I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 509 

To amend the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to authorize grants for the transition of youths with significant disabilities to adulthood, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 5, 2013 

Mr. HARPER (for himself and Mrs. MCMORRIS RODGERS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the 

Workforce 

A BILL 

To amend the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to authorize grants 

for the transition of youths with significant disabilities 

to adulthood, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Transition toward Ex5 cellence, Achievement, and Mobility through Employment 

6 Act of 2013’’ or ‘‘TEAM-Employment Act of 2013’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

8 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

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1 (1) Disability is a natural part of the human 

2 experience and in no way should diminish the oppor3 tunity of citizens with disabilities, including individ4 uals with the most significant disabilities, for full 

5 participation in society (including school, work, fam6 ily, social engagement, interpersonal relationships, 

7 and community), independent living, and economic 

8 self sufficiency. 

9 (2) Self-determination and informed choice are 

10 essential elements in all program and service op11 tions. 

12 (3) Work for pay (employment) is a valued ac13 tivity both for individuals and society. Employment 

14 provides both tangible and intangible benefits. Em15 ployment helps people achieve independence and eco16 nomic self-sufficiency. Employment also gives people 

17 purpose, dignity, self-esteem, and a sense of accom18 plishment and pride as well as an ability to con19 tribute to society as a whole. 

20 (4) Individuals with disabilities, including those 

21 with the most significant disabilities, should enjoy a 

22 presumption that they can achieve integrated em23 ployment with appropriate services and supports. 

24 (5) More than 30 years of research and experi25 ence demonstrates that all youth, including youth 

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1 with disabilities, achieve better outcomes when they 

2 have access to— 

3 (A) high-quality standards-based education 

4 in an inclusive setting; 

5 (B) information about career options and 

6 exposure to the world of work, including struc7 tured internships; 

8 (C) participation in post-secondary edu9 cation; 

10 (D) opportunities to develop social, civic, 

11 and leadership skills; 

12 (E) strong connections to caring adults; 

13 (F) safe places to interact with their peers; 

14 and 

15 (G) support services and specific accom16 modations to allow them to become independent 

17 adults. 

18 (6) The diverse and complex needs of today’s 

19 youth cannot be met by one’s family, school district, 

20 government program, or private organization acting 

21 alone. The successful transition of all youth to adult22 hood and a productive, independent, self-sufficient 

23 life demands coordination and collaboration across 

24 agencies, along with an integrated services approach 

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1 to serving youth at the Federal, State, and local lev2 els. 

3 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are the fol4 lowing: 

5 (1) To create a systemic focus on cultivating 

6 the high expectations for youth with significant dis7 abilities to transition successfully into adulthood and 

8 be able to work in integrated employment, earn a 

9 liveable wage, and live independently in integrated 

10 communities through public policies that advance 

11 equality of opportunity, informed choice, employ12 ment first principles, and economic self-sufficiency. 

13 (2) To promote innovative strategies to foster 

14 academic, professional, and social inclusion, and the 

15 solidification of long-term services and supports re16 quired to ensure full integration into the society (in17 cluding school, work, family, social engagement, 

18 interpersonal relationships, and community living). 

19 (3) To better define and coordinate specific 

20 services related to the effective transition of youth 

21 with significant disabilities. 

22 (4) To eliminate barriers and provide incentives 

23 for multiple stakeholders to collaborate and improve 

24 transition services for youth with significant disabil25 ities. 

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1 (5) To create a holistic system across multiple 

2 Federal, State, and local public entities promoting 

3 employment first strategies and the successful tran4 sition of youth with significant disabilities into 

5 adulthood through strengthened coordination among 

6 and between public entities, including the alignment 

7 of planning processes, implementation systems, and 

8 funding streams. 

9 (6) To align, enhance, and improve performance 

10 and accountability measures among public entities 

11 involved in the transition of youth with significant 

12 disabilities into adulthood. 

13 (7) To provide financial incentives to States to 

14 align their planning processes across and within 

15 public entities involved in transitioning, strengthen 

16 and coordinate regulations to ensure cross-agency 

17 emphasis on the promotion of employment first poli18 cies and practices, and rebalance resources toward 

19 an employment first paradigm to focus on the pre20 ferred outcomes of advancing integrated employ21 ment, economic self-sufficiency, independent living, 

22 and community participation for youth and adults 

23 with significant disabilities. 

24 (8) To ensure proper level of professional devel25 opment training of publicly financed service delivery 

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1 professionals involved in the transition of youth with 

2 significant disabilities into adulthood on evidence3 based promising practices. 

