27806 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 97 /Wednesday, May 20, 1998 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

RIN 1820–ZA11

Systems-Change Projects To Expand

Employment Opportunities for

Individuals With Mental or Physical

Disabilities, or Both, Who Receive

Public Support

AGENCY: Office of Special Education and

Rehabilitative Services, Department of

Education.

ACTION: Notice of proposed priority and

definitions for fiscal year (FY) 1998 and

subsequent years.

SUMMARY: The Secretary proposes a

priority for fiscal year (FY) 1998 and

subsequent years under section 12(a)(3)

of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as

amended (the Act) (29 U.S.C. 762(b)(3)),

authorizing the conduct of special

projects and demonstrations in carrying

out the purposes of the Act. The priority

would support five-year projects to

expand employment outcomes for

individuals with mental or physical

disabilities, or both, who receive public

support. The priority is intended to

enhance collaboration in existing

systems to increase competitive

employment opportunities for

individuals with disabilities who are

participants in public support programs

funded by Federal, State, and local

agencies.

DATES: Comments must be received by

the Department on or before June 19,

1998.

ADDRESSES: All comments concerning

this proposed priority should be

addressed to Dr. Thomas Finch, U.S.

Department of Education, 600

Independence Avenue, SW., Room

3038, MES Building, Washington, DC.

20202–2650. Comments may also be

sent through the Internet to:

comments@ed.gov

You must include the term ‘‘SystemsChange Projects’’ in the subject line of

your electronic message.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Pedro Romero, U.S. Department of

Education, 600 Independence Avenue,

SW., Room 3316, MES Building,

Washington, DC. 20202–2650.

Telephone: (202) 205–9797. Individuals

who use a telecommunications device

for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal

Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–

800–877–8339 between 8 a.m. and 8

p.m., Eastern time, Monday through

Friday.

Individuals with disabilities may

obtain this document in an alternate

format (e.g., Braille, large print,

audiotape, or computer diskette) on

request to the contact person listed in

the preceding paragraph.

Electronic Access to This Document

Anyone may view this document, as

well as all other Department of

Education documents published in the

Federal Register, in text or portable

document format (pdf) on the World

Wide Web at either of the following

sites:

http://ocfo.ed.gov/fedreg.htm

http://www.ed.gov/news.html

To use the pdf you must have the Adobe

Acrobat Reader Program with Search,

which is available free at either of the

previous sites. If you have questions

about using the pdf, call the U.S.

Government Printing Office toll free at

1–888–293–6498.

Anyone may also view these

documents in text copy only on an

electronic bulletin board of the

Department. Telephone: (202) 219–1511

or, toll free, 1–800–222–4922. The

documents are located under option G—

Files/Announcements, Bulletins and

Press Releases.

Note: The official version of this document

is the document published in the Federal

Register.

Goals 2000: Educate America Act

The Goals 2000: Educate America Act

(Goals 2000) focuses the Nation’s

education reform efforts on the eight

National Education Goals and provides

a framework for meeting them. Goals

2000 promotes new partnerships to

strengthen schools and expands the

Department’s capacities for helping

communities to exchange ideas and

obtain information needed to achieve

the goals.

This proposed priority would address

the National Education Goal that every

adult American, including individuals

with disabilities, will possess the

knowledge and skills necessary to

compete in a global economy and

exercise the rights and responsibilities

of citizenship.

The Secretary will announce the final

priority in a notice in the Federal

Register. The final priority will be

determined by responses to this notice,

available funds, and other

considerations. Funding of particular

projects depends on the availability of

funds, the nature of the final priority,

and the quality of the applications

received. The publication of this

proposed priority does not preclude the

Secretary from proposing or funding

additional priorities, subject to meeting

applicable rulemaking requirements.

Note: This notice of proposed priority does

not solicit applications. In any year in which

the Secretary chooses to use this proposed

priority, the Secretary invites applications

through a notice in the Federal Register.

Priority

Background

According to the 1994 Harris Survey

of Americans with Disabilities, twothirds of individuals with disabilities

between the ages of 16 and 64 are not

working. Many of these individuals

receive financial support or services

through programs funded by Federal,

State, and local agencies. Examples of

these programs include 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.

Statistical data reveal that of the 32

percent of adult recipients of Aid to

Families with Dependent Children

(AFDC) who had a work or functional

disability, 15 percent were able to work

despite their functional limitations

(National Health Interview Survey on

Disability, U.S. Department of Health

and Human Services, 1994). Studies

conducted in Kansas and Washington

indicate that up to 60 percent of the

current TANF recipients in those States

have some type of disability. At the

same time, the TANF program requires

recipients to work and also limits the

length of TANF assistance—recent

developments that further underscore

the need to reduce barriers to

employment confronted by individuals

with disabilities on public support.

