28280 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 103 / Tuesday, May 30, 1995 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

National Institute on Disability and

Rehabilitation Research

Knowledge Dissemination and

Utilization (D&U) Program; Notice of

Final Funding Priority for Fiscal Years

1995–1996 for the Knowledge

Dissemination and Utilization Program

SUMMARY: The Secretary announces a

final funding priority for the Knowledge

Dissemination and Utilization (D&U)

Program under the National Institute on

Disability and Rehabilitation Research

(NIDRR) for fiscal years l995–1996. The

Secretary takes this action to ensure that

rehabilitation knowledge generated from

projects and centers funded by NIDRR

and others is utilized fully to improve

the lives of individuals with disabilities

and their families.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This priority takes effect

on June 29, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

David Esquith, U.S. Department of

Education, 600 Independence Avenue,

SW., Switzer Building, room 3424,

Washington, DC 20202–2601.

Telephone: (202) 205–8801. Individuals

who use a telecommunications device

for the deaf (TDD) may call the TDD

number at (202) 205–8133.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This

notice contains one final priority under

the D&U program, in the area of

community integration for individuals

with mental retardation. Authority for

the D&U program of NIDRR is contained

in sections 202 and 204(a) and 204(b)(6)

of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as

amended (29 U.S.C. 760–762). This

priority supports the National Education

Goal that calls for all Americans to

possess the knowledge and skills

necessary to compete in a global

economy and exercise the rights and

responsibilities of citizenship.

On March 31, 1955, the Secretary

published a notice of proposed priority

in the Federal Register at 60 FR 16760.

The comments received in response to

that notice, and the Secretary’s

responses to them, are discussed in the

following section of this notice.

Analysis of Comments and Responses

The Secretary received 13 letters of

comment prior to the deadline date for

receipt of comments. All but one of

these comments supported the idea of

an information center on community

integration and mental retardation, but

several made suggestions for additional

activities. These comments are

synopsized below, along with the

Secretary’s responses and any changes

to the priority.

Comment: One commenter pointed

out that the Background statement was

misleading in stating that ‘‘48 percent of

all individuals with mental retardation

nationwide resided in large congregate

care settings.’’

Discussion: The Secretary agrees that

the statement should be revised to

clarify that the percentage refers to all

persons residing in other than their

family homes.

Changes: The statement has been

revised to read, ‘‘of the 347,000 persons

with mental retardation who resided in

out-of-home care, 48 percent were in

settings of 16 or more beds.’’

Comment: A number of commenters

urged NIDRR to continue research in the

area of community integration and

mental retardation, and many suggested

specific research topics or areas for

investigation.

Discussion: NIDRR currently

maintains support for four

Rehabilitation Research and Training

Centers (RRTCs) in community

integration for persons with

developmental disabilities, including

mental retardation, and supports

additional work in this area in centers

on families, ADA technical assistance

and training projects, and discrete

research projects. NIDRR expects to

initiate a number of activities to review

these programs, the state-of-the-art, and

opportunities for future research in

order to establish a timely and coherent

agenda of research in community

integration. However, the Secretary has

determined that there is a need for

information and technical assistance to

community-based service providers,

State and local agencies, consumer

advocates, and consumers and their

families about the findings of research,

best practices, and integration strategies.

This priority addresses that need.

Changes: None.

Comment: One commenter urged that

the Department include information to

facilitate community integration for

individuals with mental illness in the

activities under this priority.

Discussion: While the Secretary does

not dispute the possible value of such

an activity, he declines to add it to this

priority for several reasons. First, the

knowledge base on community

integration is different for the two

disability categories, as are the

populations that would be the targets of

the information dissemination and

technical assistance activities. In

addition, NIDRR has just announced a

priority for an RRTC on long-term

mental illness that will work to further

develop and disseminate a knowledge

base in the specific area of peer support

and community integration.

Changes: None.

Comment: One commenter stated that

it is not clear that consumers and their

families are dissatisfied with the

Intermediate Care Facilities (ICFs) that

now exist, and also noted that studies

show ICFs of four to six residents have

favorable integration outcomes.

