$10M award will expand loan cooperative
Low-cost loans will go to Kansans with disabilities
KU has received $10.8 million for a consumer-controlled loan cooperative
for people with disabilities that was developed by KU researchers.
The award from the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Rehabilitation
Services Administration and the State of Kansas will expand the ability
of the Kansas Assistive Technology Cooperative (KATCO), established in
2000, to make low-cost loans for assistive technology to people with disabilities
by stabilizing the cooperative’s flexible loan program.
Assistive technology includes motorized wheelchairs, adapted vehicles
and communication devices that enable individuals to pursue educational
goals, gain employment and live independently.
KATCO is a collaborative effort between KU researchers led by Sara Sack,
director of the Assistive Technology for Kansans program and KU associate
scientist, and the Kansas disability community. Sack will oversee the
new grant that will make loans through KATCO. The majority of individuals
on the cooperative’s board and loan advisory committee are Kansans
with disabilities
Sack said that Kansas is a national leader in recognizing the importance
of assistive technology for independent living.
“What we heard most often from Kansans with disabilities was the
lack of available funding,” Sack said. “An individual could
get a job if they had a van with a lift for their wheelchair to get to
the office, but they couldn’t borrow money until they already had
the job. It was a Catch-22.”
For more information on KATCO, visit www.katco.net
or contact E. Basil Kessler, director, at 625 Merchant St., Suite 205,
Emporia, KS 66801; (866) 465-2826.