Adaptive equipment is expensive. A power wheelchair, a speech-generating tablet, a walker, or a magnifier that reads print aloud can run from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands — and insurance often covers only part of the cost, or none of it. What a lot of Californians never hear is that the state runs a program built to close exactly that gap. You can borrow assistive technology to try it out, and in many cases you can get a gently used device to keep, for free or at low cost.
The program is called Ability Tools, and it is California’s official Assistive Technology Act program. It is one of the clearest examples of useful help hiding in plain sight — free to use, open to a wide range of people, and available in every county, yet still unknown to many of the families who would benefit most.
What Ability Tools is
Ability Tools is run by the California Foundation for Independent Living Centers under contract with the California Department of Rehabilitation, and it is funded through the federal Assistive Technology Act. That funding structure matters for one practical reason: the core services are meant to be available to any Californian with a disability, of any age. You do not need a specific diagnosis. You do not need to be enrolled in a particular benefit program. There is no income test to browse devices, borrow one, or ask for help. If a piece of equipment would help you live, work, learn, or communicate more independently, you are in the group this program was designed to serve.
“Assistive technology” is a broad term here. It covers mobility equipment like wheelchairs, walkers, and scooters; communication devices; screen readers, magnifiers, and other vision and hearing tools; adapted keyboards, switches, and mounts for computers and tablets; and smaller daily-living aids. Some centers keep more than a thousand devices on hand for people to try.
Two ways to get equipment: borrow it, or keep it
Device lending libraries
Borrow equipment on a free short-term loan — typically about five weeks. Ideal for trying a device before you buy, covering a repair, or bridging a wait. Many items ship anywhere in California.
Reuse & AT Exchange
Gently used devices are refurbished and passed on to people who need them — often free, sometimes low cost. Search available equipment or post what you’re looking for.
Borrow it — the device lending libraries. Ability Tools funds a statewide network of device lending and demonstration centers. Through them you can borrow a piece of assistive technology for a free short-term loan — typically about five weeks — and many items can be shipped to you anywhere in California. Borrowing is useful in three common situations: you want to try a device before you buy it, so you don’t spend money on the wrong tool; you need a backup while your own equipment is out for repair; or you need something temporarily while you wait for a device that’s been ordered to arrive.
Keep it — the reuse program and AT Exchange. Alongside lending, Ability Tools coordinates a device reuse (reutilization) program. When someone no longer needs a device, it can be cleaned, refurbished, and passed on to someone who does — often for free, sometimes for a low cost. Through the AT Exchange you can search for available used equipment, or post what you are looking for so a match can be made. For families priced out of new equipment, this is frequently the difference between going without and getting what they need.
Why this matters for IHSS households
For IHSS recipients and the people who care for them, the right equipment is not a luxury — it shapes how safe and how independent daily life is. A borrowed transfer aid can make caregiving safer while a permanent one is sorted out. A trial of a communication device can prove whether it’s worth pursuing through Medi-Cal or a regional center. And because the program is open regardless of diagnosis or benefit status, it fills gaps that other funding sources leave behind. It is worth knowing about before a crisis, not during one.
How to access it — step by step
- Start online at the NATADS portal.Ability Tools lists available equipment in a public database called NATADS. You can browse devices for loan or for reuse without an account, at myatprogram.org.
- Search for what you need.Use the Device Loan search to find equipment you can borrow, or the Reutilization search to find used devices offered for free or low cost. You can search by the type of device you’re looking for.
- Request the device.When you find something, follow the prompts to request a loan or claim a reuse item. Many loaned items can be shipped to you; others are picked up at a local center.
- Not sure where to start? Call.Ability Tools has a toll-free help line staffed by information and referral specialists who can walk you through your options, point you to the nearest center, and help you find funding for anything you ultimately need to buy. Call 800-390-2699 (TTY 800-900-0706), Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., or email abilitytools@cfilc.org.
- Ask for training.enters don’t just hand over equipment — many offer demonstrations and training so you can actually use what you borrow or receive.
Find equipment near you
Search available devices for loan or reuse across California.
Search the NATADS portal Or call 800-390-2699 · TTY 800-900-0706Where to go: statewide coverage
and the toll-free line above — both stay current as the network changes. Ability Tools is refreshing its roster of centers in 2026, so treat the following as a starting point and confirm current local options through the portal or by phone.
Assistive technology centers operate in every major region of the state, including:
Bay Area
Center for Accessible Technology (Berkeley); Parents Helping Parents / iTECH (San Jose)
Sacramento
Communications Technology Education Center (communication devices)
Central Coast
Central Coast Assistive Technology Center (San Luis Obispo) — on-site lending library
Los Angeles
CART at Rancho Los Amigos (Downey); EmpowerTech (Los Angeles)
Orange County
AT Exchange Center at Goodwill of OC (Santa Ana); Team of Advocates for Special Kids (Anaheim)
San Diego
United Cerebral Palsy of San Diego County AT Center — lending & reuse
The most reliable way to see what’s available near you is the NATADS portal
Bay Area — Center for Accessible Technology (Berkeley) and Parents Helping Parents / iTECH (San Jose).
Sacramento — Communications Technology Education Center, focused on communication devices.
Central Coast — Central Coast Assistive Technology Center (San Luis Obispo), which runs its own on-site lending library.
Los Angeles area — Center for Applied Rehabilitation Technology at Rancho Los Amigos (Downey) and EmpowerTech (Los Angeles).
Orange County — Assistive Technology Exchange Center at Goodwill of Orange County (Santa Ana), which offers loan and reuse, and Team of Advocates for Special Kids (Anaheim).
San Diego — United Cerebral Palsy of San Diego County’s Assistive Technology Center, which runs both a lending library and a reuse program.
Some of these centers specialize — in children’s technology, in communication devices, or in vision and hearing tools — so calling ahead or checking the portal will tell you which one fits your need.
Two related resources worth knowing
If your wheelchair or scooter breaks down, Ability Tools also runs the Keep the Wheels Rolling Repair Fund, which helps cover urgent mobility-equipment repairs. And when you decide you do need to buy a device outright, the program’s Freedom Tech financial-loan option offers low-interest loans to help spread out the cost. Neither is “free” in the way lending and reuse are, but both can keep essential equipment within reach.
Adaptive equipment shouldn’t come down to what you can afford in an emergency. California already funds a program that lets you try devices at no cost and often take one home for free — no diagnosis required, no benefit program required, available statewide. Start at myatprogram.org or call 800-390-2699, and share it with anyone you know who’s been quietly going without.
Sources
- Ability Tools — California’s Assistive Technology Act program (home)
- Ability Tools — AT Centers list (regional centers)
- Ability Tools — About / services structure (DLDC, ATRC, Keep the Wheels Rolling Repair Fund)
- CCATC Lending Library — “A FREE service by CCATC funded by Ability Tools”
- NATADS public portal — Device Loan search
- NATADS public portal — Reutilization (reuse) search
- California Department of Rehabilitation — Assistive Technology
- AT3 Center — AT Device Reuse (AT Act state-level activities)
- ACL (Administration for Community Living) — Assistive Technology / AT Act
- CFILC / 211 listing — Ability Tools & Freedom Tech AT loans (contact + Freedom Tech financing)
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