Discussion: The Secretary agrees that

the dissemination Center must provide

information and assistance that

addresses a range of consumer and

family goals. The background statement

to the proposed priority expressed

agreement with this commenter’s point

in that it did endorse the residential

facility serving ‘‘six or fewer

individuals’’ as a positive model.

Changes: None.

Comment: The same commenter

noted that there are different concerns

among different segments of the

consumer and family populations,

contending that some parent groups

value health and safety while others

focus on inclusion and integration, and

stating that it would be important to

address the range of concerns.

Discussion: The Secretary agrees that

the range of concerns of self advocates

and family advocates should be taken

into consideration, but the primary

focus of this Center is on community

integration because that is one of

NIDRR’s statutorily-mandated

objectives. The Secretary believes that

maintenance of healthy and safe

environments is a component of

successful community integration.

Changes: None.

Comment: One commenter stated that

NIDRR grantees should establish

training and technical assistance

resources with sophisticated knowledge

of local conditions in each State and

that are easily accessed by local

providers.

Discussion: The Secretary believes

this is one strategy grantees could use to

disseminate information, but prefers to

let the applicants present those

approaches to dissemination that they

believe will be most effective.

Changes: None.

Comment: One commenter suggested

that the new Center be required to

inform all State and local government

agencies dealing with mental

retardation of its existence and the type

of services it offers.

Discussion: The Secretary agrees that

it is important that the Center address

the information needs of State and local

government agencies, but believes that

the phrase ‘‘all state and local

government agencies dealing with

mental retardation’’ is too vague and

could pose a potential burden on the

grantee to identify all agencies
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 103 / Tuesday, May 30, 1995 / Notices 28281

regardless of their role. Therefore, the

Secretary has revised the statement of

priority to require that the Center advise

all State Developmental Disabilities

Councils and all State Protection and

Advocacy Systems of its existence and

proposed services.

Changes: The phrase, ‘‘The Center

must advise every State Developmental

Disabilities Council and every State

Protection and Advocacy System of its

existence and proposed services’’, has

been added at the end of the bullet

requiring broad coordination.

Comment: One commenter stated that

it is inappropriate for NIDRR to limit the

work of this Center to community

integration for individuals with mental

retardation since Congress has stated

that ‘‘supported employment’’ is for

people with various types of disabilities,

and people with mental retardation

have resources for extended on-going

support services that people with other

disabilities do not have.

Discussion: The Secretary points out

that the dissemination Center will not

focus primarily on supported

employment and will not provide

resources for extended support services.

NIDRR supports ongoing research and

demonstrations on supported

employment, and on community

integration and independent living, for

persons with physical, sensory, and

emotional disabilities. The purpose of

the Center to be established under this

priority is to compile and disseminate

what has been learned in previous

research and demonstration projects

about community integration strategies

for a population that has often been

institutionalized. Research to promote

community integration is a statutorilyauthorized objective of NIDRR.

Changes: None.

Comment: One commenter

recommended that the priority

specifically detail responsibilities

related to lifelong learning and literacy

education.

Discussion: The Secretary agrees that

literacy and opportunities for lifelong

learning often are important

components of community integration.

However, the Secretary intentionally

elected not to require that any specific

components be addressed, but to

encourage applicants to address those

components that they believe are most

critical and in which there is a

substantial knowledge base for

dissemination. The peer review panel

will assess the appropriateness of the

scope presented by the applicants.

Changes: None.

Comment: One commenter stated that

the priority should require the grantee

to address bankers, lenders, and

financial policymakers in the private

and public sectors to promote mortgage

availability for individuals with mental

retardation.

Discussion: The Secretary elects to

allow applicants to address those

components of community integration

which it believes are most critical and

likely to have the greatest impact on

community integration.

Changes: None.

Note: This notice does not solicit

applications. A notice inviting applications

under this competition is published in the

this issue of the Federal Register.

Priority

Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3) the

Secretary gives an absolute preference to

applications that meet the following

priority. The Secretary will fund under

this program only applications that meet

this absolute priority:

Facilitating Community Integration for

Individuals with Mental Retardation

Background

NIDRR has supported Rehabilitation

Research and Training Centers in the

area of mental retardation and

developmental disabilities since 1965.

