[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 229 (Wednesday, November 28, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59526-59528]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-29509]



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Part II





Department of Education





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Capacity Building for Traditionally Underserved Populations; Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 66 , No. 229 / Wednesday, November 28, 2001 / 
Notices  

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Capacity Building for Traditionally Underserved Populations

AGENCY: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, 
Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of proposed priorities.

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SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary for the Office of Special Education 
and Rehabilitative Services proposes priorities under the Capacity 
Building for Traditionally Underserved Populations program. The 
Assistant Secretary may use these priorities for competitions in fiscal 
year (FY) 2002 and in later years. We take this action to focus on 
meeting the needs of traditionally underserved populations. We intend 
these priorities to enhance and improve the capacity of minority 
entities to compete for Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) 
discretionary grants and to improve services provided to minority 
people with disabilities under programs that are authorized under the 
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (the Act).

DATES: We must receive your comments on or before December 28, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Address all comments about these proposed priorities to 
Ellen Chesley, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., 
room 3318, Switzer Building, Washington, DC 20202-2649. If you prefer 
to send your comments through the Internet, use the following address: 
[email protected]
    You must include the term ``Capacity Building for Traditionally 
Underserved Populations'' in the subject line of your electronic 
message.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ellen Chesley. Telephone: (202) 205-
9481 or via Internet: [email protected]
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may 
call the TDD number at (202) 205-8133.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an 
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer 
diskette) on request to the contact person listed under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Invitation To Comment

    We invite you to submit comments regarding these proposed 
priorities. To ensure that your comments have maximum effect in 
developing the notice of final priorities, we urge you to identify 
clearly the specific proposed priority that each comment addresses.
    We invite you to assist us in complying with the specific 
requirements of Executive Order 12866 and its overall requirement of 
reducing regulatory burden that might result from these proposed 
priorities. Please let us know of any further opportunities we should 
take to reduce potential costs or increase potential benefits while 
preserving the effective and efficient administration of the program.
    During and after the comment period, you may inspect all public 
comments about these proposed priorities in room 3414, Switzer 
Building, 330 C Street SW., Washington, DC, between the hours of 8:30 
a.m. and 4 p.m., Eastern time, Monday through Friday of each week 
except Federal holidays.

Assistance to Individuals With Disabilities in Reviewing the 
Rulemaking Record

    On request, we will supply an appropriate aid, such as a reader or 
print magnifier, to an individual with a disability who needs 
assistance to review the comments or other documents in the public 
rulemaking record for these proposed priorities. If you want to 
schedule an appointment for this type of aid, you may call (202) 205-
8113 or (202) 260-9895. If you use a TDD, you may call the Federal 
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
    We will announce the final priorities in a notice in the Federal 
Register. We will determine the final priorities after considering 
responses to this notice and other information available to the 
Department. This notice does not preclude us from proposing or funding 
additional priorities, subject to meeting applicable rulemaking 
requirements.

    Note: This notice does not solicit applications. In any year in 
which we choose to use these proposed priorities, we invite 
applications through a notice in the Federal Register. When inviting 
applications we designate the priorities as absolute, competitive 
preference, or invitational. The effect of each type of priority 
follows:

    Absolute priority: Under an absolute priority we consider only 
applications that meet the priority (34 CFR 75.105(c)(3)).
    Competitive preference priority: Under a competitive preference 
priority we give competitive preference to an application by either (1) 
awarding additional points, depending on how well or the extent to 
which the application meets the priority (34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i)); or 
(2) selecting an application that meets the priority over an 
application of comparable merit that does not meet the priority (34 CFR 
75.105(c)(2)(ii)).
    Invitational priority: Under an invitational priority we are 
particularly interested in applications that meet the invitational 
priority. However, we do not give an application that meets the 
priority a competitive or absolute preference over other applications 
(34 CFR 75.105(c)(1)).

Priorities: Capacity Building for Traditionally Underserved 
Populations General

    The authority for us to establish priorities under the Capacity 
Building for Traditionally Underserved Populations program by reserving 
funds to support training, technical assistance, capacity building, and 
service improvement activities is in section 21 of the Act (29 U.S.C. 
718b). Under this program, we make awards to public agencies and 
private agencies and organizations, including institutions of higher 
education, Indian tribes, and tribal organizations. This program is 
designed for the support of projects that would provide training, 
technical assistance, or related activities in order to improve 
services provided under the Act, especially services provided to 
individuals from minority backgrounds. Further, section 21 speaks to 
enhancing the capacity and increasing the participation of ``minority 
entities'' in programs funded under the Act. ``Minority entity'' is 
defined under section 21(b)(5) of the Act as a historically Black 
college or university, Hispanic-serving institution of higher 
education, American Indian tribal college or university, or another 
institution of higher education whose minority student enrollment is at 
least 50 percent.
    Under section 21 of the Act, RSA and the National Institute on 
Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) reserve 1 percent of 
funds budgeted for titles II, III, VI, and VII of the Act to carry out 
activities related to improving services to people with disabilities 
from racial and ethnic minority backgrounds. Further, section 21 
provides that one of the following three types of awards be made to 
carry out section 21 activities: (1) Making awards to minority entities 
and Indian tribes to carry out activities under the programs authorized 
under titles II, III, VI, and VII. (2) Making awards to minority 
entities and Indian tribes to conduct research, training, technical 
assistance, or a related activity to improve services provided under 
the Act, especially services provided to individuals from minority 
backgrounds. (3) Making awards to a State or a public or a private 
nonprofit agency or organization, such as an institution of higher 
education or an Indian tribe, to

