Department Announces Intent to Award Cooperative Agreement to Establish a National Technical Assistance and Research Center to Increase Employment and Economic Independence for Adults with Disabilities
The Departments Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) has announced the availability of up to $2.35 million to fund a single cooperative agreement to establish a National Technical Assistance and Research Center to Promote Leadership for Increasing Employment and Economic Independence for Adults with Disabilities with a 24-month period of performance. In addition, this initiative may be funded for up to three (3) additional option years depending on performance, identified need, and the availability of future funding.
This National Technical Assistance and Research Center will focus on building leadership capacity at the Federal, State, and local levels
to increase employment and economic self-sufficiency for adults with disabilities. ODEP is also funding a technical assistance and research center focusing on youth with disabilities through a separate competition.
The Center will conduct research, develop and disseminate information, and provide technical assistance and training in five targeted goal areas defined in this solicitation. These goal areas have been identified through six years of ODEP research as critical leadership areas for improving systems capacity to effectively serve adults with disabilities and increase their employment and economic self-sufficiency. These targeted goal areas include the following:
- Increasing partnership and collaboration among and across generic and disability-specific systems that provide employment or employment-support services. This partnership and collaboration should produce more effective and efficient services through leveraging resources and funding across multiple systems.
- Increasing use of self-direction in service and integration of funding among and across cross-generic and disability-specific systems, including the blending and braiding of resources and funding across systems and programs, and the use of self-directed accounts providing choice and control to the individual job seeker.
- Increasing economic self-sufficiency through leveraging relevant generic and disability-specific tax incentives, financial education,
social security work incentives, benefits planning, and other strategies for enhancing profitable employment resulting in the ability of people with disabilities to accrue assets and resources through employment.
- Increasing the use of universal design as the framework for the organization of employment policy and the implementation of employment services.
- Increasing the use of customized and other forms of flexible work options for individuals with disabilities and others with complex
barriers to employment.
Eligible applicants are consortia which may include a combination of any two or more of the following: Public/private non-profits or for-
profit organizations (including community and faith-based organizations) and universities and colleges all with demonstrated appropriate experience in providing technical assistance, and conducting research and demonstrations in targeted goal areas defined in this solicitation for increasing employment and economic self-sufficiency for adults with disabilities.
The closing date for receipt of applications is August 20.
Full background, application requirements, evaluation criteria
