The RSA training program offers grants in several areas, as described below. All RSA Training Grants are competed through www.grants.gov. Please view that site to see which areas have current competitions. In addition, ED.Gov offers a forecast of funding opportunities on its web site. This site lists most of the programs and competitions under which the Department has invited or expects to invite applications for new awards and provides actual or estimated deadline dates for the transmittal of applications under these programs. The categories of funding under the RSA Training program are as follows:

These five-year grants generally average $100,000 per year ($150,000 per year for rehabilitation counseling grants and $75,000 per year for undergraduate programs)and generally fund college and university programs in rehabilitation related areas (although certain other agencies and organizations may apply). A minimum of 75% of the grant funds must be used for scholarships to students. The following areas are those currently funded by RSA. Areas are completed as projects expire or new funds become available.

• Rehabilitation counseling (master's and doctoral levels)

• Rehabilitation technology

• Vocational evaluation and work adjustment

• Rehabilitation of individuals who are mentally ill

• Undergraduate education in the rehabilitation services

• Rehabilitation of individuals who are blind

• Rehabilitation of individuals who are deaf

• Job development and job placement

These five-year grants fund programs to provide continuing education to staff of state vocational rehabilitation (VR) agencies, community rehabilitation programs that provide services to state VR agencies and RSA-funded centers for independent living within a given multi-state, federal region. RSA funds 21 such programs. Grants range in size from $300,000 to $500,000. These grants are competed as the grant in a given region expires

These three-year grants are designed to develop new types of rehabilitation personnel and to demonstrate the effectiveness of these personnel in the provision of rehabilitation services to persons with severe handicaps; and to develop new and improved methods of training rehabilitation personnel to support the more efficient and effective delivery of rehabilitation services by both State VR agencies and other types of rehabilitation agencies.

These grants are on specialized topics -- one is a national rehabilitation leadership project another focuses on training of Client Assistance Personnel programs, and a third is a national clearinghouse for rehabilitation training material.

The Training of Interpreters for Deaf Individuals Program is designed to assist in providing a sufficient number of skilled interpreters to meet the needs of deaf people. Individuals are trained in public and private agencies, schools and other institutions to become interpreters and to ensure the maintenance of skills necessary to provide skilled manual and/or oral interpreting. These are generally regional grants (i.e., each grant serves one of 10 multi-state, federal regions) and average about $200,000 per year. The next competition in this area is expected to open in fiscal year 2005.

These grants are authorized by section 21 of the Rehabilitation Act, as amended (the Act). They are intended to improve the services provided under the Act, especially services provided to individuals with disabilities who are from minority backgrounds, and to enhance the capacity and increase the participation of minority entities in discretionary grant programs funded under the Act. "Minority entities" are defined by section 21 as a historically Black college or university, a Hispanic-serving institution of higher education, an American Indian tribal college or university, or an institution of higher education whose minority student enrollment is at least 50 percent.