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provide outreach and technical assistance to minority entities and 
Indian tribes to promote their participation in activities funded under 
the Act, including assistance to enhance their capacity to carry out 
those activities.
    We propose to fund projects that would focus on training, technical 
assistance, or related activities that would improve services provided 
under the Act, especially services provided to individuals from racial 
and ethnic minority backgrounds.

Proposed Priority 1--Train Staff of the Independent Living Services 
for Older Individuals Who Are Blind Program

    Background: According to internal RSA staff review of narrative 
reports by grantees of the Independent Living Services for Older 
Individuals Who Are Blind program, statistics show that an increasing 
number of minorities, especially African-Americans, will develop 
blindness and other significant visual impairments due to other medical 
conditions, such as diabetes and glaucoma. Further, in large States 
like California and Florida with significant racial and ethnic minority 
populations, statistics have shown that these populations are 
underserved.
    In a recent analysis of this program's grantees' annual reports 
conducted by the Mississippi State University Rehabilitation and 
Research Training Center, two significant findings suggest that (1) of 
those served by this program, less than 10 percent were racial and 
ethnic minority consumers, and (2) racial and ethnic minority consumers 
are receiving information about techniques of daily living services in 
their homes with less frequency than their white counterparts.
    These findings by the Mississippi State University Rehabilitation 
and Research Training Center further suggest that outreach services and 
information about independent living services to older blind 
individuals are not being disseminated to African-Americans, Native 
Americans, Pacific Islanders, and Hispanic-Americans with glaucoma and 
diabetic retinopathy who live in urban areas.
    Therefore, an awareness about the lack of peer support group 
activities within racially and ethnically diverse communities may not 
be realized by a significant number of grantees and other private 
organizations serving older blind individuals with visual disabilities.
    Priority: We propose to fund a project that meets this priority. 
The project funded must meet the requirements in section 21(b)(2)(B) of 
the Act. A project must provide training that would--
    (1) Increase the capacity and skills of staff of federally funded 
independent living programs serving older blind minority consumers in 
networking towards building trust within racial and ethnic minority 
communities;
    (2) Increase the ability of staff of federally funded independent 
living programs serving older blind racial and ethnic minority 
consumers to identify and build partnerships with key or specific 
organizations and resources that provide infrastructure supports and 
specialized services to racial and ethnic minority consumers and their 
families;
    (3) Increase the skills and capacity of staff of federally funded 
independent living programs serving older blind racial and ethnic 
minority consumers to understand family and community values and 
traditions of aging racial and ethnic minority consumers that will lead 
to improved methods of effective communication and dissemination of 
information about independent living services and other related 
resources for aging individuals with visual disabilities.
    A project must--
    (1) Partner or collaborate with other key institutions and agencies 
that have expertise in this training, technical assistance, and 
networking area;
    (2) Develop a regional training and technical assistance activity 
that will enhance and improve the knowledge and skills of staff of 
federally funded independent living programs (i.e., field professionals 
and direct service providers) serving older blind consumers and improve 
outreach to racial and ethnic minority consumers and communities to 
increase their involvement in the independent living program funded 
under the Act;
    (3) Provide training and technical assistance based upon a needs 
assessment of the region or geographical area being assisted;
    (4) Include an evaluation component based upon clear, specific 
performance and outcome measures; and
    (5) Report the results of the evaluation in its annual performance 
report.
    Training must focus on the following:
    (1) Specific methods on how to integrate and build alliances with 
key organizations, institutions, and individuals within a community to 
reach older individuals who are blind from racial and ethnic minority 
backgrounds.
    (2) Specific training on how to identify, develop, and evaluate 
appropriate mediums of communication in disseminating critical 
information about this program.
    (3) Specific training on the definitions of blindness and 
disability in the context of racial and ethnic minority cultures and 
the attitudes associated with these terms.
    (4) Specific training on the implication of health-related 
conditions associated with certain racial and ethnic minority groups 
(i.e., diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, hypertension, etc.).
    (5) Specific training on what are some of the ``promising 
practices'' that are currently being used to educate consumers from 
racial and ethnic minority groups about these medical conditions and 
their relationship to blindness.

