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27805
WednesdayMay 20, 1998
Part III
Department ofEducation
Systems-Change Projects To ExpandEmployment Opportunities for IndividualsWith Mental or Physical Disabilities, orBoth, Who Receive Public Support;Notice
 
27806
Federal Register
 /Vol. 63, No. 97/Wednesday, May 20, 1998/Notices
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
RIN 1820–ZA11
Systems-Change Projects To ExpandEmployment Opportunities forIndividuals With Mental or PhysicalDisabilities, or Both, Who ReceivePublic Support
AGENCY
:
Office of Special Education andRehabilitative Services, Department of Education.
ACTION
:
Notice of proposed priority anddefinitions for fiscal year (FY) 1998 andsubsequent years.
SUMMARY
:
The Secretary proposes apriority for fiscal year (FY) 1998 andsubsequent years under section 12(a)(3)of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, asamended (the Act) (29 U.S.C. 762(b)(3)),authorizing the conduct of specialprojects and demonstrations in carryingout the purposes of the Act. The prioritywould support five-year projects toexpand employment outcomes forindividuals with mental or physicaldisabilities, or both, who receive publicsupport. The priority is intended toenhance collaboration in existingsystems to increase competitiveemployment opportunities forindividuals with disabilities who areparticipants in public support programsfunded by Federal, State, and localagencies.
DATES
:
Comments must be received bythe Department on or before June 19,1998.
ADDRESSES
:
All comments concerningthis proposed priority should beaddressed to Dr. Thomas Finch, U.S.Department of Education, 600Independence Avenue, SW., Room3038, MES Building, Washington, DC.20202–2650. Comments may also besent through the Internet to:comments@ed.govYou must include the term ‘‘Systems-Change 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. Individualswho use a telecommunications devicefor the deaf (TDD) may call the FederalInformation Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339 between 8 a.m. and 8p.m., Eastern time, Monday throughFriday.Individuals with disabilities mayobtain this document in an alternateformat (e.g., Braille, large print,audiotape, or computer diskette) onrequest to the contact person listed inthe preceding paragraph.
Electronic Access to This Document
Anyone may view this document, aswell as all other Department of Education documents published in the
Federal Register
, in text or portabledocument format (pdf) on the WorldWide Web at either of the followingsites:http://ocfo.ed.gov/fedreg.htmhttp://www.ed.gov/news.htmlTo use the pdf you must have the AdobeAcrobat Reader Program with Search,which is available free at either of theprevious sites. If you have questionsabout using the pdf, call the U.S.Government Printing Office toll free at1–888–293–6498.Anyone may also view thesedocuments in text copy only on anelectronic bulletin board of theDepartment. Telephone: (202) 219–1511or, toll free, 1–800–222–4922. Thedocuments are located under option G—Files/Announcements, Bulletins andPress Releases.
Note:
The official version of this documentis the document published in the
FederalRegister
.
Goals 2000: Educate America Act
The Goals 2000: Educate America Act(Goals 2000) focuses the Nation’seducation reform efforts on the eightNational Education Goals and providesa framework for meeting them. Goals2000 promotes new partnerships tostrengthen schools and expands theDepartment’s capacities for helpingcommunities to exchange ideas andobtain information needed to achievethe goals.This proposed priority would addressthe National Education Goal that everyadult American, including individualswith disabilities, will possess theknowledge and skills necessary tocompete in a global economy andexercise the rights and responsibilitiesof citizenship.The Secretary will announce the finalpriority in a notice in the
FederalRegister
. The final priority will bedetermined by responses to this notice,available funds, and otherconsiderations. Funding of particularprojects depends on the availability of funds, the nature of the final priority,and the quality of the applicationsreceived. The publication of thisproposed priority does not preclude theSecretary from proposing or fundingadditional priorities, subject to meetingapplicable rulemaking requirements.