4 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

5 (a) ASSESSMENT FOR DETERMINING ELIGIBILITY

6 AND VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION NEEDS.—Section 

7 7(2) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 705(2)) 

8 is amended— 

9 (1) in subparagraph (B)— 

10 (A) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

11 end; 

12 (B) in clause (iv), by adding ‘‘and’’ at the 

13 end; and 

14 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

15 clause: 

16 ‘‘(v) uses, to the maximum extent pos17 sible, information obtained from experi18 ences in integrated employment settings in 

19 the community and other integrated com20 munity settings, and does not include in21 formation from assessments of experiences 

22 in sheltered workshops and similar seg23 regated settings;’’; and 

24 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

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1 ‘‘Such term shall be based on the presumption that 

2 the individual is capable of attaining post-secondary 

3 education, integrated employment, or both.’’. 

4 (b) SUPPORTED EMPLOYMENT.—Section 7(35) of the 

5 Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 705(35)) is amend6 ed— 

7 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘, or em8 ployment in integrated work settings in which indi9 viduals are working toward competitive work’’ and 

10 inserting ‘‘or integrated employment’’; and 

11 (2) by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting 

12 the following new subparagraph: 

13 ‘‘(B) MINIMUM COMPENSATION AND

14 OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—Such term includes 

15 placement in individual integrated employment 

16 settings and not in enclave or segregated set17 tings, at the greater of minimum or competitive 

18 wages that are paid for by the employer, with 

19 benefits comparable to benefits of other employ20 ees.’’. 

21 (c) SUPPORTED EMPLOYMENT SERVICES.—Section 

22 7(36) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 

23 705(36)) is amended— 

24 (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

25 the end; 

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1 (2) in subparagraph (C)— 

2 (A) by striking ‘‘18 months’’ and inserting 

3 ‘‘48 months’’; and 

4 (B) by striking the period at the end and 

5 inserting a semicolon; and 

6 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub7 paragraphs: 

8 ‘‘(D) maximize integration of the indi9 vidual within the workplace, with emphasis on 

10 facilitating the use of existing natural supports 

11 supplemented as necessary with staff supports 

12 paid for through funds authorized by the des13 ignated State unit; and 

14 ‘‘(E) allow for activities related to cus15 tomized employment, or a set of activities im16 plemented during the search for employment 

17 leading to an integrated employment outcome 

18 for an individual with a disability, which in19 cludes a negotiated relationship with an em20 ployer that focuses on unmet needs and other 

21 specific value-added to employers rather than 

22 open, demand job slots; and a process of dis23 covery, job seeker exploration, development of 

24 descriptive profile documents, individualized 

25 employment planning, development of innovamstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 tive representation materials, completion of an 

2 employer needs analysis, job negotiation and 

3 representation by a job developer as determined 

4 by the individual.’’. 

5 (d) TRANSITION SERVICES.—Section 7(37) of the 

6 Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 705(37)) is amend7 ed— 

8 (1) by striking ‘‘The term’’ and inserting the 

9 following: 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term’’; 

11 (2) by inserting ‘‘and customized employment’’ 

12 after ‘‘supported employment’’; 

13 (3) by inserting ‘‘, asset development services’’ 

14 after ‘‘adult services’’; 

15 (4) by striking ‘‘The coordinated set of activi16 ties’’ and inserting the following: 

17 ‘‘(B) COORDINATED SET OF ACTIVITIES.— 

18 The coordinated set of activities’’; 

19 (5) by striking ‘‘objectives,’’ and inserting the 

20 following: ‘‘objectives; school-based preparatory expe21 riences, career preparation, and integrated work22 based learning experiences (inclusive of in-school, 

23 after school and work experiences outside the tradi24 tional school setting where other youth without dis25 abilities are engaged in similar activities); youth demstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 velopment and leadership; connecting activities; 

2 training in self-advocacy, self-determination skills, 

3 and peer mentoring; family involvement and sup4 ports;’’; and 

5 (6) by adding at the end the following new sub6 paragraph: 

7 ‘‘(C) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Such 

8 term does not include the use of facility-based 

9 employment and activity settings, such as shel10 tered workshops, day habilitation centers, and 

11 enclave work settings. Additionally, the coordi12 nated set of activities should lead to the attain13 ment of at least one of the following outcomes: 

14 post-secondary education, long-term integrated 

15 employment (including supported employment 

16 or customized employment), asset development, 

17 independent living, and community participa18 tion.’’. 