Proposed Priority 2--Community Rehabilitation Programs

    Background: Section 21 of the Act states that minorities tend to 
have a disproportionately high rate of disability and that patterns of 
inequitable treatment have been documented in all major junctures of 
the vocational rehabilitation process. According to section 21 of the 
Act, as compared to white Americans, a larger percentage of African-
American applicants to the vocational rehabilitation (VR) system are 
denied acceptance. Of applicants accepted for service, a larger 
percentage of African-American cases are closed without being 
rehabilitated. Minorities are provided less training than their white 
counterparts. Consistently, less money is spent on minorities than on 
their white counterparts.
    Priority: We propose to fund projects that meet the priority. 
Projects funded must meet the requirements in section 21(b)(2)(B) of 
the Act.
    Projects must--
    (1) Focus on referring more minorities currently served by 
community rehabilitation programs having service agreements, as well as 
those not having service agreements, to the vocational rehabilitation 
system;
    (2) Target community rehabilitation programs serving large numbers 
of minorities with disabilities;
    (3) Involve partnerships with community rehabilitation programs 
that serve significant numbers of minorities with disabilities;
    (4) Provide training on diversity;
    (5) Develop and conduct a survey that looks at why clients and 
consumers from minority backgrounds are reluctant to enter, remain in, 
or successfully exit the vocational rehabilitation program;
    (6) Design and implement strategies that address the findings of 
the survey to increase the numbers of clients and consumers from 
minority backgrounds who successfully navigate through the vocational 
rehabilitation system;

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    (7) Identify effective practice models for service provision to 
unserved and underserved populations;
    (8) Disseminate those models across the United States to community 
rehabilitation program sites used by minority persons with 
disabilities;
    (9) Disseminate information about the vocational rehabilitation 
program and its potential benefits to minorities and other appropriate 
community agencies and organizations involved in community outreach 
activities;
    (10) Enhance the capacity of clinics and outreach personnel to 
detect and respond to potential clients and consumers who are reluctant 
to enter the vocational rehabilitation system;
    (11) Employ public relations and marketing strategies to highlight 
the vocational rehabilitation program in minority communities;
    (12) Include an evaluation component based upon clear, specific 
performance and outcome measures; and
    (13) Report the results of the evaluation in its annual performance 
report.

Proposed Priority 3--Establishing New Rehabilitation Training 
Programs

    Background: Section 21(a)(4) addresses the need for recruitment 
efforts within vocational rehabilitation at the level of preservice 
training, continuing education, and in-service training to focus on 
bringing larger numbers of minorities into the vocational 
rehabilitation profession in order to provide appropriate practitioner 
knowledge, role models, and sufficient manpower to address the clearly 
changing demography of vocational rehabilitation. This recruitment 
effort clearly can be addressed by increasing the number of 
rehabilitation training programs at minority institutions of higher 
education, particularly at the associate degree, undergraduate degree, 
and graduate degree levels.
    Priority: We propose to fund projects that meet the following 
priority. Projects funded must meet the requirements in section 
21(b)(2)(B) of the Act.
    Projects must--
    (1) Enhance and increase the capacity of minority institutions of 
higher education to prepare more individuals for careers in the public 
vocational rehabilitation program, including individuals from minority 
backgrounds;
    (2) Be located at minority institutions of higher education, 
including community colleges whose minority student enrollment is at 
least 50 percent, that are interested in establishing new first-time 
rehabilitation training programs at the associate degree, undergraduate 
degree, and graduate degree levels;
    (3) Include an evaluation component based upon clear, specific 
performance and outcome measures; and
    (4) Report the results of the evaluation in its annual performance 
report.

Proposed Priority 4--Capacity Building for Minority Entities

    Priority: We propose to fund projects that meet the priority. 
Projects funded must meet the requirements in section 21(b)(2)(C) of 
the Act.
    Projects must--
    (1) Provide outreach, capacity building, and technical assistance 
to minority entities and Indian tribes to promote their participation 
in activities funded under the Act, including assistance to carry out 
those activities;
    (2) Provide a variety of training and technical assistance 
activities, including grant writing workshops that focus on RSA and 
NIDRR discretionary grant programs, the peer review process, selection 
criteria, training on disability legislation (i.e. Americans with 
Disabilities Act, Rehabilitation Act, etc.), and technical assistance 
to minority entities that are first-time recipients of grants funded 
under the Act in order to increase their ability to carry out their 
grants;
    (3) Include an evaluation component based upon clear, specific 
performance and outcome measures; and
    (4) Report the results of the evaluation in its annual performance 
report.

National Education Goals

    The eight National Education Goals focus the Nation's education 
reform efforts and provide a framework for improving teaching and 
learning.
    These proposed priorities would address the National Education Goal 
that every adult American will be literate and will possess the 
knowledge and skills necessary to compete in a global economy and 
exercise the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.

Intergovernmental Review

    This program is subject to Executive Order 12372 and the 
regulations in 34 CFR part 79. One of the objectives of the Executive 
order is to foster an intergovernmental partnership and a strengthened 
federalism. The Executive order relies on processes developed by State 
and local governments for coordination and review of proposed Federal 
financial assistance.
    This document provides early notification of our specific plans and 
actions for this program.

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


(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 84.315, Capacity 
Building for Traditionally Underserved Populations)


    Program Authority: 29 U.S.C. 718b.

    Dated: November 21, 2001.
Andrew J. Pepin,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative 
Services.
[FR Doc. 01-29509 Filed 11-27-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P