Lead and Implementing Agency

Utah State University
Center for Persons with Disabilities
College of Education and Human Services
6855 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT 84322-6855
Telephone: 435-797-3824
Toll Free: 800-524-5152
Website: www.uatpat.org
Email: uatp@cpd2.usu.edu

The lead agency for the assistive technology state grant program in Utah is the Center for Persons with Disabilities at the College of Education and Human Services, Utah State University. This agency has administered the AT Act and its predecessor, the Tech Act, since it was designated as the lead agency by Governor Norman Bangerter in 1989 with the designation reaffirmed on May 26, 1994 by Governor Michael O. Leavitt.

The Center for Persons with Disabilities (CPD) began in 1972 and is a premier University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research and Services. The CPD is large research unit of the USU College of Education and Human Services. With just over 70 State, national and international projects and programs currently funded, the CPD boasts expertise in many areas including policy research, biomedical research, use of distance education for training and technical assistance activities, assistive technology, and exemplary psychological assessment and evaluation services.

The CPD is the largest university center for excellence in the intermountain region and operates with an annual budget in excess of $15 million, the majority of which comes from competitively awarded contracts and grants. The CPD works with many state agencies and community groups throughout Utah to meet the needs of children, youth and adults with disabilities across the lifespan, and their families. For example, the Assistive Technology Laboratory (AT Lab) at the CPD is the only one of its kind in the intermountain west. Staffs work closely with university departments and community-based organizations to provide AT demonstration, short term equipment loan, consumer assessment and evaluation, and AT training for service providers throughout Utah, southern Idaho and western Wyoming. The CPD, and Utah State University, is an equal opportunity employer that complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, as amended. Most projects at the CPD, including the assistive technology program, employ at least one individual or family member with a disability. Reasonable accommodations, as needed, are provided to facilitate job success.

The CPD entity with responsibility for implementation of this state plan is the Utah Assistive Technology Program (UATP). In nearly 17 years of existence, the UATP has provided AT-related training, technical assistance, and outreach to consumers and service providers each of Utah’s 29 counties. Staff regularly visit rural and remote areas of the state to provide AT technical assistance, device demonstration and individualized assessment/evaluation in parts of Utah that aren’t adequately served by state service agencies. UATP staff is highly qualified to provide these services.

UATP was founded on principles of consumer-responsiveness. In 1990, the UATP Consumer Council was developed to identify barriers to the acquisition of AT and to develop and advise statewide initiatives to reduce or remove those barriers. This Council is now part of the statewide AT Council and forms the core of the currently mandated Utah State AT Plan Advisory Council.

UATP is part of the larger CPD which serves as the lead entity for the 10 state Regional Resource Center for state special education offices, the Utah Work Incentives Initiative, the Independent Living Olmstead Training Initiative, the Utah Assistive Technology Foundation, and the Utah ADA Training and Technical Assistance Program. Each of these is focused on meeting the needs of individuals in areas such as employment, education, community living and telecommunications. CPD’s 30-plus years of success in meeting the needs of individuals with disabilities directly, and in collaboration with other state and local entities is acknowledged throughout the intermountain region.

UATP is not currently planning to subcontract for services under this plan at this time. This may change in years two and three, however, as the plan is implemented and service gaps are further defined.