19 (e) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—Section 7 of the Rehabili20 tation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 705) is amended by adding 

21 at the end the following new paragraphs: 

22 ‘‘(40) ASSET DEVELOPMENT.—The term ‘asset 

23 development’ means a strategy to assist low-income 

24 workers and job seekers, including individuals with 

25 disabilities, move toward economic security and 

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1 greater financial self-sufficiency through income 

2 preservation, effective money and credit manage3 ment, the pursuit of post-secondary education, the 

4 purchase of a home, business startup and growth, 

5 and the setting aside of resources for longer-term 

6 needs and retirement. 

7 ‘‘(41) ASSET DEVELOPMENT SERVICES.—The 

8 term ‘asset development services’ means services re9 lating to asset development, including services such 

10 as financial education, tax filing assistance and ac11 cess to beneficial tax credits and other provisions, 

12 and use of social security work incentives and indi13 vidual development accounts (IDAs) and coordina14 tion with other savings programs, including family 

15 self-sufficiency programs, college savings accounts, 

16 and home and small business ownership assistance. 

17 ‘‘(42) INTEGRATED EMPLOYMENT.—The term 

18 ‘integrated employment’ means work compensated at 

19 the greater of minimum wage or competitive wages 

20 with related employment benefits, occurring in a typ21 ical work setting where the employee with the dis22 ability interacts or has the opportunity to interact 

23 continuously with non-disabled co-workers, has an 

24 opportunity for advancement and mobility, and is 

25 preferably engaged in full-time employment.’’. 

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1 SEC. 4. DEMONSTRATION AND TRAINING PROGRAMS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 303(b)(1) of the Rehabili3 tation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 773(b)(1)) is amended by 

4 adding at the end the following new sentence: ‘‘The Com5 missioner may provide up to 10 grants to or enter into 

6 10 contracts with (or a combination thereof, not to exceed 

7 a total of 10 grants and contracts) eligible entities under 

8 this subsection during a fiscal year. A grant provided or 

9 contract entered into under this subsection shall be pro10 vided or entered into, as the case may be, for a period 

11 of five years. An eligible entity may not receive more than 

12 one grant or enter into more than one contract during a 

13 five-year period.’’. 

14 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

15 subsection (a) takes effect on the date of the enactment 

16 of this Act and applies with respect to grants provided 

17 under section 303(b) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 

18 for fiscal years beginning on or after the date of the enact19 ment of this Act. 

20 SEC. 5. GRANTS FOR TRANSITION OF YOUTHS WITH SIG21 NIFICANT DISABILITIES TO ADULTHOOD. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Rehabilitation Act 

23 of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 771 et seq.) is amended by adding 

24 at the end the following new section: 

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1 ‘‘SEC. 307. GRANTS FOR TRANSITION OF YOUTHS WITH SIG2 NIFICANT DISABILITIES TO ADULTHOOD. 

3 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 ‘‘(1) BRAIDED FUNDING.—The term ‘braided 

5 funding’ means a resource utilization strategy to 

6 maximize the efficient access and use of existing re7 sources through the coordination, sequencing, and 

8 integration of available funding from multiple public 

9 agencies and private sources. 

10 ‘‘(2) CUSTOMIZED EMPLOYMENT.—The term 

11 ‘customized employment’ means a set of strategies 

12 implemented during the search for employment lead13 ing to an integrated employment outcome for an in14 dividual with a disability, which includes the fol15 lowing components: 

16 ‘‘(A) A negotiated relationship with an em17 ployer that focuses on unmet needs and other 

18 specific value-added to the employer rather than 

19 open, demand job slots. 

20 ‘‘(B) A process of discovery, job seeker ex21 ploration, development of descriptive profile 

22 documents, individualized employment planning, 

23 innovative representation materials, employer 

24 needs analysis, and representation by a job de25 veloper. 

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1 ‘‘(3) EMPLOYMENT FIRST.—The term ‘employ2 ment first’— 

3 ‘‘(A) means a delivery model of publicly fi4 nanced supports for individuals with disabilities, 

5 including individuals with significant disabilities 

6 and individuals with the most significant dis7 abilities, that effectuates on a systemic basis 

8 the presumption of integrated employment as 

9 the primary or preferred employment outcome 

10 of such individuals; and 

11 ‘‘(B) includes policies, practices, and proce12 dures promulgated through Federal and State 

13 governmental entities, including policies, prac14 tices, and procedures requiring that public sys15 tems have a statutory responsibility to provide 

16 services that align their priorities, funding and 

17 reimbursement practices, and policies and guid18 ance to promote, encourage, incentivize, and 

19 prioritize services and supports that lead to in20 tegrated employment outcomes. 

