[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 130 (Thursday, July 8, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39424-39425]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-16673]



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Part VI





Department of Education





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Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; National 
Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR)--Disability 
and Rehabilitation Research Projects and Centers Program--
Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers (RRTCs)--Center on 
Employment Policy and Measurement; Overview Information and Notice 
Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 and 
Disability Rehabilitation Research Project (DRRP)--International 
Exchange of Knowledge and Experts in Disability and Rehabilitation 
Research: Overview Information and Notice Inviting Applications for New 
Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2010; Notices

  Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 130 / Thursday, July 8, 2010 / 
Notices  

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research 
(NIDRR)--Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects and Centers 
Program--Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers (RRTCs)--Center 
on Employment Policy and Measurement

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.133B-4.

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

ACTION: Notice of final priority.

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SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary for Special Education and 
Rehabilitative Services announces a priority for the Disability and 
Rehabilitation Research Projects and Centers Program administered by 
NIDRR. Specifically, this notice announces a priority for an RRTC on 
Employment Policy and Measurement. The Assistant Secretary may use this 
priority for competitions in fiscal year (FY) 2010 and later years. We 
take this action to focus research attention on areas of national need. 
We intend this priority to improve rehabilitation services and outcomes 
for individuals with disabilities.

DATES: Effective Date: This priority is effective August 9, 2010.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marlene Spencer, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 5133, Potomac Center Plaza 
(PCP), Washington, DC 20202-2700. Telephone: (202) 245-7532 or by e-
mail: [email protected].
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), call the 
Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free, at 1-800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice of final priority is in concert 
with NIDRR's Final Long-Range Plan for FY 2005-2009 (Plan). The Plan, 
which was published in the Federal Register on February 15, 2006 (71 FR 
8165), can be accessed on the Internet at the following site: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers/nidrr/policy.html.
    Through the implementation of the Plan, NIDRR seeks to: (1) Improve 
the quality and utility of disability and rehabilitation research; (2) 
foster an exchange of expertise, information, and training to 
facilitate the advancement of knowledge and understanding of the unique 
needs of traditionally underserved populations; (3) determine best 
strategies and programs to improve rehabilitation outcomes for 
underserved populations; (4) identify research gaps; (5) identify 
mechanisms of integrating research and practice; and (6) disseminate 
findings.
    Purpose of Program: The purpose of the Disability and 
Rehabilitation Research Projects and Centers Program is to plan and 
conduct research, demonstration projects, training, and related 
activities, including international activities, to develop methods, 
procedures, and rehabilitation technology, that maximize the full 
inclusion and integration into society, employment, independent living, 
family support, and economic and social self-sufficiency of individuals 
with disabilities, especially individuals with the most severe 
disabilities, and to improve the effectiveness of services authorized 
under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (Rehabilitation Act).

RRTC Program

    The purpose of the RRTC program is to improve the effectiveness of 
services authorized under the Rehabilitation Act through advanced 
research, training, technical assistance, and dissemination activities 
in general problem areas, as specified by NIDRR. Such activities are 
designed to benefit rehabilitation service providers, individuals with 
disabilities, and the family members or other authorized 
representatives of individuals with disabilities. In addition, NIDRR 
intends to require all RRTC applicants to meet the requirements of the 
General Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers (RRTC) 
Requirements priority that it published in a notice of final priorities 
in the Federal Register on February 1, 2008 (73 FR 6132). Additional 
information on the RRTC program can be found at: http://www.ed.gov/rschstat/research/pubs/res-program.html#RRTC.

Statutory and Regulatory Requirements of RRTCs

    RRTCs must--
     Carry out coordinated advanced programs of rehabilitation 
research;
     Provide training, including graduate, pre-service, and in-
service training, to help rehabilitation personnel more effectively 
provide rehabilitation services to individuals with disabilities;
     Provide technical assistance to individuals with 
disabilities, their representatives, providers, and other interested 
parties;
     Disseminate informational materials to individuals with 
disabilities, their representatives, providers, and other interested 
parties; and
     Serve as centers of national excellence in rehabilitation 
research for individuals with disabilities, their representatives, 
providers, and other interested parties.
    Applicants for RRTC grants must demonstrate in their applications 
how they will address, in whole or in part, the needs of individuals 
with disabilities from minority backgrounds.
    Program Authority: 29 U.S.C. 762(g) and 764(b)(2).
    Applicable Program Regulations: 34 CFR part 350.
    We published a notice of proposed priority (NPP) for NIDRR's 
Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects and Centers Program in 
the Federal Register on May 13, 2010 (75 FR 26952). The NPP included a 
background statement that described our rationale for the priority 
proposed in that notice.
    There are no differences between the NPP and this notice of final 
priority (NFP) as discussed in the following section.
    Public Comment: In response to our invitation in the NPP, we did 
not receive any substantive comments on the proposed priority.
    Final Priority: The Assistant Secretary for Special Education and 
Rehabilitative Services announces a priority for a Rehabilitation 
Research and Training Center (RRTC) on Employment Policy and 
Measurement. The RRTC must conduct research, knowledge translation, 
training, dissemination, and technical assistance to advance the 
understanding of how government policies, and changes in policies, 
affect employment outcomes of individuals with disabilities and to 
expand the capacity of government agencies, other policy groups, and 
consumer organizations to produce consistent data related to the 
employment of individuals with disabilities. Under this priority, the 
RRTC must contribute to the following outcomes:
    (a) Increased knowledge of government policies and programs that 
affect employment outcomes for individuals with disabilities. The RRTC 
must contribute to this outcome by--
    (1) Conducting rigorous research on the ways in which policies, 
changes in policies, and the interaction of policies such as those 
reflected in the Workforce Investment Act, including the Vocational 
Rehabilitation (VR) State Grants program; the Social Security 
Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income programs; health 
care initiatives; and other Federal or State programs affect employment 
rates for individuals with disabilities. Examples of such policy topics 
include, but are not limited to, the interaction between income support 
programs, poverty, disability, and employment success; the

