Managing AT Act Resources

State AT Programs should strive to ensure that the vast majority of Section 4 AT Act funding is allocated to support activities that directly increase access to and acquisition of AT rather than to administrative or overhead costs. State AT Programs vary in their administrative structures, with some functioning as an autonomous AT organization and others operating as part of a larger agency or organization. Except for those State AT Programs that are non-profit agencies with only an AT function, there is typically a delicate balance that needs to be found to allow the State AT Program to be a valued part of the larger administrative organization while still implementing equitable comprehensive and statewide AT activities as required by the AT Act.

It is not uncommon for State AT Programs to be asked to provide services that benefit their administrative home agency at a level disproportionate to services available for others. The AT Act does include a requirement that “grant funds will be used to supplement and not supplant funds available from other sources,” which is helpful in explaining to administrative agencies the need for some degree of autonomy for the State AT Program to ensure that grant funds are not supporting services that should be funded by the larger agency and AT Act resources do not supplant other agency responsibilities and/or funding.

The AT Act is also clear in limiting indirect costs to 10%, which suggests that the other 90% of the grant award should be used to implement the authorized activities of the AT Act rather than administrative or overhead costs. State AT Programs should have a robust system of tracking and reporting expenditure data to ensure the maximum amount of Section 4 AT Act dollars support AT Act-authorized activities. (A separate document, Brief 7 — State Plan Expenditure Tracking and Reporting, provides additional information on tracking expenditures by state-level and leadership activities as required by the AT Act.)

Last updated January 2023