of the
application and will be involved in implementation of the grant, including the resources to be
committed by these entities;
(3) A description of how the Statewide AT Program will implement the activities required under
the grant, which include state financing, device reutilization, device loans, device
demonstrations, training, technical assistance, and public awareness. Statewide AT Programs
must conduct these activities in coordination and collaboration with other appropriate entities;
(4) An explanation of how the grant funds will be allocated, used, and tracked.
(5) A set of assurances; and
(6) A description of the activities that will be supported with State funds.
Section 4 Requirements Necessitating Submission of the State Plan for AT and Annual Data
Collection
Section 4 of the AT Act authorizes grants to public agencies in the 50 states and the District of
Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of
the Northern Marianas (states and outlying areas). With these funds, the 56 states and territories

operate “Statewide AT Programs” that conduct activities to increase access to, and acquisition
of, assistive technology (AT) for individuals with disabilities and older Americans. These
comprehensive activities are divided into two categories: “State-level Activities” and “State
Leadership Activities.”
According to Section 4 of the AT Act, as a condition of receiving a grant to support their
Statewide AT Programs, the 56 states and territories must provide to ACL: (1) applications and
(2) annual progress reports on their activities.
Applications: The application required of states and territories is a three-year State Plan for
Assistive Technology (State Plan for AT or State Plan) (OMB No. 0985-0048). The content of
the State Plan for AT is based on the requirements in Section 4(d) of the AT Act. As a part of
this State Plan, Section 4(d)(3) of the AT Act requires that states and territories conduct activities
addressing the assistive technology needs of individuals with disabilities in education,
employment, community living and information technology/telecommunications.
National aggregation of data related to the required state-level and state leadership activities is
necessary for the Government Performance and Results Modernization Act of 2010 (GPRAMA)
as well as an Annual Report to Congress. Therefore, this State Plan for AT instrument provides a
way for all 56 grantees—50 U.S. states, D.C., Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam,
American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands to collect and report
data on their performance in a consistent manner.
Annual Reports: In addition to submitting a State Plan for AT every three years, states and
outlying areas are required to submit annual progress reports on their activities. The data
required in that progress report is specified in Section 4(f) of the AT Act.
Section 8 Requirements Necessitating Collection
Section 8(d) of the AT Act requires that ACL submit to Congress an annual report on the
activities identified in the State Plan for AT and an analysis of the progress of the states and
territories in meeting their measurable goals. The State Plan for AT must include a compilation

and summary of the activities conducted under Section 4(f). In order to make this possible,
states and territories must provide their data uniformly. This State Plan for AT instrument was
developed to ensure that all 56 states and territories report data in a consistent manner in
alignment with the requirements of Section 4(f).
Comments in Response to the 60-day Federal Register Notice (FRN)
ACL published a 60-day FRN on March 26, 2024, at 89 FR 20977. ACL received six comments
in support of the updates to the State Plan for AT instrument: one each from the Michigan AT
Program, the Wisconsin AT Program, and the Association of Assistive Technology Act
Programs (ATAP). A public comment summary and ACL responses are provided below.
Comment Summary: Proposed overall updates to the State Plan for Assistive Technology (AT)
information collection (IC) instrument and instruction manual to align with the reauthorization of
the Assistive Technology Act. Two State AT Act Program grantees and the Association of
Assistive Technology Act Programs (ATAP) commented in support of the proposed updates to
the State Plan for AT IC as reasonable changes to align with the 21st Century Assistive
Technology Act.
Comments:
(1) Wisconsin Assistive Technology Program: “I have reviewed the proposed State Plan for AT
Instrument and Instructions and also reviewed it with our Statewide Assistive Technology
Advisory Council. The reporting structure and requirements appear to satisfy the 21st Century
Assistive Technology Act. The updated components and information do not appear that they will
cause our program any undue burden or increase our level of reporting for completion of the
State Plan for Assistive Technology. I look forward to submitting our next three-year State Plan
to ACL once this is finalized.”
(2) Michigan Assistive Technology Program: “I just wanted to submit a comment on the
proposed changes to the state plan—the proposed changes look great and won't be a burden for
our state. Thank you for all you are doing.”