21 ‘‘(4) PERSON-CENTERED PLANNING PROCESS.— 

22 The term ‘person-centered planning process’ means 

23 a process that enables and assists a youth with a 

24 significant disability to identify and access a person25 alized mix of paid and non-paid services and supmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 ports that will assist such youth to achieve individ2 ually defined outcomes in the most integrated com3 munity setting. 

4 ‘‘(5) STATE INTELLECTUAL AND DEVELOP5 MENTAL DISABILITIES AGENCY.—The term ‘State 

6 Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Agency’ 

7 means the primary State agency or subdivision with 

8 administrative, programmatic, and operational re9 sponsibility for the full range of services and sup10 ports furnished to individuals with intellectual and 

11 developmental disabilities. 

12 ‘‘(6) YOUTH WITH A SIGNIFICANT DIS13 ABILITY.—In this subsection, the term ‘youth with a 

14 significant disability’ means an individual who— 

15 ‘‘(A) is an individual with a significant dis16 ability or an individual with a most significant 

17 disability; and 

18 ‘‘(B) has attained the age of 14 but has 

19 not attained the age of 27. 

20 ‘‘(b) GRANTS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For each of the fiscal years 

22 2014 through 2018, the Assistant Secretary for Spe23 cial Education and Rehabilitative Services, in co24 operation with the officials specified in paragraph 

25 (2), is authorized to provide grants to eligible entimstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 ties to carry out the activities authorized under this 

2 section. 

3 ‘‘(2) OFFICIALS SPECIFIED.—The officials spec4 ified in this paragraph are the Commissioner of the 

5 Agency on Developmental Disabilities, the Director 

6 of Medicaid Operations at the Centers for Medicare 

7 and Medicaid Services, and the Assistant Secretary 

8 of Labor for Disability Employment Policy. 

9 ‘‘(3) NUMBER OF GRANTS; DURATION; NUMBER

10 OF GRANTS PER ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The Assistant 

11 Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative 

12 Services may provide up to 10 grants under this 

13 subsection during a fiscal year. A grant provided 

14 under this subsection shall be provided for a period 

15 of five years. An eligible entity may not receive more 

16 than one grant during a five-year period. 

17 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible to receive 

18 a grant under subsection (a), an entity shall be a consor19 tium that— 

20 ‘‘(1) consists of and is managed by, at a min21 imum, representatives from the State educational 

22 agency, the State Intellectual and Developmental 

23 Disabilities Agency, the State vocational rehabilita24 tion agency, the State Medicaid agency, the State 

25 department of labor and workforce investment 

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1 board, and the State department of higher edu2 cation; 

3 ‘‘(2) includes stakeholders who will be involved 

4 in the planning and implementation of funds made 

5 available through the grant, including— 

6 ‘‘(A) representatives from local or regional 

7 University Centers for Excellence in Develop8 mental Disabilities Education, Research, and 

9 Service, State protection advocacy and client as10 sistance programs, State councils on develop11 mental disabilities, and centers on independent 

12 living; and 

13 ‘‘(B) representatives from self-advocacy or14 ganizations and family organizations; and 

15 ‘‘(3) includes additional public and private indi16 viduals and entities with demonstrated expertise in 

17 providing transition services that result in post-sec18 ondary education, integrated employment, and eco19 nomic advancement for individuals with significant 

20 disabilities and individuals with the most significant 

21 disabilities with expertise in the provision of sup22 ported employment services and customized employ23 ment strategies and that— 

24 ‘‘(A) provide services resulting in inte25 grated post-secondary education outcomes or inmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 tegrated employment outcomes at the greater of 

2 minimum or competitive wages with access to 

3 related health and employment benefits; 

4 ‘‘(B) have expertise in person-centered 

5 planning processes; or 

6 ‘‘(C) have experience operating mentoring 

7 or advocacy training programs for individuals 

8 with significant disabilities and individuals with 

9 the most significant disabilities in culturally 

10 and socioeconomically diverse communities. 