Note:
This notice of proposed priority does
not 
solicit applications. In any year in whichthe Secretary chooses to use this proposedpriority, the Secretary invites applicationsthrough a notice in the
Federal Register
.
Priority
 Background 
According to the 1994 Harris Surveyof Americans with Disabilities, two-thirds of individuals with disabilitiesbetween the ages of 16 and 64 are notworking. Many of these individualsreceive financial support or servicesthrough programs funded by Federal,State, and local agencies. Examples of these programs include Temporary Aidto Needy Families (TANF),Supplemental Security Income (SSI),Social Security Disability Income(SSDI), Medicaid (including Medicaidwaiver programs), Medicare, subsidizedhousing, and food stamps.Statistical data reveal that of the 32percent of adult recipients of Aid toFamilies with Dependent Children(AFDC) who had a work or functionaldisability, 15 percent were able to work despite their functional limitations(National Health Interview Survey onDisability, U.S. Department of Healthand Human Services, 1994). Studiesconducted in Kansas and Washingtonindicate that up to 60 percent of thecurrent TANF recipients in those Stateshave some type of disability. At thesame time, the TANF program requiresrecipients to work and also limits thelength of TANF assistance—recentdevelopments that further underscorethe need to reduce barriers toemployment confronted by individualswith disabilities on public support.In addition, the proportion of individuals with disabilities receivingpublic support through SSI or SSDIcontinues to increase. Over the pastdecade, the total number of SSI andSSDI beneficiaries has doubled, andcash payments for these individualsincreased to over $55 billion (WorldInstitute on Disability, 1996). SocialSecurity recipients often do not work since they would lose their SocialSecurity and Medicaid benefits if theirearnings increased beyond a thresholdlevel. Thus, few individuals leave theSocial Security system. New adult SSIrecipients receive benefits for an averageof 10 years, whereas individuals whoreceive SSI benefits as children remainon the rolls for an average of approximately 27 years (Rupp andScott, 1995).Many individuals participating inpublic support programs, including theprograms discussed previously, areunable to obtain the services or supportsthey need to become competitivelyemployed and achieve economicindependence. Employment training
 
27807
Federal Register
 /Vol. 63, No. 97/Wednesday, May 20, 1998/Notices
programs that serve the generalpopulation, as well as employersthemselves, are often unable to meet thespecialized needs of these individuals.In addition, individuals with disabilitieswho are not eligible for State vocationalrehabilitation services, or who do notbelieve that they need a comprehensiverehabilitation program, are still unlikelyto receive work-related services fromemployment training programs thatserve the general population.Consequently, many individuals withdisabilities who are capable of workingessentially ‘‘fall between the cracks.’’The Secretary expects that the modelsdeveloped under the proposed prioritywill demonstrate how employmenttraining and other related programs canmore effectively coordinate services sothat individuals with disabilities canobtain employment.Seventy-nine percent of unemployedindividuals with disabilities haveindicated that they would prefer to beworking (Harris Survey, 1994). Thecombination of the high costs associatedwith living with a disability, work-related expenses, and the reduction inpublic supports available to personsonce they become employed oftendissuade individuals with disabilitiesfrom pursuing competitive work. Someof the specific barriers to theemployment that individuals withdisabilities commonly confrontinclude—
•
Lack of adequate health insurance(e.g., individuals’ fear of losing publichealth care coverage, inability to obtainprivate medical insurance, or limitedaccess to treatment and prescriptionservices);
•
Underutilization of existing work incentives from Social Security andother State and local agencies (e.g., Planfor Achieving Self Support (PASS), andImpairment Related Work Expenses,section 1619a and b of the SocialSecurity Act);
•
Lack of affordable, accessiblehousing and transportation;
•
Insufficient education and trainingservices;
•
Lack of child care;
•
Inadequate supports for employeeswith disabilities (e.g., onsite and offsite job accommodations and long-termfollow-along services); and
•
