FR Doc 05-4105
[Federal Register: March 3, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 41)]
[Notices]
[Page 10378-10380]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr03mr05-38]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research--
Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects and Centers Program--
Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers
AGENCY: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services,
Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice of proposed priority.
Download: 
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SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary for Special Education and
Rehabilitative Services proposes one funding priority for the National
Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research's (NIDRR)
Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects and Centers Program,
Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers (RRTC) program. This
priority may be used for competitions in fiscal year (FY) 2005 and
later years. We take this action to focus research attention on areas
of national need. We intend this priority to improve rehabilitation
services and outcomes for individuals with disabilities.
DATES: We must receive your comments on or before April 4, 2005.
ADDRESSES: Address all comments about this proposed priority to Donna
Nangle, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room
6030, Potomac Center Plaza, Washington, DC 20204-2700. If you prefer to
send your comments through the Internet, use the following address:
donna.nangle@ed.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Donna Nangle. Telephone: (202) 245-
7462.
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may
call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) on request to the contact person listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Invitation To Comment
We invite you to submit comments regarding this proposed priority.
We invite you to assist us in complying with the specific
requirements of Executive Order 12866 and its overall requirement of
reducing regulatory burden that might result from this proposed
priority. Please let us know of any further opportunities we should
take to reduce potential costs or increase potential benefits while
preserving the effective and efficient administration of the program.
During and after the comment period, you may inspect all public
comments about this proposed priority in room 6030, 550 12th Street,
SW., Potomac Center Plaza, Washington, DC, between the hours of 8:30
a.m. and 4 p.m., Eastern time, Monday through Friday of each week
except Federal holidays.
Assistance to Individuals With Disabilities in Reviewing the Rulemaking
Record
On request, we will supply 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 record for this proposed priority. If you want to schedule
an appointment for this type of aid, please contact the person listed
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
We will announce the final priority in a notice in the Federal
Register. We will determine the final priority after considering
responses to this notice and other information available to the
Department. This notice does not preclude us from proposing or funding
additional priorities, subject to meeting applicable rulemaking
requirements.
Note: This notice does not solicit applications. In any year in
which we choose to use this proposed priority, we invite
applications through a notice in the Federal Register. When inviting
applications we designate the priority as absolute, competitive
preference, or invitational. The effect of each type of priority
follows:
Absolute priority: Under an absolute priority, we consider only
applications that meet the priority (34 CFR 75.105(c)(3)).
Competitive preference priority: Under a competitive preference
priority, we give competitive preference to an application by either
(1) awarding additional points, depending on how well or the extent to
which the application meets the competitive priority (34 CFR
75.105(c)(2)(i)); or (2) selecting an application that meets the
competitive priority over an application of comparable merit that does
not meet the priority (34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(ii)).
Invitational priority: Under an invitational priority, we are
particularly interested in applications that meet the invitational
priority. However, we do not give an application that meets the
invitational priority a competitive or absolute preference over other
applications (34 CFR 75.105(c)(1)).
Note: NIDRR supports the goals of President Bush's New Freedom
Initiative (NFI). The NFI can be accessed on the Internet at the
following site:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/newfreedom.
The proposed priority is in concert with NIDRR's Long-Range Plan
(Plan). The Plan is comprehensive and integrates many issues relating
to disability and rehabilitation research topics. While applicants will
find many sections throughout the Plan that support potential research
to be conducted under the proposed priority, a specific reference is
included for the priority presented in this notice. The Plan can be
accessed on the Internet at the following site:
http://www.ed.gov/rschstat/research/pubs/index.html
.
Through the implementation of the NFI and the Plan, NIDRR seeks to:
(1) Improve the quality and utility of disability and rehabilitation
research; (2) foster an exchange of expertise, information, and
training to facilitate the advancement of knowledge and understanding
of the unique needs of traditionally underserved populations; (3)
determine best strategies and programs to improve rehabilitation
outcomes for underserved populations; (4) identify research gaps; (5)
identify mechanisms of integrating research and practice; and (6)
disseminate findings.
Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers
RRTCs conduct coordinated and integrated advanced programs of
research targeted toward the production of new knowledge to improve
rehabilitation methodology and service delivery systems, alleviate or
stabilize disability conditions, or promote maximum social and economic
independence for persons with disabilities. Additional information on
the RRTC program can be found at:
http://www.ed.gov/rschstat/research/pubs/res-program.html#RRTC.
[[Page 10379]]
General Requirements of Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers
RRTCs must--
Carry out coordinated advanced programs of rehabilitation
research;
Provide training, including graduate, pre-service, and in-
service training, to help rehabilitation personnel more effectively
provide rehabilitation services to individuals with disabilities;
Provide technical assistance to individuals with
disabilities, their representatives, providers, and other interested
parties;
Identify anticipated outcomes of RRTC activities that are
linked to stated RRTC objectives;
Disseminate informational materials to individuals with
disabilities, their representatives, providers, and other interested
parties; and
Serve as centers for national excellence in rehabilitation
research for individuals with disabilities, their representatives,
providers, and other interested parties.
The Department is particularly interested in ensuring that the
expenditure of public funds is justified by the execution of intended
activities and the advancement of knowledge and, thus, has built this
accountability into the selection criteria. Not later than three years
after the establishment of any RRTC, NIDRR will conduct one or more
reviews of the activities and achievements of the RRTC. In accordance
with the provisions of 34 CFR 75.253(a), continued funding depends at
all times on satisfactory performance and accomplishment of approved
grant objectives.