11 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity that desires to 

12 receive a grant under subsection (a) shall submit to the 

13 Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilita14 tive Services an application at such time, in such manner, 

15 and including such information as the Assistant Secretary 

16 may require. Each application shall include— 

17 ‘‘(1) an implementation plan, including the 

18 identification of the lead agency by the State, de19 scribing the actions the entity intends to take to 

20 carry out the activities authorized under this sub21 section; 

22 ‘‘(2) assurances that a memorandum of under23 standing among the participating State agencies will 

24 be developed outlining key steps to be taken to col25 laborate and coordinate efforts to institute systemic 

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1 change related to employment first, including braid2 ed funding and a uniform focus on improving out3 comes in post-secondary education, integrated em4 ployment, and economic advancement for youths 

5 with significant disabilities; 

6 ‘‘(3) a description of the means and mecha7 nisms by which participating State agencies will co8 ordinate efforts to evaluate and reform existing 

9 State laws, regulations, guidelines, operational pro10 cedures, and funding practices, including braided 

11 funding, to institute systemic change related to em12 ployment first, focused on improving outcomes in 

13 post-secondary education, integrated employment, 

14 and economic advancement for youths with signifi15 cant disabilities; 

16 ‘‘(4) an evaluation plan describing the strategy 

17 the entity will use to evaluate the use of funds made 

18 available through the grant, with a specific focus on 

19 the collection of data (by age, race, gender, geo20 graphic area, type of disability, income level, commu21 nication level, and use of assistive technology) track22 ing, at a minimum— 

23 ‘‘(A) the number of youths with significant 

24 disabilities who directly enter integrated em25 ployment opportunities paid at the greater of 

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1 minimum wage or competitive wages with ac2 cess to related employment and health benefits, 

3 or a post-secondary educational or training pro4 gram that is focused on leading to an inte5 grated employment outcome, upon exiting the 

6 school system; 

7 ‘‘(B) the wages and number of hours 

8 worked of youths per pay period; 

9 ‘‘(C) the impact of employment on any 

10 State and Federal benefits received; 

11 ‘‘(D) indicators on the types of settings in 

12 which youths benefitting from the State grant 

13 primarily reside; 

14 ‘‘(E) indicators of improved economic sta15 tus and self-sufficiency; 

16 ‘‘(F) data on those youths with significant 

17 disabilities for whom a post-secondary or inte18 grated employment outcome has not yet oc19 curred, including information on why such out20 come has not yet been attained, and additional 

21 information such as the number of months an 

22 individual has not had a post-secondary edu23 cation or integrated employment outcome, and 

24 the progress made to date on efforts to ensure 

25 that an individual achieves a post-secondary 

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1 education or integrated employment outcome; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(G) location and type of settings where 

4 youths who are receiving services through the 

5 grant are living; 

6 ‘‘(5) a description of how the eligible entity will 

7 disseminate information about the types of transi8 tion services and the impact of such services on the 

9 lives of youths with significant disabilities who are 

10 served by the project; and 

11 ‘‘(6) a description of the approaches the eligible 

12 entity intends to use to coordinate activities with rel13 evant service providers in the localities in which the 

14 activities of the grant will be focused. 

15 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—An entity that re16 ceives a grant under this subsection shall use the funds 

17 made available through the grant to carry out the fol18 lowing activities for youths with significant disabilities: 

19 ‘‘(1) The development of innovative and effec20 tive practices through person-centered planning 

21 processes for attaining integrated employment expe22 riences, including customized employment, supported 

23 employment services, and employment experiences 

24 after school, on weekends, and in the summer 

25 months. 

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1 ‘‘(2) The development of objectives and activi2 ties based upon the highest expectations of youths 

3 with significant disabilities and related to the fol4 lowing areas: 

5 ‘‘(A) Academic and school-based pre6 paratory experiences, including access to the 

7 general education curriculum in the least re8 strictive environment. 

9 ‘‘(B) Work and career readiness. 

10 ‘‘(C) Self-determination and leadership. 

11 ‘‘(D) Comprehensive community connec12 tions. 

13 ‘‘(E) Life-long learning. 

14 ‘‘(F) Family involvement and engagement. 

15 ‘‘(3) The development of appropriate and effec16 tive curricula and the deployment of professionals 

17 with expertise to provide training to school per18 sonnel, including transition coordinators, and other 

19 personnel connected to the implementation of the 

20 implementation plan of the grantee to enable such 

21 school personnel to develop skills needed to assist 

22 such youths in actualizing their ability to obtain and 

23 maintain integrated employment at the greater of 

24 minimum or competitive wages. Such training shall 

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1 essary to help such youths successfully identify and 

2 complete desired objectives in the following areas: 

3 ‘‘(A) Academic and school-based pre4 paratory experiences, including access to the 

5 general education curriculum in the least re6 strictive environment. 