In addition, NIDRR has supported a

number of research projects targeted on

this population in areas such as

transition from school to work, public

policy and expenditures for

developmental disabilities in the U.S.,

and successful transitions from nursing

homes into the community. As a result

of such research and training efforts

over many years, a large body of

knowledge now exists relative to

enabling individuals with mental

retardation to live in their communities.

The population in public institutions

for persons with mental retardation has

decreased from 195,000 in 1967 to

81,200 persons in 1991, (Lakin, 1993) as

a result of public policy decisions and

vigorous efforts of public leadership

groups to effect deinstitutionalization.

However, successful integration into

communities that includes residential,

employment, and full participation

components is not easily achieved.

During the past eight years there have

been major developments in the

understanding of community integration

needs and strategies, including: funding

models that allow for individualized

options; systems for assessing support

needs for an individual and in a

community; models for both formal and

informal support systems, and for

integrating the two approaches; and

model strategies for systems change

within States. (Horner, 1994). Yet in

nearly every State, policy and practice

do not reflect these advances in

knowledge and understanding, and do

not take advantage of the best practices

models and implementation strategies

that have evolved through research and

practice.

As a result, innovative supports for

living in their own home or community

are available to very few of those who

potentially could benefit from them.

Many thousands of people with

developmental disabilities continue to

live in private and public institutions

and ‘‘mini-institutions’’ in the

community. In many cases,

‘‘deinstitutionalization has resulted in

trans-institutionalization’’ (Taylor,

1994). There are approximately 64,800

persons with mental retardation and

related conditions who are not receiving

any form of residential services and who

are now on waiting lists for community

residential services (Lakin et al., 1993).

And, of the 347,000 persons with

mental retardation who resided in outof-home care, 48 percent were in

settings of 16 or more beds. However, in

1992, there were 8 States that provided

services to more than 60 percent of

consumers in family-scale settings

serving six or fewer individuals, while

conversely, six States served fewer than

10 percent of their clients in such small

settings (Braddock, 1994).

Thus, there is a demand for

community integration assistance,

coupled with a tremendous variation in

State ability to meet those demands.

This variation in services indicates that

there is a critical need for information

about innovative, state-of the-art

practices and for training and technical

assistance on how to improve policies

and practices on community integration

at the State and community levels.

NIDRR received substantial public

comment on its 1995 proposed

priorities, contending that there is a

national need for information on best

practices for community integration and

a demand for training of service

providers and consumers to help

communities overcome the challenges

of fully including all of their citizens

and their families, and to make

community integration a reality. State

and local policy makers, regulators, and

service agencies, as well as community

service providers require training and

technical assistance to enable them to

address the issues that will emerge as

States and localities move toward a

system of individualized supports.

States and communities require

information and training on policies and

strategies that could assist them in

shifting from a provider-driven to a

consumer-driven service delivery

system. The quality of community
28282 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 103 / Tuesday, May 30, 1995 / Notices

services delivered to persons with

disabilities and their families will also

depend on the ability of educational,

employment and residential service

agencies to effectively address the

training needs of their approximately

250,000 direct service personnel

(Wallace, T. & Johnson, D., 1992 and

Braddock, 1994).

The Secretary believes that there is a

critical need for dissemination of

information on model programs,

integrated statewide systems of service

delivery, exemplary practices, and

systems change strategies. In addition,

there is a need to develop more effective

mechanisms for training communitylevel service providers to ensure the

implementation of best practices, and to

provide training and technical

assistance to consumer-directed selfadvocacy organizations and parent

organizations.

