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U.S. Code as of:
01/19/04
Section 772. Training
(a) Grants and contracts for personnel training
(1) Authority
The Commissioner shall make grants to, and enter into contracts
with, States and public or nonprofit agencies and organizations
(including institutions of higher education) to pay part of the
cost of projects to provide training, traineeships, and related
activities, including the provision of technical assistance, that
are designed to assist in increasing the numbers of, and
upgrading the skills of, qualified personnel (especially
rehabilitation counselors) who are trained in providing
vocational, medical, social, and psychological rehabilitation
services, who are trained to assist individuals with
communication and related disorders, who are trained to provide
other services provided under this chapter, to individuals with
disabilities, and who may include -
(A) personnel specifically trained in providing employment
assistance to individuals with disabilities through job
development and job placement services;
(B) personnel specifically trained to identify, assess, and
meet the individual rehabilitation needs of individuals with
disabilities, including needs for rehabilitation technology;
(C) personnel specifically trained to deliver services to
individuals who may benefit from receiving independent living
services;
(D) personnel specifically trained to deliver services in the
client assistance programs;
(E) personnel specifically trained to deliver services,
through supported employment programs, to individuals with a
most significant disability; and
(F) personnel specifically trained to deliver services to
individuals with disabilities pursuing self-employment,
business ownership, and telecommuting; and
(G) personnel trained in performing other functions necessary
to the provision of vocational, medical, social, and
psychological rehabilitation services, and other services
provided under this chapter.
(2) Authority to provide scholarships
Grants and contracts under paragraph (1) may be expended for
scholarships and may include necessary stipends and allowances.
(3) Related Federal statutes
In carrying out this subsection, the Commissioner may make
grants to and enter into contracts with States and public or
nonprofit agencies and organizations, including institutions of
higher education, to furnish training regarding provisions of
Federal statutes, including section 794 of this title, title I of
the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12111 et
seq.), and the provisions of titles II and XVI of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401 et seq. and 1381 et seq.), that are
related to work incentives for individuals with disabilities.
(4) Training for statewide workforce systems personnel
The Commissioner may make grants to and enter into contracts
under this subsection with States and public or nonprofit
agencies and organizations, including institutions of higher
education, to furnish training to personnel providing services to
individuals with disabilities under title I of the Workforce
Investment Act of 1998 [29 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.]. Under this
paragraph, personnel may be trained -
(A) in evaluative skills to determine whether an individual
with a disability may be served by the State vocational
rehabilitation program or another component of a statewide
workforce investment system; or
(B) to assist individuals with disabilities seeking
assistance through one-stop delivery systems described in
section 134(c) of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 [29
U.S.C. 2864(c)].
(5) Joint funding
Training and other activities provided under paragraph (4) for
personnel may be jointly funded with the Department of Labor,
using funds made available under title I of the Workforce
Investment Act of 1998 [29 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.].
(b) Grants and contracts for academic degrees and academic
certificate granting training projects
(1) Authority
(A) In general
The Commissioner may make grants to, and enter into contracts
with, States and public or nonprofit agencies and organizations
(including institutions of higher education) to pay part of the
costs of academic training projects to provide training that
leads to an academic degree or academic certificate. In making
such grants or entering into such contracts, the Commissioner
shall target funds to areas determined under subsection (e) of
this section to have shortages of qualified personnel.
(B) Types of projects
Academic training projects described in this subsection may
include -
(i) projects to train personnel in the areas of assisting
and supporting individuals with disabilities pursuing
self-employment, business ownership, and telecommuting, and
of vocational rehabilitation counseling, rehabilitation
technology, rehabilitation medicine, rehabilitation nursing,
rehabilitation social work, rehabilitation psychiatry,
rehabilitation psychology, rehabilitation dentistry, physical
therapy, occupational therapy, speech pathology and
audiology, physical education, therapeutic recreation,
community rehabilitation programs, or prosthetics and
orthotics;
(ii) projects to train personnel to provide -
(I) services to individuals with specific disabilities or
individuals with disabilities who have specific impediments
to rehabilitation, including individuals who are members of
populations that are unserved or underserved by programs
under this chapter;
(II) job development and job placement services to
individuals with disabilities;
(III) supported employment services, including services
of employment specialists for individuals with
disabilities;
(IV) specialized services for individuals with
significant disabilities; or
(V) recreation for individuals with disabilities;
(iii) projects to train personnel in other fields
contributing to the rehabilitation of individuals with
disabilities; and
(iv) projects to train personnel in the use, applications,
and benefits of rehabilitation technology.