7 ‘‘(B) Work and career readiness. 

8 ‘‘(C) Youth development and leadership. 

9 ‘‘(D) Comprehensive community connec10 tions. 

11 ‘‘(E) Family involvement and engagement. 

12 ‘‘(F) Integrated employment experiences, 

13 including customized employment, supported 

14 employment services, and employment experi15 ences after school, on weekends, and in the 

16 summer months. 

17 ‘‘(4) The provision of assistance to youths with 

18 significant disabilities and their families with respect 

19 to determining appropriate services under relevant 

20 Federal and State programs, to include the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(A) An informed decisionmaking process 

23 leading to an integrated employment or post24 secondary education outcome and securing onmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 going services required for sustaining the em2 ployment or post-secondary education outcome. 

3 ‘‘(B) A benefits planning process in order 

4 to educate youths with significant disabilities 

5 regarding strategies for identifying, optimizing 

6 and managing available resources to support 

7 the youth. 

8 ‘‘(C) A series of individualized economic 

9 advancement strategies to advance the optimal 

10 self-sufficiency and economic security of a youth 

11 with a significant disability with specific goals 

12 for asset development, including the use of fa13 vorable tax benefits, work incentives, matched 

14 savings plans, and financial education. 

15 ‘‘(f) PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Funds made available 

17 through a grant under subsection (a) may not be 

18 used for activities that result in youths with signifi19 cant disabilities being placed in facility-based seg20 regated services as an employment outcome or post21 secondary outcome. In this paragraph, the term ‘fa22 cility-based segregated services’ means rehabilitation 

23 or employment services provided by segregated enti24 ties, such as sheltered workshops, day habilitation, 

25 enclaves, or any other similar settings. 

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1 ‘‘(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

2 this subsection shall be construed to prohibit any 

3 youth with a significant disability from having ac4 cess to the general education curriculum during the 

5 pursuit of transition services or post-secondary edu6 cation outcomes. 

7 ‘‘(g) EMPLOYMENT OUTCOMES AND EVALUATION.— 

8 ‘‘(1) OUTCOMES.—An entity that receives a 

9 grant under this section shall collect data and report 

10 annually on, at a minimum, progress in achieving 

11 specific integrated employment outcomes outlined by 

12 the Assistant Secretary for Special Education and 

13 Rehabilitative Services. Such outcomes shall include 

14 the following: 

15 ‘‘(A) The number of youths with signifi16 cant disabilities who directly enter integrated 

17 employment or post-secondary education upon 

18 exiting the school system. 

19 ‘‘(B) The types of positions and employ20 ment sectors the youths with significant disabil21 ities are participating in, as defined by the Bu22 reau of Labor Statistics of the Department of 

23 Labor. 

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1 ‘‘(C) The wages of and number of hours 

2 worked by youths with significant disabilities 

3 monthly. 

4 ‘‘(D) The impact of employment on any 

5 Federal and State benefits received. 

6 ‘‘(E) Indicators of improved economic sta7 tus and self-sufficiency. 

8 ‘‘(F) Data on those youths with significant 

9 disabilities who have not yet entered post-sec10 ondary education or integrated employment, 

11 outlining the reasons that such youths have not 

12 yet entered post-secondary education or inte13 grated employment as well as the progress 

14 made to date in the acquisition of skills, train15 ing, and development necessary to attain an in16 tegrated employment outcome. 

17 ‘‘(2) CENTER.—There is established a National 

18 Coordination Center on Systems Change and Trans19 formation in the Transition of Youths with Signifi20 cant Disabilities into Adulthood (in this paragraph 

21 referred to as the ‘Center’) to coordinate personnel 

22 training and professional development in evidence23 based best practices resulting in integrated employ24 ment or post-secondary education outcomes. The 

25 Center shall coordinate assistance with the State 

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1 grantees and their leadership teams and support 

2 grantees in their systems change efforts through the 

3 provision of training, professional development, tech4 nical assistance, data collection, and research. 

5 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

7 appropriated to carry out this section (other than 

8 subsection (g)(2)) $50,000,000 for each of the fiscal 

9 years 2014 through 2018. 

10 ‘‘(2) CENTER.—There are authorized to be ap11 propriated to carry out subsection (g)(2) $5,000,000 

12 for each of the fiscal years 2014 through 2018.’’. 

13 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

14 for the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is amended by inserting 

15 after the item relating to section 306 the following new 

16 item: 

‘‘Sec. 307. Grants for transition of youths with significant disabilities to adulthood.’’. 

Æ 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS