[Federal Register: April 19, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 76)]
[Notices]
[Page 20139-20141]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr19ap01-34]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
[CFDA No. 84.235B]
Systems-Change Projects to Expand Employment Opportunities for
Individuals With Mental or Physical Disabilities, or Both, Who Receive
Public Support; Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal
Year (FY) 2001
Purpose of Program: To enhance collaboration in existing systems,
including the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of
1999 (TWWIIA) projects administered by the Social Security
Administration, and to increase competitive employment opportunities
for individuals with disabilities who are participants in public
support programs funded by Federal, State, and local agencies.
For FY 2001 the competition for new awards focuses on projects
designed to meet the priorities we describe in the PRIORITIES section
of this application notice.
Eligible Applicants: A consortium of, at a minimum, the State
vocational rehabilitation agency, the State welfare agency, a State
educational agency, the State agency responsible for administering the
Medicaid program, and an agency administering an employment or
employment training program supported by the U.S. Department of Labor.
Additional entities (e.g., public and private non-profit organizations
or Indian tribes) also may be included as part of the consortium. An
agreement between the members of the consortium must be submitted as
part of the application.
Applications Available: April 23, 2001.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: July 6, 2001.
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: September 4, 2001.
Estimated Available Funds: $2,000,000.
Estimated Range of Awards: $450,000--$500,000.
Estimated Average Size of Awards: $475,000.
Estimated Number of Awards: 4-5.
Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this
notice.
Project Period: Up to 60 months.
Page Limit: The application narrative (Part III of the application)
is where you, the applicant, address the selection criteria that
reviewers use to evaluate your application. It is suggested that you
limit Part III to 35 pages.
Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80,
81, 82, 85, 86, 97, and 99; and (b). The regulations for this program
in 34 CFR part 373.
Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 79 apply to all applicants
except federally recognized Indian tribes.
Priorities: This competition focuses on projects designed to meet
the absolute priority in the notice of final priority and definitions
for this program, published in the Federal Register on July 8, 1998 (63
FR 37016), and the competitive preference priority in the notice of
final competitive preference for Special Demonstration Programs,
published in the Federal Register on November 22, 2000 (65 FR 70408).
The purpose of the absolute priority is to establish five-year
model demonstration projects that stimulate and advance systems change
in order to expand competitive employment outcomes for individuals with
mental or physical disabilities, or both, who are participants in
Federal, State, and local public support programs (e.g., TANF, SSI and
SSDI, including TWWIIA, Medicaid, Medicare, subsidized housing, and
food stamps, etc.).
Absolute Priority--Systems-Change Projects to Expand Employment
Opportunities for Individuals With Mental or Physical Disabilities,
or Both, Who Receive Public Support
Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3) and section 303(b) of the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973, as amended (the Act) (29 U.S.C. 762(b)(3)), the Secretary
gives an absolute preference to applications that meet the following
priority. The Secretary funds under this competition only applications
that meet this absolute priority:
A. General Requirements for Applicants
Applicants under this priority shall satisfy the following
requirements:
[[Page 20140]]
(1) Applicants shall form a consortium of, at a minimum, the State
vocational rehabilitation agency, the State welfare agency, the State
educational agency, the State agency responsible for administering the
Medicaid program, and an agency administering an employment or
employment training program supported by the U.S. Department of Labor.
Additional entities (e.g., public and private non-profit organizations)
that could effectively assist in removing barriers to employment for
individuals with disabilities also may be included as part of the
consortium.
(2) The members of the consortium shall either designate one of
their members to apply for the grant or establish a separate, eligible
legal entity to apply for the grant. The designated applicant shall
serve as the grantee and be legally responsible for the use of all
grant funds, overall fiscal and programmatic oversight of the project,
and for ensuring that the project is carried out by consortium members
in accordance with Federal requirements.
(3) Consortium members shall be substantially involved in the
development of the application. To the extent possible, consortiums
also shall involve consumers in the development of the application.
(4) The members of the consortium shall enter into an agreement
that details the activities that each member plans to perform and that
binds each member to the statements and assurances included in the
application. Each member is legally responsible for carrying out the
activities it agrees to perform and for using the funds that it
receives under the agreement in accordance with Federal requirements
that apply to the grant. The agreement must be submitted as part of the
application.
