[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 150 (Tuesday, August 5, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46422-46424]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-19876]



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Part V





Department of Education





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Special Demonstration Programs--Model Demonstration Projects--Mentoring 
for Transition-Age Youth and Young Adults With Disabilities; Inviting 
Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2003; Notices

  Federal Register / Vol. 68, No. 150 / Tuesday, August 5, 2003 / 
Notices  

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

RIN 1820-ZA28


Special Demonstration Programs--Model Demonstration Projects--
Mentoring for Transition-Age Youth and Young Adults With Disabilities

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

ACTION: Notice of proposed priority, definitions, and application 
requirements.

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SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary for Special Education and 
Rehabilitative Services proposes a priority, definitions, and 
application requirements under the Special Demonstration Programs 
focusing on mentoring models that provide appropriate supports for 
transition-age youth and young adults with disabilities. The mentoring 
models developed under this program must incorporate effective, 
research-based mentoring methods. The Assistant Secretary may use this 
priority, definitions, and the requirements for competitions in fiscal 
year (FY) 2003 and later years. We take this action to increase 
meaningful postsecondary education and quality employment outcomes 
through a mentoring system within State vocational rehabilitation (VR) 
agencies. Grants would be made to State VR agencies.

DATES: We must receive your comments on or before September 4, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Address all comments about this proposed priority, 
definitions, and application requirements to Alfreda Reeves, U.S. 
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 3314, Switzer 
Building, Washington, DC 20202-2645. If you prefer to send your 
comments through the Internet, use one of the following addresses: 
[email protected] or [email protected].
    You must include the term ``Mentoring Model Demonstration'' in the 
subject line of your electronic message.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alfreda Reeves. Telephone: (202) 205-
9361 or via Internet: [email protected]. Or Pamela Martin, U.S. 
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 3314, Switzer 
Building, Washington, DC 20202-2645. Telephone: (202) 205-8494 or via 
Internet: [email protected].
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may 
call the TDD number at (202) 205-4475.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an 
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer 
diskette) on request to one of the contact persons listed under FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Invitation to Comment

    We invite you to submit comments regarding this proposed priority, 
definitions, and application requirements. To ensure that your comments 
have maximum effect in developing the notice of final priority, 
definitions, and application requirements, we urge you to be specific 
about any recommended changes. We are particularly interested in 
receiving comments on the following topics:
    1. The definitions of ``mentor'' and ``mentoring'' as they appear 
in this notice.
    2. The requirement to collaborate with a consumer-controlled 
organization.
    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 this notice. 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 this proposed priority, definitions, and application 
requirements in room 3038, 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 this proposed priority, definitions, and 
application requirements. If you want to schedule an appointment for 
this type of aid, please contact one of the individuals listed under 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
    We will announce the final priority, definitions, and application 
requirements in a notice in the Federal Register. We will determine the 
final priority, definitions, and application requirements 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 this proposed priority, definitions, and 
application requirements, we invite applications through a notice in 
the Federal Register. When inviting applications we designate the 
priority 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 competitive priority (34 CFR 
75.105(c)(2)(i)); or (2) selecting an application that meets the 
competitive 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 
invitational priority a competitive or absolute preference over other 
applications (34 CFR 75.105(c)(1)).

Priority

Proposed Priority--Model Demonstration Projects--Mentoring for 
Transition-Age Youth and Young Adults With Disabilities

    These model demonstration projects would test whether increases in 
meaningful postsecondary education and quality employment outcomes can 
be achieved through the use of mentors by State VR agencies.
    The program will be conducted under section 303(b) of the 
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The proposed priority 
supports section 303(b) by furthering the purposes of the Act, 
specifically by empowering individuals with disabilities to maximize 
employment, economic self-sufficiency, independence, and inclusion and 
integration into society.

Background

    The educational and employment achievements of youth and young 
adults with disabilities lag significantly behind those of their peers 
without disabilities. The Office of Special Education

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Programs reports that only 57.4 percent of youth with disabilities 
graduate from high school with a standard diploma. In addition, the 
Final Report of the Presidential Task Force on Employment of Adults 
with Disabilities, July 2002, estimates that only one-third of youth 
and young adults with disabilities receive appropriate job training and 
assistance. Some of the barriers to autonomy and achievement 
encountered by youth and young adults with disabilities include 
uncoordinated approaches to transition across service systems, 
discontinuity between schools and adult disability services, poor 
preparation of teens for adult life, lack of incentives or supports for 
early transition planning, and lack of school and community supports.
    For transitioning youth and young adults with disabilities, 
developing positive self-confidence, resilience, and an expectation for 
achievement in a competitive, high'quality career must take place early 
in their academic career. Mentors or role models with whom students can 
identify, and who have shared interests, can have a positive impact 
that will last a lifetime. These individuals can play a vital role in 
eliminating barriers to autonomy, community integration, and 
achievement by motivating youth and young adults with disabilities to 
develop social competence, academic motivation, career awareness, and 
other appropriate skills needed for employment and independent living. 
Successful mentoring programs under this model demonstration program 
will provide appropriate supports, based on the individual's unique 
strengths, priorities, concerns, abilities, capabilities, interests, 
and informed choice. An overall objective of the mentoring program is 
to encourage youth and young adults with disabilities in meeting and 
achieving a desired optimal career goal or postsecondary education.

