Training and Evaluation Center of Hutchinson (TECH)

Training and Evaluation Center of Hutchinson (TECH) serves individuals with developmental disabilities. Based in Hutchinson, Kansas, TECH offers services and programs to assist those with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Reno County. The center also offers service coordination to families with children who possess intellectual and developmental disabilities.

In the 1970s, Esther Yoder and Elwin Cabbage, both parents to children with special needs, started a coalition that became the Board of Directors for TECH, Inc. Their goal is to find a way to offer services, particularly job training, to young adults with special needs graduating from high school. In 1973, the Reno County Occupational Center was launched with Maurice Cummings as its chief executive officer.

In 1975, a group home was opened at 500 East Ave A in Hutchinson. In that period, the Center was approved as a United Way agency and became one of seven designees in Reno County at the time. In 1980, the Reno Occupational Center changed its name to the Training and Evaluation Center of Hutchinson (TECH) to reflect the services offered at the center.