(2) Application
No grant shall be awarded or contract entered into under this
subsection unless the applicant has submitted to the Commissioner
an application at such time, in such form, in accordance with
such procedures, and including such information as the Secretary
may require, including -
(A) a description of how the designated State unit or units
will participate in the project to be funded under the grant or
contract, including, as appropriate, participation on advisory
committees, as practicum sites, in curriculum development, and
in other ways so as to build closer relationships between the
applicant and the designated State unit and to encourage
students to pursue careers in public vocational rehabilitation
programs;
(B) the identification of potential employers that provide
employment that meets the requirements of paragraph (5)(A)(i);
and
(C) an assurance that data on the employment of graduates or
trainees who participate in the project is accurate.
(3) Limitation
(A) In general
Except as provided in subparagraph (B), no grant or contract
under this subsection may be used to provide any one course of
study to an individual for a period of more than 4 years.
(B) Exception
If a grant or contract recipient under this subsection
determines that an individual has a disability which seriously
affects the completion of training under this subsection, the
grant or contract recipient may extend the period referred to
in subparagraph (A).
(4) Authority to provide scholarships
Grants and contracts under paragraph (1) may be expanded to
provide services that include the provision of scholarships and
necessary stipends and allowances.
(5) Agreements
(A) Contents
A recipient of a grant or contract under this subsection
shall provide assurances to the Commissioner that each
individual who receives a scholarship, for any academic year
beginning after June 1, 1992, utilizing funds provided under
such grant or contract shall enter into an agreement with the
recipient under which the individual shall -
(i) maintain employment -
(I) in a nonprofit rehabilitation agency or related
agency or in a State rehabilitation agency or related
agency, including a professional corporation or
professional practice group through which the individual
has a service arrangement with the designated State agency;
(II) on a full- or part-time basis; and
(III) for a period of not less than the full-time
equivalent of 2 years for each year for which assistance
under this section was received by the individual,
within a period, beginning after the recipient completes the
training for which the scholarship was awarded, of not more
than the sum of the number of years in the period described
in subclause (III) and 2 additional years; and
(ii) repay all or part of any scholarship received, plus
interest, if the individual does not fulfill the requirements
of clause (i),
except as the Commissioner by regulation may provide for
repayment exceptions and deferrals.
(B) Enforcement
The Commissioner shall be responsible for the enforcement of
each agreement entered into under subparagraph (A) upon
completion of the training involved under such subparagraph.
(c) Grants to historically Black colleges and universities
The Commissioner, in carrying out this section, shall make grants
to historically Black colleges and universities and other
institutions of higher education whose minority student enrollment
is at least 50 percent of the total enrollment of the institution.
(d) Application
A grant may not be awarded to a State or other organization under
this section unless the State or organization has submitted an
application to the Commissioner at such time, in such form, in
accordance with such procedures, and containing such information as
the Commissioner may require. Any such application shall include a
detailed description of strategies that will be utilized to recruit
and train individuals so as to reflect the diverse populations of
the United States as part of the effort to increase the number of
individuals with disabilities, and individuals who are from
linguistically and culturally diverse backgrounds, who are
available to provide rehabilitation services.
(e) Evaluation and collection of data
The Commissioner shall evaluate the impact of the training
programs conducted under this section, and collect information on
the training needs of, and data on shortages of qualified personnel
necessary to provide services to individuals with disabilities. The
Commissioner shall prepare and submit to Congress, by September 30
of each fiscal year, a report setting forth and justifying in
detail how the funds made available for training under this section
for the fiscal year prior to such submission are allocated by
professional discipline and other program areas. The report shall
also contain findings on such personnel shortages, how funds
proposed for the succeeding fiscal year will be allocated under the
President's budget proposal, and how the findings on personnel
shortages justify the allocations.