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interaction between requirements for the VR State Grants and Ticket to 
Work programs; and the policy barriers to successful transition from 
youth to adulthood for young people with disabilities;
    (2) Assessing existing research findings and other materials such 
as agency documents or data to produce timely policy briefs on emerging 
topics related to employment of individuals with disabilities; and
    (3) Identifying statistical methods that can be used to interpret 
and compare data from different programs and data sets that provide 
information on the employment of individuals with disabilities.
    (b) Improved capacity to measure the employment outcomes of 
individuals with disabilities. The RRTC must contribute to this outcome 
by--
    (1) Identifying or developing a framework that includes common 
measures and metrics that capture the different types of employment 
outcomes for individuals with disabilities, including wages, benefits, 
employment retention and re-entry, and opportunities for advancement, 
and that can be used to analyze and compare data across different 
programs; and
    (2) Validating the new measures and metrics by collecting new data 
or analyzing existing data to determine the properties of these 
measures and metrics and their sensitivity to factors that are 
hypothesized to affect employment among people with disabilities.
    (c) Increased incorporation of research findings from the RRTC 
project into practice or policy. The RRTC must contribute to this 
outcome by--
    (1) Collaborating with stakeholder groups to develop, evaluate, or 
implement strategies to increase utilization of research findings;
    (2) Conducting training and dissemination activities to facilitate 
the utilization of research findings by employers, policymakers, and 
individuals with disabilities; and
    (3) Collaborating and sharing information with other agencies 
across the Federal Government through mechanisms such as the 
Interagency Committee on Disability Research.
    In addition, the RRTC must--
    (1) Establish an Interagency Advisory Group that includes, but is 
not limited to, representatives from the Rehabilitation Services 
Administration (RSA), the Office of Disability Employment Policy, the 
Social Security Administration, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid 
Services, and other agencies, as necessary, to ensure that the policy 
topics address the issues of most concern across key agencies and to 
guide development of the measures' framework;
    (2) Collaborate with appropriate NIDRR-funded grantees, including 
knowledge translation grantees and grantees involved with employment 
research; and
    (3) Collaborate with relevant RSA grantees and NIDRR-funded 
Disability and Business Technical Assistance Centers.
    Types of Priorities: When inviting applications for a competition 
using one or more priorities, we designate the type of each priority as 
absolute, competitive preference, or invitational through a notice in 
the Federal Register. 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 (1) 
awarding additional points, depending on 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 priority. 
However, we do not give an application that meets the priority a 
preference over other applications (34 CFR 75.105(c)(1)).
    This notice does not preclude us from proposing additional 
priorities, requirements, definitions, or selection criteria, subject 
to meeting applicable rulemaking requirements.

    Note:  This notice does not solicit applications. In any year in 
which we choose to use this priority, we invite applications through 
a notice in the Federal Register.

    Executive Order 12866: This notice has been reviewed in accordance 
with Executive Order 12866. Under the terms of the order, we have 
assessed the potential costs and benefits of this final regulatory 
action.
    The potential costs associated with this final regulatory action 
are those resulting from statutory requirements and those 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 final regulatory action, we have determined 
that the benefits of the final priority justify the costs.
    Discussion of Costs and Benefits: The benefits of the Disability 
and Rehabilitation Research Projects and Centers Programs have been 
well established over the years in that similar projects have been 
completed successfully. This final priority will generate new knowledge 
through research and development.
    Another benefit of this final priority is that the establishment of 
a new RRTC will improve the lives of individuals with disabilities. The 
new RRTC will disseminate and promote the use of new information that 
will improve the options for individuals with disabilities to obtain, 
retain, and advance in employment.
    Accessible Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this 
document in an accessible 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 5075, PCP, Washington, DC 20202-2550. Telephone: (202) 245-7363. 
If you use a TDD, call the FRS, toll free, at 1-800-877-8339.
    Electronic Access to This Document: You can view this document, as 
well as all other documents of this Department published in the Federal 
Register, in text or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) on the 
Internet at the following site: http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister. To 
use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at 
this site.

    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.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.


    Dated: July 2, 2010.
Alexa Posny,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 2010-16673 Filed 7-7-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P