Priority

    Under 34 CFR 75.105(b)(2)(v) and 34 CFR 373.6(b)(2) and (c)(8), 
this priority supports projects that demonstrate mentoring models 
focusing on transitioning youth and young adults with disabilities that 
will be effective in increasing meaningful community integration, 
postsecondary education, and employment outcomes. The mentoring models 
developed under this program must incorporate effective, research-based 
mentoring methods. An external evaluation of these projects will be 
initiated in FY 2004. The projects must cooperate with the external 
evaluator including establishing a common data system.
A. Definitions
    Mentor means a more successful, experienced person with a 
disability, who can be most appropriately matched with the youth with a 
disability and who can impart advice, support, insight, and knowledge 
on employment and other life activities to a less experienced person. 
State VR agencies should match mentors and mentees using the best 
individualized information possible.
    Mentoring means the act of a more successful, experienced person or 
persons with a disability, working with a less experienced youth or 
young adult, or a group of individuals, by providing guidance in the 
form of teaching and support, encouraging and motivating, assisting 
with career and professional development, assisting with goal 
achievement, and linking the less experienced youth to others who can 
help enhance growth and development.
    Youth and young adults with disabilities, as defined in 34 CFR 
373.4, means individuals with disabilities who are between the ages of 
16 and 26 inclusive when entering the program.
    Consumer-controlled organization is an organization that vests 
power and authority in individuals with disabilities and a majority of 
the officers and members of the board of directors are individuals with 
disabilities.

B. General Requirements for Applicants

    These model demonstration projects must focus on research-based 
mentoring methods that provide appropriate supports for transition-age 
youth and young adults with disabilities. The projects must demonstrate 
research-based mentoring models that will be effective in increasing 
meaningful community integration, postsecondary education, and 
employment outcomes through collaboration between State VR agencies and 
consumer-controlled organizations. To meet the requirements an 
applicant must--
    (1) Describe the manner in which mentoring will increase academic 
achievement, participation in postsecondary education, and high-quality 
employment outcomes for transitioning youth and young adults with 
disabilities by including information on the expected impact and 
outcomes of the project. More specifically, an applicant must project a 
goal of how many youth and young adults with disabilities will 
transition into postsecondary education or will achieve high-quality 
employment outcomes. An applicant also must be specific about what data 
it will collect in order to measure project outcomes against the goal;
    (2) Describe the research-based mentoring models that will be 
demonstrated through its project;
    (3) Describe clear program goals and intended program outcomes and 
well-defined operational guidelines that will support these goals;
    (4) Describe how the project will collaborate with consumer-
controlled organizations that have in-depth knowledge of the 
rehabilitation process, the outreach methods used to select project 
participants, and the criteria by which individuals with disabilities 
will be recruited as mentors by the consumer-controlled organizations;
    (5) Describe how the proposed project will increase self-advocacy, 
high-level personal and career expectations, decisionmaking, and 
adjustment to disability of the mentored individuals. At a minimum, the 
project must describe how mentors will help consumers--
    (a) Navigate through service delivery systems; and
    (b) develop and improve self-confidence, community integration 
skills, work skills, self-determination skills, advocacy, and 
decisionmaking;
    (6) Describe the design and implementation of 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 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;
    (c) The methods of evaluation will provide performance feedback and 
permit periodic assessment of progress toward achieving intended 
outcomes; and
    (d) The methods of evaluation will be consistent with and can 
support the program assessment that will be implemented by the 
Rehabilitation Services Administration; and
    (7) Include a plan to widely disseminate the results of the 
project, including any mentoring methods that demonstrated positive 
results, so the mentoring model may be adapted, replicated, or 
integrated into other State VR agencies and disability organizations.

Executive Order 12866

    This notice of proposed priority, definitions, and application 
requirements has been reviewed in accordance with Executive Order 
12866.

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Under the terms of the order, we have assessed the potential costs and 
benefits of this regulatory action.
    The potential costs associated with this notice are those resulting 
from requirements we have determined as necessary for administering 
this program effectively and efficiently.
    In assessing the potential costs and benefits--both quantitative 
and qualitative--of this notice, we have determined that the benefits 
of the proposed priority, definitions, and application requirements 
justify the costs.
    We have also determined that this regulatory action does not unduly 
interfere with State, local, and tribal governments in the exercise of 
their governmental functions.

Summary of Potential Costs and Benefits

    The Assistant Secretary has determined that the cost to the Federal 
Government associated with this program will not exceed $1,200,000 in 
FY 2003. No other costs will result from the announcement of this 
proposed priority, definitions, and application requirements.
    The benefit of this proposed priority, definitions, and application 
requirements will be the establishment of model demonstration projects 
that will lead to increases in meaningful postsecondary education and 
quality employment outcomes through a mentoring system within State VR 
agencies.

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.

Applicable Program Regulations

    34 CFR part 373.

Electronic Access to This Document

    You may review 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: 
http:// 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 84.235Q, Special 
Demonstration Programs--Model Demonstration Projects--Mentoring for 
Transition-Age Youth and Young Adults With Disabilities)


    Program Authority:  29 U.S.C. 773(b).

    Dated: July 31, 2003.
Robert H. Pasternack,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 03-19876 Filed 8-4-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P