(5) Consortiums shall establish a Consumer Advisory Board
consisting of individuals with disabilities and, as appropriate, their
representatives that will assist in the development, implementation,
and evaluation of barrier-removal strategies.
(6) The application submitted under this priority also must
identify the specific locality or region that would be served by the
project.
B. Project Objectives
Projects supported under this priority must--
(1) Identify systemic barriers, including State or local agency
policies, practices, procedures, or rules that inhibit individuals with
disabilities who are participants in public support programs from
becoming competitively employed.
(2) Develop and implement replicable strategies to remove
identified barriers, including, at a minimum, strategies for--
(a) Establishing effective collaborative working relationships
among project consortium members and their partners as described in
paragraph (C)(1) of this priority (e.g., providing interagency staff
training and technical assistance on program requirements and services
or collaboratively using labor market and job vacancy information);
(b) Establishing coordinated service delivery systems (e.g., common
intake and referral procedures, customer databases, and resource
information) and developing innovative services and service approaches
that address service gaps (e.g., developing employee and employer
support networks);
(c) Improving access to health insurance for individuals with
disabilities who become employed;
(d) Increasing the use of existing resources by State and local
agencies (e.g., Medicaid waivers, Home Community Based Services
waivers, Job Training Partnership Act income exemptions, and work
incentive provisions such as Plan for Achieving Self Support);
(3) Design and implement an internal evaluation plan for which--
(a) The methods of evaluation are thorough, feasible, and
appropriate to the goals, objectives, and outcomes of the project;
(b) The methods of evaluation provide for examining the
effectiveness of project implementation strategies;
(c) The methods of evaluation include the use of objective
performance measures that are clearly related to the intended outcomes
of the project and will produce quantitative and qualitative data to
the extent possible;
(d) The methods of evaluation will provide performance feedback and
permit periodic assessment of progress toward achieving intended
outcomes; and
(e) The evaluation will provide guidance about effective strategies
suitable for replication or testing in other settings; and
(4) Disseminate information on effective systems-change approaches
developed under these projects to Federal, State, and local
stakeholders and facilitate the use of systems-change models in other
geographic areas. As examples, consortiums may make presentations
before national, State, or local conferences, consult with and provide
technical assistance to other States or localities, develop Internet
web sites, and distribute project publications.
C. Project Requirements
In carrying out the priority, the projects must--
(1) Develop partnership agreements, as described under DEFINITIONS,
with the local district offices of the Social Security Administration;
the State agency or agencies responsible for mental retardation,
developmental disabilities, and mental health services; existing
transportation or paratransit service providers; and appropriate public
and private sector employers. Partnerships also may be formed with
other appropriate entities identified by the consortium, including but
not limited to, Centers for Independent Living, consumer advocacy
organizations, economic development councils, Private Industry
Councils, Governor's committees on the employment of persons with
disabilities, developmental disabilities councils, mental health
centers, community rehabilitation programs, Indian Tribes, labor
unions, and community-based and other non-profit employment and
training organizations funded by the U.S. Department of Labor;
(2) Make timely, formal requests for Medicaid waivers if necessary
for projects to be able to implement developed strategies;
(3) Implement, in a timely manner, the strategies developed by the
project to expand employment outcomes for individuals with mental or
physical disabilities, or both;
(4) Participate, as appropriate, in meetings of a Federal
Interagency Employment Initiative Workgroup and inform workgroup
members of project activities; and
(5) Participate in, and provide data for, an external evaluation of
the systems-change projects as directed by the Commissioner of the
Rehabilitation Services Administration. The evaluation would examine--
(a) The effect of specific innovative systems-change approaches and
strategies on State or local agency policies, practices, or rules
affecting the employment of individuals with disabilities; (b) The
effect of specific innovative systems-change approaches and strategies
on increasing the number of individuals with disabilities who obtain
competitive employment, including job retention, promotion, and
satisfaction, and wage growth; and (c) The cost effectiveness of
employment supports and services implemented by the project.
[[Page 20141]]
Definitions
Competitive employment, as defined in 34 CFR 361.5(b)(10), means
work in the competitive labor market that is performed on a full-time
or part-time basis in an integrated setting, and for which an
individual is compensated at or above the minimum wage, but not less
than the customary wage and level of benefits paid by the employer for
the same or similar work performed by individuals who are not disabled.