Priority
Background
In April 2002, President George W. Bush announced the creation of
the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health. He charged the Commission
with studying the mental health care system in the United States and
making recommendations that would enable adults with serious mental
illness and children with serious emotional disturbance to live, work,
learn, and participate fully in their communities. The Commission
Report, ``Achieving the Promise: Transforming Mental Health Care in
America'' (July 2003), along with reports from the Surgeon General and
numerous other public and private entities, offer consensus on a number
of findings addressed in the proposed priority. These include the
importance of enhancing self-determination; consumer-driven, community-
based interventions; collaboration within the mental health service
system; workforce development; and culturally competent care.
One promising area noted in ``Achieving the Promise: Transforming
Mental Health Care in America'' is consumer-operated services. Such
services are common: A national survey of the mental health self-help
sector conducted by the U.S. Substance Abuse Mental Health
Administration's Center for Mental Health Services shows that mental
health support groups and self-help organizations run by and for mental
health consumers and their families now outnumber traditional mental
health organizations by almost two to one (Goldstrom, I., Campbell, J.,
Rogers, J., Lambert, D., Blacklow, B., Manderscheid, R., and Henderson,
M. (Forthcoming). National estimates of mental health mutual support
groups, self-help organizations, and consumer-operated services.
Administration and Policy in Mental Health).
The Surgeon General's Report on Mental Health estimated that about
one in five Americans experience a mental disorder in a given year
(U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1999. Mental Health:
Report of the Surgeon General. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration, Center for Mental Health Services, National Institutes
of Health, National Institute of Mental Health. Available on-line:
http: //http://www. surgeongeneral.gov/library/ mentalhealth/ home.html).
Serious mental illness can interfere with the ability to work, attend
school, or manage day-to-day activities. For example, labor force
participation and employment rates are substantially lower for people
with mental health disabilities than for people with other disabilities
or with no disability (Jans, L., Stoddard, S. & Kraus, L., 2004.
Chartbook on Mental Health and Disability in the United States. An
InfoUse Report. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, National
Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research). As cited in the
final report of the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental
Health, the ``annual indirect cost of mental illnesses is estimated to
be $79 billion.'' (New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, 2003.
Achieving the Promise: Transforming Mental Health Care in America.
Final Report. DHHS Pub. No. SMA-03-3832. Rockville, MD.)
NIDRR, in collaboration with the U.S. Substance Abuse Mental Health
Service Administration, proposes a priority for an RRTC on promoting
access to effective consumer-centered and community-based practices and
supports for adults with serious mental illness. This priority focuses
on outcomes rather than activities. The overall outcome for this
proposed priority mirrors the President's charge: To work towards
enabling adults with serious mental illness to live, work, learn, and
participate fully in their communities.
Proposed Priority
The Assistant Secretary proposes a priority for one RRTC which must
focus on promoting access to effective consumer-centered and community-
based practices and supports for adults with serious mental illness.
The RRTC must--
(1) Identify or develop and evaluate models, methods, and measures
for improving the quality of mental health outcomes through
transformation of the service delivery system in a manner that reflects
and embodies consumer choice. These models, methods, and measures may
focus on, but are not limited to self-determination, consumer-centered
services, consumer choice, and coordination across service systems. All
of these efforts must be culturally competent and appropriate for
targeted populations;
(2) Identify or develop and then evaluate strategies for
translating evidence-based mental health research findings and best
practices into effective interventions, including the development of
tools and supports for providers of mental health or other adjunctive
services that reflect consumer choice; and
(3) Identify or develop and evaluate interventions, such as peer
support services, that help to improve workforce capacity and choice
for adults with serious mental illness.
In addition to the activities proposed by the applicant, the RRTC
must--
Conduct a state-of-the-science conference on its
respective area of research in the third year of the grant cycle and
publish a comprehensive report on the final outcomes of the conference
in the fourth year of the grant cycle. This conference must include
materials from experts internal and external to the RRTC;
Coordinate on research projects of mutual interest with
relevant NIDRR-funded projects as identified through consultation with
the NIDRR project officer;
Involve individuals with disabilities in planning and
implementing its research, training, and dissemination activities, and
in evaluating the RRTC; and
[[Page 10380]]
Demonstrate in its application how it will address, in
whole or in part, the needs of individuals with disabilities from
minority backgrounds.
Executive Order 12866
This notice of proposed priority has been reviewed in accordance
with Executive Order 12866. Under the terms of the order, we have
assessed the potential costs and benefits of this regulatory action.
The potential costs associated with the notice of proposed priority
are those resulting from statutory requirements and those we have
determined as necessary for administering this program effectively and
efficiently.
In assessing the potential costs and benefits--both quantitative
and qualitative--of this notice of proposed priority, we have
determined that the benefits of this proposed priority justify the
costs.
Summary of potential costs and benefits: The potential costs
associated with this proposed priority are minimal while the benefits
are significant. Grantees may anticipate costs associated with
completing the application process in terms of staff time, copying, and
mailing or delivery. The use of e-Application technology reduces
mailing and copying costs significantly.
The benefits of the RRTC Program have been well established over
the years in that similar projects have been completed successfully.
This proposed priority will generate new knowledge and technologies
through research, development, dissemination, utilization, and
technical assistance projects.
Another benefit of this proposed priority also will be the
establishment of a new RRTC that supports the President's NFI and will
improve the lives of persons with disabilities. This new RRTC will
generate, disseminate, and promote the use of new information that will
improve the options for individuals with disabilities to perform
regular activities in the community.
Applicable Program Regulations: 34 CFR part 350.
Electronic Access to This Document
You may view this document, as well as all other Department of
Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe
Portable Document Format (PDF) on the Internet at the following site:
http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister.
To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available
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Note: The official version of this document is the document
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal
Regulations is available on GPO Access at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html
.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: 84.133B,
Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers Program)
Program Authority: 29 U.S.C. 762(g) and 764(b)(2).
Dated: February 25, 2005.
John H. Hager,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 05-4105 Filed 3-2-05; 8:45 am]
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