Inadequate supports for employers(e.g., incentives for hiring, retaining,and promoting individuals withdisabilities and technical assistance andfollow-along consultation to assistemployers in addressing the ongoingneeds of employees with disabilitiesand to clarify employer misperceptionsand misinformation).Lack of information and coordinationof public support programs can causeprogram-related barriers that inhibitindividuals with disabilities fromeffectively using available services. Inmany instances, individuals withdisabilities are simply unaware of existing employment-related programs,work incentives, or available services.Another common barrier is the lack of coordination between separate programswith separate eligibility criteria eventhough the same individuals oftenrequire services from each program. TheSecretary expects projects to addressthese types of program-related barriers,as well as any other type of barrier thatimpedes individuals with disabilitiesfrom becoming employed and self-sufficient.There is a critical need for greatercoordination between multiple publicprograms that support individuals withdisabilities that would foster increasedeconomic self-sufficiency and a moreefficient use of public resources. In aneffort to address this need, the Secretaryproposes the following priority in orderto provide a framework for assistingindividuals with disabilities to reducetheir reliance on various public supportprograms and obtain and maintainemployment in the competitive labormarket.The requirements in the priority aredesigned to facilitate systems-changeprojects that eliminate barriers toemployment for individuals withdisabilities and are based on existingstudies and reports, the experiences of State vocational rehabilitation agenciesin working with individualsparticipating in other public supportprograms, and on information providedby other Federal agencies thatadminister disability-related programs.These Federal agencies wereparticularly helpful in assisting theSecretary to identify the employment-related barriers confronted byindividuals with disabilities that theSecretary proposes to target through thispriority and to identify the types of State agencies whose participation inthe project would be most critical toeliminating those barriers. Theidentified State agencies would serve asmembers of a consortium that thesystems-change project would establishunder paragraph (A) of the priority.The Secretary emphasizes that themodel systems-change projects thatwould be supported under this priorityare part of a larger effort on the part of the Federal Government to create acoordinated and aggressive nationalpolicy to reduce the unemployment rateof individuals with disabilities and toassist those individuals in obtainingcompetitive jobs. This effort is directlyreflected in Executive Order 13078,signed on March 13, 1998, entitled‘‘Increasing Employment of Adults WithDisabilities’’ (63 FR 13111, March 18,1998). For example, Executive Order13078, in part, calls for an analysis of existing programs and policies todetermine what modifications andinnovations may be necessary to removework-related barriers experienced byindividuals with disabilities; thedevelopment and recommendation of options for eliminating barriers to healthinsurance coverage for those withdisabilities; and an analysis of work-related youth programs and theoutcomes of these programs for youngpeople with disabilities. The Secretaryproposes the following priority as onemeans of addressing the purposes of Executive Order 13078. As other Federalagencies design and carry out activitiesin response to the Executive order, it isexpected that many of those activitieswill complement the systems-changeprojects funded under this priority.The Secretary also emphasizes theneed for projects supported under thispriority to begin implementingstrategies for removing barriers early inthe project period in order for theproject to have a measurable effect onthe rate by which individuals withdisabilities become competitivelyemployed. For that reason, the Secretaryexpects project recipients to work withRehabilitation Services Administrationstaff to ensure that planning steps,including development of partnershipagreements and, if appropriate,submission of Medicaid waiver requestsunder paragraph (C) of the priority, arepromptly completed and that projectsbegin implementing their barrier-removal strategies as soon as possible.The purpose of the proposed absolutepriority is to establish five-year modeldemonstration projects that stimulateand advance systems-change in order toexpand employment outcomes forindividuals with mental or physicaldisabilities, or both, who areparticipants in Federal, State, and localpublic support programs (e.g., TANF,SSI, SSDI, Medicaid, Medicare,subsidized housing, and food stamps,etc.)
Absolute Priority
Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3) andsection 12(a)(3) of the Act, the Secretaryproposes to give an absolute preferenceto applications that meet the followingpriority. The Secretary proposes to fundunder this competition onlyapplications that meet this absolutepriority:
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