Priority

Under this priority, the Secretary

supports a dissemination and technical

assistance Center that—(1) Identifies

and disseminates exemplary practices in

community integration for individuals

with mental retardation; and (2)

provides training and technical

assistance to State and local agencies,

community-based service providers, and

consumer-controlled advocacy

organizations to facilitate the adoption

of exemplary practices in community

integration for individuals with mental

retardation. In addition to activities

proposed by the applicant to carry out

these purposes, the Center must conduct

the following activities:

• Design and implement a national

information resource on community

integration to serve policymakers and

administrators, community-based

service providers, consumer-controlled

advocacy organizations, and individuals

with mental retardation and their

families, ensuring that information is

available in accessible formats

appropriate to individuals with a range

of sensory, cognitive, and other

disabilities;

• Prepare materials on important

topical issues, which might include for

example: strategies to address social and

cultural barriers to full inclusion;

strategies for cross-agency collaboration

in the development of individualized

services or case management practices;

and reasonable accommodations to

facilitate community inclusion, and use

them in information dissemination,

training, and technical assistance

activities as appropriate; and

• Coordinate with existing NIDRRfunded projects and centers, and build

upon the products of past NIDRR

projects and similar efforts funded by

other Federal agencies, to ensure that

the best and most current information

on needs and best practices is

incorporated into the information

dissemination, training, and technical

assistance of this Center. The Center

must advise every State Developmental

Disabilities Council and every State

Protection and Advocacy System of its

existence and proposed services.

Applicable Program Regulations

34 CFR parts 350 and 355.

Program Authority: 29 U.S.C. 760–762.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Number 84.133D, Knowledge Dissemination

and Utilization Program)

Dated: May 23, 1995.

Howard R. Moses,

Acting Assistant Secretary for Special

Education and Rehabilitative Services.

[FR Doc. 95–13066 Filed 5–26–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA No.: 84.133D]

Office of Special Education and

Rehabilitative Services; National

Institute on Disability and

Rehabilitation Research Notice Inviting

Applications Under the Knowledge

Dissemination and Utilization Program

for Fiscal Year (FY) 1995

Purpose of Program: The Knowledge

Dissemination and Utilization Program

is designed to support activities that

will ensure that rehabilitation

knowledge generated from projects and

centers funded by NIDRR and from

other sources is fully utilized to

improve the lives of individuals with

disabilities and their families. The final

priority for this award, entitled

‘‘Information and Technical Assistance

Center to Facilitate Community

Integration,’’ is published in this issue

of the Federal Register. Potential

applicants should consult the statement

of the final priority published in this

issue to ascertain the substantive

requirements for their application.

This notice supports the National

Education Goal that calls for all

Americans to possess the knowledge

and skills necessary to compete in a

global economy and exercise the rights

and responsibilities of citizenship.

Eligible Applicants: Parties eligible to

apply for grants under this program are

public and private nonprofit and forprofit agencies and organizations,

including institutions of higher

education and Indian tribes and tribal

organizations.

Applications Available: June 7, 1995.

Application Deadline: July 28, 1995.

Available Funds: $400,000 per year.

Estimated Number of Awards: 1.

Note: The estimates of funding levels and

awards in this notice do not bind the

Department of Education to a specific level

of funding or number of grants.

Project Period: Up to 36 months.

Applicable Regulations: (a) The

Education Department General

Administrative Regulations (EDGAR),

34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 78, 80, 81, 82,

85, 86; (b) the regulations for this

program in 34 CFR parts 350 (amended

April 5, 1995, (60 FR 17426)) and 355

(amended September 22, 1993 (58 FR

49419)); and the notice of final priority

published elsewhere in this issue of the

Federal Register.

For Further Information Contact: In

order to obtain an application package,

contact William H. Whalen, U.S.

Department of Education, 600

Independence Avenue SW., Switzer

Building, room 3411, Washington, DC

20202. Telephone: (202) 205–9141.

Individuals who use a

telecommunications device for the deaf

(TDD) may call the TDD number at (202)

205–8887.

Information about the Department’s

funding opportunities, including copies

of application notices for discretionary

grant competitions, can be viewed on

the Department’s electronic bulletin

board (ED Board), telephone (202) 260–

9950; or on the Internet Gopher Server

at GOPHER.ED.GOV (under

Announcements, Bulletins, and Press

Releases). However, the official

application notice for a discretionary

grant competition is the notice

published in the Federal Register.

Program Authority: 29 U.S.C. 761a and

762.

Dated: May 23, 1995.

Howard R. Moses,

Acting Assistant Secretary for Special

Education and Rehabilitative Services.

[FR Doc. 95–13067 Filed 5–26–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P