In addition, the proportion of

individuals with disabilities receiving

public support through SSI or SSDI

continues to increase. Over the past

decade, the total number of SSI and

SSDI beneficiaries has doubled, and

cash payments for these individuals

increased to over $55 billion (World

Institute on Disability, 1996). Social

Security recipients often do not work

since they would lose their Social

Security and Medicaid benefits if their

earnings increased beyond a threshold

level. Thus, few individuals leave the

Social Security system. New adult SSI

recipients receive benefits for an average

of 10 years, whereas individuals who

receive SSI benefits as children remain

on the rolls for an average of

approximately 27 years (Rupp and

Scott, 1995).

Many individuals participating in

public support programs, including the

programs discussed previously, are

unable to obtain the services or supports

they need to become competitively

employed and achieve economic

independence. Employment training
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 97 /Wednesday, May 20, 1998 / Notices 27807

programs that serve the general

population, as well as employers

themselves, are often unable to meet the

specialized needs of these individuals.

In addition, individuals with disabilities

who are not eligible for State vocational

rehabilitation services, or who do not

believe that they need a comprehensive

rehabilitation program, are still unlikely

to receive work-related services from

employment training programs that

serve the general population.

Consequently, many individuals with

disabilities who are capable of working

essentially ‘‘fall between the cracks.’’

The Secretary expects that the models

developed under the proposed priority

will demonstrate how employment

training and other related programs can

more effectively coordinate services so

that individuals with disabilities can

obtain employment.

Seventy-nine percent of unemployed

individuals with disabilities have

indicated that they would prefer to be

working (Harris Survey, 1994). The

combination of the high costs associated

with living with a disability, workrelated expenses, and the reduction in

public supports available to persons

once they become employed often

dissuade individuals with disabilities

from pursuing competitive work. Some

of the specific barriers to the

employment that individuals with

disabilities commonly confront

include—

• Lack of adequate health insurance

(e.g., individuals’ fear of losing public

health care coverage, inability to obtain

private medical insurance, or limited

access to treatment and prescription

services);

• Underutilization of existing work

incentives from Social Security and

other State and local agencies (e.g., Plan

for Achieving Self Support (PASS), and

Impairment Related Work Expenses,

section 1619a and b of the Social

Security Act);

• Lack of affordable, accessible

housing and transportation;

• Insufficient education and training

services;

• Lack of child care;

• Inadequate supports for employees

with disabilities (e.g., onsite and offsite

job accommodations and long-term

follow-along services); and

• Inadequate supports for employers

(e.g., incentives for hiring, retaining,

and promoting individuals with

disabilities and technical assistance and

follow-along consultation to assist

employers in addressing the ongoing

needs of employees with disabilities

and to clarify employer misperceptions

and misinformation).

Lack of information and coordination

of public support programs can cause

program-related barriers that inhibit

individuals with disabilities from

effectively using available services. In

many instances, individuals with

disabilities are simply unaware of

existing employment-related programs,

work incentives, or available services.

Another common barrier is the lack of

coordination between separate programs

with separate eligibility criteria even

though the same individuals often

require services from each program. The

Secretary expects projects to address

these types of program-related barriers,

as well as any other type of barrier that

impedes individuals with disabilities

from becoming employed and selfsufficient.

There is a critical need for greater

coordination between multiple public

programs that support individuals with

disabilities that would foster increased

economic self-sufficiency and a more

efficient use of public resources. In an

effort to address this need, the Secretary

proposes the following priority in order

to provide a framework for assisting

individuals with disabilities to reduce

their reliance on various public support

programs and obtain and maintain

employment in the competitive labor

market.

The requirements in the priority are

designed to facilitate systems-change

projects that eliminate barriers to

employment for individuals with

disabilities and are based on existing

studies and reports, the experiences of

State vocational rehabilitation agencies

in working with individuals

participating in other public support

programs, and on information provided

by other Federal agencies that

administer disability-related programs.

These Federal agencies were

particularly helpful in assisting the

Secretary to identify the employmentrelated barriers confronted by

individuals with disabilities that the

Secretary proposes to target through this

priority and to identify the types of

State agencies whose participation in

the project would be most critical to

eliminating those barriers. The

identified State agencies would serve as

members of a consortium that the

systems-change project would establish

under paragraph (A) of the priority.

The Secretary emphasizes that the

model systems-change projects that

would be supported under this priority

are part of a larger effort on the part of

the Federal Government to create a

coordinated and aggressive national

policy to reduce the unemployment rate

of individuals with disabilities and to

assist those individuals in obtaining

competitive jobs. This effort is directly

reflected in Executive Order 13078,

signed on March 13, 1998, entitled

‘‘Increasing Employment of Adults With

Disabilities’’ (63 FR 13111, March 18,

1998). For example, Executive Order

13078, in part, calls for an analysis of

existing programs and policies to

determine what modifications and

innovations may be necessary to remove

work-related barriers experienced by

individuals with disabilities; the

development and recommendation of

options for eliminating barriers to health

insurance coverage for those with

disabilities; and an analysis of workrelated youth programs and the

outcomes of these programs for young

people with disabilities. The Secretary

proposes the following priority as one

means of addressing the purposes of

Executive Order 13078. As other Federal

agencies design and carry out activities

in response to the Executive order, it is

expected that many of those activities

will complement the systems-change

projects funded under this priority.