(f) Grants for the training of interpreters
(1) Authority
(A) In general
For the purpose of training a sufficient number of qualified
interpreters to meet the communications needs of individuals
who are deaf or hard of hearing, and individuals who are
deaf-blind, the Commissioner, acting through a Federal office
responsible for deafness and communicative disorders, may award
grants to public or private nonprofit agencies or organizations
to pay part of the costs -
(i) for the establishment of interpreter training programs;
or
(ii) to enable such agencies or organizations to provide
financial assistance for ongoing interpreter training
programs.
(B) Geographic areas
The Commissioner shall award grants under this subsection for
programs in geographic areas throughout the United States that
the Commissioner considers appropriate to best carry out the
objectives of this section.
(C) Priority
In awarding grants under this subsection, the Commissioner
shall give priority to public or private nonprofit agencies or
organizations with existing programs that have a demonstrated
capacity for providing interpreter training services.
(D) Funding
The Commissioner may award grants under this subsection
through the use of -
(i) amounts appropriated to carry out this section; or
(ii) pursuant to an agreement with the Director of the
Office of the Special Education Program (established under
section 1402 of title 20), amounts appropriated under section
1486 of title 20.
(2) Application
A grant may not be awarded to an agency or organization under
paragraph (1) unless the agency or organization has submitted an
application to the Commissioner at such time, in such form, in
accordance with such procedures, and containing such information
as the Commissioner may require, including -
(A) a description of the manner in which an interpreter
training program will be developed and operated during the
5-year period following the date on which a grant is received
by the applicant under this subsection;
(B) a demonstration of the applicant's capacity or potential
for providing training for interpreters for individuals who are
deaf or hard of hearing, and individuals who are deaf-blind;
(C) assurances that any interpreter trained or retrained
under a program funded under the grant will meet such minimum
standards of competency as the Commissioner may establish for
purposes of this subsection; and
(D) such other information as the Commissioner may require.
(g) Technical assistance and in-service training
(1) Technical assistance
The Commissioner is authorized to provide technical assistance
to State designated agencies and community rehabilitation
programs, directly or through contracts with State designated
agencies or nonprofit organizations.
(2) Compensation
An expert or consultant appointed or serving under contract
pursuant to this section shall be compensated at a rate, subject
to approval of the Commissioner, that shall not exceed the daily
equivalent of the rate of pay for level 4 of the Senior Executive
Service Schedule under section 5382 of title 5. Such an expert or
consultant may be allowed travel and transportation expenses in
accordance with section 5703 of title 5.
(3) In-service training of rehabilitation personnel
(A) Projects
Subject to subparagraph (B), at least 15 percent of the sums
appropriated to carry out this section shall be allocated to
designated State agencies to be used, directly or indirectly,
for projects for in-service training for rehabilitation
personnel, consistent with the needs identified through the
comprehensive system for personnel development required by
section 721(a)(7) of this title, including projects designed -
(i) to address recruitment and retention of qualified
rehabilitation professionals;
(ii) to provide for succession planning;
(iii) to provide for leadership development and capacity
building; and
(iv) for fiscal years 1999 and 2000, to provide training
regarding the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 and the
amendments to this chapter made by the Rehabilitation Act
Amendments of 1998.
(B) Limitation
If the allocation to designated State agencies required by
subparagraph (A) would result in a lower level of funding for
projects being carried out on August 7, 1998, by other
recipients of funds under this section, the Commissioner may
allocate less than 15 percent of the sums described in
subparagraph (A) to designated State agencies for such
in-service training.
(h) Provision of information
The Commissioner, subject to the provisions of section 776 of
this title, may require that recipients of grants or contracts
under this section provide information, including data, with regard
to the impact of activities funded under this section.
(i) Authorization of appropriations
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section
such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 1999
through 2003.
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