Consortium means a group of eligible parties formed by the
applicant seeking a Federal award under this priority. Members of the
consortium shall enter into an agreement and carry out their
responsibilities consistent with the requirements in paragraph (A) of
the priority. Members of the consortium shall also ensure that project
partners carry out their agreed-upon activities.
Disability with respect to an individual means a physical or mental
impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life
activities of that individual, having a record of such an impairment,
or being regarded as having such an impairment.
Locality means specific geographical areas within a State or
States.
Partner means an entity with which the consortium has entered into
an agreement to carry out specific activities, goals, and objectives of
the project.
Partnership agreement means a written arrangement between a
consortium and its partners to carry out specific activities related to
the project.
Public Support means Federal, State, and local public programs that
provide resources or services to individuals with disabilities. These
programs include, but are not limited to, Temporary Aid to Needy
Families (TANF), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Social Security
Disability Income (SSDI), Medicaid (including Medicaid waiver
programs), Medicare, subsidized housing, and food stamps.
Region means two or more States participating in the project.
Competitive Preference Priority: Within the absolute preference
priority for this competition for FY 2001, under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i)
we add a competitive preference to applications that are otherwise
eligible for funding under this program.
The maximum score under the selection criteria for this program is
100 points; however, we will also use the following competitive
preference so that up to an additional 10 points may be earned by an
applicant for a total possible score of 110 points.
Up to 10 points may be earned based on the extent to which an
application includes effective strategies for employing and advancing
in employment qualified individuals with disabilities as project
employees in projects awarded under this program. In determining the
effectiveness of those strategies, we will consider the applicant's
prior success, as described in the application, in employing and
advancing in employment qualified individuals with disabilities.
Therefore, within this competitive preference, applicants can be
awarded up to a total of 10 points in addition to those awarded under
the published selection criteria for this program. That is, an
applicant meeting this competitive preference could earn a maximum
total of 110 points.
Selection Criteria: In evaluating an application for a new grant
under this competition, we use selection criteria chosen from the
general selection criteria in 34 CFR 75.210 of EDGAR. The selection
criteria to be used for this competition will be provided in the
application package for this competition.
For Applications Contact: Education Publications Center (ED Pubs),
P.O. Box 1398, Jessup, MD 20794-1398. Telephone (toll free): 1-877-433-
7827. FAX: 301-470-1244. If you use a telecommunications device for the
deaf (TDD), you may call (toll free): 1-877-576-7734.
You may also contact ED Pubs at its Web site: http://www.ed.gov/
pubs/edpubs.html.
Or you may contact ED Pubs at its e-mail address:
edpubs@inet.ed.gov.
If you request an application from ED Pubs, be sure to identify
this competition as follows: CFDA No. 84.235B.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of the application
package in an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print,
audiotape, or computer diskette) by contacting the Grants and Contracts
Services Team, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW.,
room 3317, Switzer Building, Washington, DC 20202-2550. Telephone:
(202) 205-8351. If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf
(TDD), you may call the Federal Information Relay Services (FIRS) at 1-
800-877-8339. However, the Department is not able to reproduce in an
alternative format the standard forms included in the application
package.
For Further Information Contact: Sonja T. Turner, Competition
Manager, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room
3322, Switzer Building, Washington, DC. 20202-2650. Telephone: (202)
205-9396. If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD),
you may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-
8339.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain this notice in an
alternative format on request to the contact person listed in the
preceding paragraph.
Please note: Applications are to be requested only from ED Pubs
as listed in the FOR APPLICATIONS CONTACT section.
Electronic Access to This Document
You may view this document, as well as all other Department of
Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe
Portable Document Format (PDF) on the Internet at the following site:
www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister
To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available
free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF, call the U.S.
Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in
the Washington, DC, area at (202) 512-1530.
Note: The official version of this document is the document
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal
Regulations is available on GPO Access at: http://
www.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html.
Program Authority: 29 U.S.C. 773(b).
Dated: April 13, 2001.
Francis V. Corrigan,
Deputy Director, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation
Research.
[FR Doc. 01-9655 Filed 4-18-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-U