The Secretary also emphasizes the

need for projects supported under this

priority to begin implementing

strategies for removing barriers early in

the project period in order for the

project to have a measurable effect on

the rate by which individuals with

disabilities become competitively

employed. For that reason, the Secretary

expects project recipients to work with

Rehabilitation Services Administration

staff to ensure that planning steps,

including development of partnership

agreements and, if appropriate,

submission of Medicaid waiver requests

under paragraph (C) of the priority, are

promptly completed and that projects

begin implementing their barrierremoval strategies as soon as possible.

The purpose of the proposed absolute

priority is to establish five-year model

demonstration projects that stimulate

and advance systems-change in order to

expand 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, SSDI, Medicaid, Medicare,

subsidized housing, and food stamps,

etc.)

Absolute Priority

Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3) and

section 12(a)(3) of the Act, the Secretary

proposes to give an absolute preference

to applications that meet the following

priority. The Secretary proposes to fund

under this competition only

applications that meet this absolute

priority:
27808 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 97 /Wednesday, May 20, 1998 / Notices

A. General Requirements for Applicants

Applicants under this priority shall

satisfy the following requirements:

(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 nonprofit 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. Each

consortium member’s advisory council,

if the member has such a council, shall

also participate 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) 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 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, consortia 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

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, satisfaction, and wage

growth; and (c) The cost effectiveness of

employment supports and services

implemented by the project.

Proposed Definitions

Consortium means a group of eligible

parties formed by the applicant seeking

a Federal award under this priority.

Members of the consortium shall enter
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 97 /Wednesday, May 20, 1998 / Notices 27809

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.

Selection Criteria

In evaluating an application for a new

grant under this competition, the

Secretary uses selection criteria chosen

from the general selection criteria in

§ 75.210 of the Education Department

General Administrative Regulations.

The selection criteria to be used for this

competition will be provided in the

application package for this

competition.

Executive Order 12866

This proposed priority has been

reviewed in accordance with Executive

Order 12866. Under the terms of the

order the Secretary has assessed the

potential costs and benefits of this

regulatory action.

The Secretary has determined that

there are no costs associated with this

priority. Announcement of the priority

would not result in costs to State and

local governments, recipients of grant

funds, or to individuals with disabilities

and their families. The benefit from this

priority would be to focus activities and

Federal assistance on increasing

competitive employment outcomes for

individuals with disabilities who are

participants in public support programs

through enhanced collaboration and

coordination.

The Secretary has also determined

that this regulatory action does not

unduly interfere with State, local, and

tribal governments in the exercise of

their governmental functions.

To assist the Department in

complying with the specific

requirements of Executive Order 12866,

the Secretary invites comment on

whether there may be opportunities to

increase potential benefits resulting

from this proposed priority without

impeding the effective and efficient

administration of the program.

Intergovernmental Review

This program is subject to the

requirements of Executive Order 12372

and the regulations in 34 CFR part 79.

The objective of the Executive order is

to foster an intergovernmental

partnership and a strengthened

federalism by relying on processes

developed by State and local

governments for coordination and

review of proposed Federal financial

assistance.

In accordance with the order, this

document is intended to provide early

notification of the Department’s specific

plans and actions for this program.

Invitation To Comment

Interested persons are invited to

submit comments and recommendations

regarding this proposed priority. The

Secretary is particularly interested in

receiving comments on the composition

of the consortium and other consortium

requirements. In addition, the Secretary

invites comment on whether it is

appropriate or feasible for a consortium

to serve more than one State.

All comments submitted in response

to this proposed priority will be

available for public inspection, during

and after the comment period, in Room

3038, MES Building, 330 C Street, S.W.,

Washington, DC, between the hours of

8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Eastern time,

Monday through Friday of each week

except Federal holidays.

On request the Department supplies

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

docket for this proposed priority. An

individual with a disability who wants

to schedule an appointment for this type

of aid may call (202) 205–8113 or (202)

260–9895. An individual who uses a

TDD may call the Federal Information

Relay Service at 1–800–877–8339

between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern time,

Monday through Friday.

Program Authority: 29 U.S.C. 762(b)(3).

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Number has not been assigned)

Dated: March 24, 1998.

Judith E. Heumann,

Assistant Secretary for Special Education and

Rehabilitative Services.

[FR Doc. 98–13398 Filed 5–19–98; 8:45 am]

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