(3) Association of Assistive Technology Act Programs: “On behalf of the Association of
Assistive Technology Act Programs (ATAP), we would like to respond to the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services, Administration for Community Living (ACL)’s Federal Register
Notice (FRN) published on March 26, 2024 in 89 FR 20977 regarding the proposed updates to
the State Plan for Assistive Technology.
ATAP represents State and Territory Assistive Technology Act Programs formula funded under
Section 4 of the Assistive Technology (AT) Act. State and Territory AT Act Programs operate in
all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and four territories and are available for
persons with all types of disabilities, all ages, in all environments (education, employment,
community living, and information technology). State and Territory AT Act Programs are able to
best match the proper assistive technology (AT) with individuals’ needs, provide a device
demonstration, loan a device, and provide training and support for the use of the device.
Assistive technology and/or adaptive equipment can facilitate, support, and improve
functionality so every individual with disability can obtain an education, gain, and maintain
employment, and live independently in their community.
ATAP supports ACL’s proposed updates to the State Plan for Assistive Technology that mirror
the changes made to the Assistive Technology Act in the 2022 reauthorization, retitling the law
to the 21st Century Assistive Technology Act.
ATAP appreciates the opportunity to comment. Please let me know if we can provide any
additional information.”
ACL Response: ACL acknowledged receipt of comments in support of the updates to the State
Plan for AT.
Comment Summary: The Texas Assistive Technology Act Program submitted three comments
on proposed changes for clarification of terms and activities consistent with the reauthorization
of the AT Act.
Comment 1: Advisory Council

“While I completely agree in the proposed representation on the Advisory Committee, unless the
other agency has a commensurate data point or a fiscal incentive, they may not be inclined to
participate on a state AT Program Advisory. I would assume a state AT program would do their
due diligence to acquire representation, and could likely document doing so, it still may not
occur. I would hope the plan would provide an opportunity for a State AT Program to document
such efforts.
As a specific example for Texas’ SEA has been reluctant to engage the state AT Program in any
respect. While TTAP has been able to gain participation at Regional levels (Education Service
Centers which serve under Texas’ SEA—so in essence are representatives but are not directly
employed by the SEA), and local levels (LEAs that engage the TTAP Advisory in some
capacity), we have not been able to get an actual SEA employee to participate in our Advisory.
We speculate, there are many possible reasons—understaffing, frequent turn over, lack of
support for AT/assumption that LEAs are “doing fine” with AT, etc. I have heard from other
programs similar issues- also extending to VA, housing, Medicaid/HHS, and transportation
representation.
To summarize, I see the value of this expectation but think many programs will not be able to
make the mark. I am hopeful there will be a mechanism to share efforts programs have made to
fulfill this grant obligation even if it was not realized—perhaps some place to record future plans
to encourage engagement.”
ACL Response: ACL acknowledged receipt of comment. The updated State Plan for AT
instrument enables grantees to describe their efforts to secure required Advisory Council
membership.
Comment 2: Education/training, technical assistance, and public awareness
“I think this section does not capture the dept of work State AT programs put into this activity.
This changes practice which eventually affects outcomes. We can provide access to technology
all day long but if people (professionals, care givers, and people with disabilities) do not know

what to do with it, it is useless. The collection tool asks for no more than three examples, but
education/training, and technical assistance are what make the biggest difference. Anecdotal and
narrative information does not measure the impact these activities have on the provision of AT
devices and services. I would also like to be able to highlight more than one or two public
awareness event plans. These state leadership activities drive increased state level activities.
State AT programs should be able to share this robust information and possibly outline 1-3-5year plans for increasing leadership to better support state level programs.”
ACL Response: ACL acknowledged receipt and agrees with the comment, which is specific to
data collection and reporting for the AT Annual Progress Report (APR) Information Collection
(IC) instrument. The State Plan for AT is a high-level three-year planning document outlining
projected AT Act activities. The AT APR provides an expansive mechanism to report annually
on these activities.
Comment 3: Coordination/Collaboration and State improvement initiatives
“I did not see this reflected in the State AT planning document though we do collect data on this
annually. It also highlights the local control afforded state programs to determine specific needs
for our consumers which is a positive aspect of the grant.”
ACL Response: ACL acknowledged receipt and agrees with the comment that is specific to the
AT APR IC. The State Plan for AT is a high-level three-year planning document outlining
projected AT Act activities. The AT APR provides an expansive mechanism to report annually
on these activities.
Estimated Program Burden:
ACL estimates the burden of this collection of information as follows:
Fifty-six grantees report to ACL using the web-based data collection system. A workgroup of
grantees estimated that the average amount of time required to complete all responses to the data
collection instrument is 73 hours annually. The burden estimates affect the reporting
responsibilities of the Statewide AT Programs, and the directors were chosen to represent the

diversity of the 56 programs based on regions of the country, sizes of the programs, types of
agencies operating the programs, and whether or not the director is an individual with a
disability. The estimated response burden includes time to review the instructions, gather
existing information, and complete and review the data entries.
a.

Number of respondents

-- 56

b.

Frequency of response

-- 1

c.

Total annual responses (a x b)

-- 56

d.

Hours per response

-- 73

e.

Total burden hours (c x d)

-- 4,088

Dated: June 24, 2024.
Alison Barkoff,
Principal Deputy Administrator for the Administration for Community Living, performing the
delegable duties of the Administrator and the Assistant Secretary for Aging.

[FR Doc. 2024-14226 Filed: 6/27/2024 8:45 am; Publication Date: 6/28/2024]