FFY 2020 ABLE Tech Annual Report

Coordination & Collaboration

Special Education Resolution Center (SERC)

Nine Special Education Due Process hearings were resolved by the Special Education Resolution Center - keeping state dollars in the classroom educating students. Due Process proceedings can cost the state an average of $300,000; therefore, resolved hearing requests saved Oklahomans approximately $2,700,000.

Partner Centers

ABLE Tech has increased partnerships statewide for all core program activities, including Device Demonstration and Short-Term Loan, Device Reutilization, and Financial Loans. 16 AT demonstration and loan sites allow Oklahomans the opportunity to touch, try, and borrow AT devices to improve independence in the community, school, and workplace. Device Reutilization partners are now located in central and rural locations and provide drop-off and pick-up sites for reuse and exchange items donated to the program. Financial Loan Program partners assist ABLE Tech in processing low-interest loans that provide needed AT to Oklahomans with disabilities.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Accessibility

Through an ongoing Access for ALL contract with the Department of Rehabilitation Services (DRS), ABLE Tech partnered with the Oklahoma Office of Workforce Development (OOWD) to create a 5 Star Rating Rubric. This initiative assists all Workforce Centers in a certification process that will ensure both physical and programmatic accessibility statewide. 

Workforce Centers will use the rubric as a strategy to show gradual, measurable progress towards the goal of full accessibility. This initiative seeks to provide service equity to job seekers with disabilities in helping them secure quality employment. This is a positive outcome of the Workforce Innovations and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and can positively influence statewide policy. 

Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation High Impact and Innovative Assistive Technology (HIIAT) Grant Awarded

ABLE Tech was one of four AT Act Programs awarded a Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation High Impact Innovative Assistive Technology (HIIAT) Grant award for $75,000. The project entitled “#Oklahoma4Ramps,” involved installing portable/temporary ramps, thresholds, and accessible pathways to assist individuals living with paralysis in exiting/entering their homes more independently.

COVID-19 slowed down the project, but inventive planning allowed the project to continue. ABLE Tech resumed no-contact equipment installations to finish out the grant year by recording and posting equipment training videos online and converting hard copy forms to digital formats. Mid-project survey results showed that the installation of ramps, pathways, and thresholds led to an increase in the number of times individuals living with paralysis left their homes, an increase in physical independence, and a decrease in negative moods and stress. ABLE Tech is thankful to the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation for the opportunity to serve Oklahomans with disabilities in this way!

Oklahoma Selected as an Accessible Educational Materials (AEM) Cohort State

Oklahoma was selected to participate in the 2020-2024 Accessible Educational Materials (AEM) Cohort, and ABLE Tech is leading the team! Oklahoma is one of seven states chosen from a competitive field of applicants, who will receive four years of support and technical assistance from the National Center on AEM to improve access to literacy and educational opportunities for individuals across the lifespan. The core state-level AEM leadership team includes representatives from the Oklahoma State Department of Education, the AIM Center at the Oklahoma Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Liberty Braille, Decoding Dyslexia, and ABLE Tech.

An Interagency Collaborative has also been developed and includes representatives from early intervention (SoonerStart Early Intervention Program), various school districts (Byng, Norman, and Union Public Schools), higher education (Tulsa Community College and Southwestern Oklahoma State University), the State Department of Career and Technology Education, the Oklahoma Parents Center, and the Department of Rehabilitation Services. ABLE Tech looks forward to advancing a state system of accessibility for individuals with disabilities from early childhood through postsecondary education and employment.

Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Grant Awarded

The Oklahoma Assistive Technology Foundation (OkAT)/ABLE Tech was one of 357 organizations receiving $187.3 million in awards. These funds will allow OkAT/ABLE Tech to offer additional, affordable financial products and services that meet the unique needs of economically underserved communities.

Specifically, OkAT was awarded $350,000 in Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Financial Assistance (FA) funds and $150,000 in CDFI Disability Funds (DF)-FA for a total of $500,000 through the U.S. Department of Treasury. These funds will be deployed over the next three full fiscal years. The FA funds will be used for the Financial Loan Program to implement new products (expanding the micro-loan product and implementing a home modification product). The DF-FA funds have the flexibility to be used for products to individuals with disabilities in general.