ATinNH Advisory Council

The ATinNH Advisory Council plays a vital role in guiding New Hampshire’s Assistive Technology Act Program. Its mission is to provide consumer-responsive, consumer-driven advice, ensuring the program reflects the needs, priorities, and lived experiences of individuals who use assistive technology and those who support them.

Membership and requirements

The advisory council is designed to center the voices of people with disabilities while bringing together key state and community partners to guide assistive technology programs. Per Section 4(c)(2) of the AT Act, the council must be a consumer-majority body. This means that at least 51% of the Advisory Council must be people with lived experience, meaning individuals with disabilities who use assistive technology or their family members or guardians. Most of this majority must be individuals with disabilities themselves. Representatives from state agencies or organizations do not count toward this requirement.

This structure ensures the council remains consumer-led, with people with disabilities at the center of decision-making.

Required agency representatives include:

• The state agency that oversees vocational rehabilitation and disability services
  (often the designated state agency under the Rehabilitation Act)
• The state agency that serves people who are blind or have low vision
  If this agency is separate from the main disability services agency
• A Center for Independent Living or the Statewide Independent Living Council
• The state workforce development board
  (focused on employment and workforce systems)
• The state education agency
  (K–12 education)
• A representative from a nonprofit assistive technology financing program (only if the state has one, it is separate from the state AT program, and it is run by a nonprofit organization)
• One representative from:
  • The state Medicaid agency
  • The state developmental disabilities agency
  • The state aging services agency (or an organization funded through it)
  • An organization representing disabled veterans
  • A University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD)
  • The state protection and advocacy system
  • The State Council on Developmental Disabilities
• Additional members may be appointed to reflect New Hampshire’s unique needs, including representatives from early intervention, deaf/hard of hearing commissions, libraries, ADA offices, and parent training centers. For every agency member added, a consumer member must also be added to maintain the required majority.

The Advisory Council is responsible for:

• Advising on the planning, implementation, and evaluation of ATinNH activities funded under the AT Act.
• Assisting in the development and review of the State Plan for Assistive Technology (SPAT) submitted to the Administration for Community Living.
• Reviewing progress and recommending amendments based on the Annual Progress Report (APR).
• Serving as ambassadors for the ATinNH program, promoting awareness and access to assistive technology statewide.
• Providing input to agencies and partners to strengthen AT services across New Hampshire