[Federal Register: December 13, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 238)]
[Notices]
[Page 73738-73741]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr13de05-44]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research--
Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects and Centers Program--
Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems Centers (SCIMS Centers) and Disability
Rehabilitation Research Projects (DRRPs)
AGENCY: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services,
Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice of proposed priorities for SCIMS Centers and DRRPs.
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SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary for Special Education and
Rehabilitative Services proposes certain funding priorities and a
selection criterion for the Disability and Rehabilitation Research
Projects and Centers Program administered by the National Institute on
Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR). Specifically, this
notice proposes a priority for Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems Centers
(SCIMS centers) and a priority and selection criterion for Disability
and Rehabilitation Research Projects (DRRPs). The Assistant Secretary
may use these priorities and selection criterion for competitions in
fiscal year (FY) 2006 and later years. We take this action to focus
research attention on areas of national need. We intend these
priorities and selection criterion to improve rehabilitation services
and outcomes for individuals with disabilities.
DATES: We must receive your comments on or before January 12, 2006.
ADDRESSES: Address all comments about these proposed priorities and
selection criterion 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 or NIDRR.comments@ed.gov.
You must include the term ``Notice of proposed priorities for SCIMS
Centers and DRRPs'' in the subject line of your electronic message.
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: This notice of proposed priorities is in
concert with President George W. Bush's New Freedom Initiative (NFI)
and NIDRR's Proposed Long-Range Plan for FY 2005-2009 (Plan). The NFI
can be accessed on the Internet at the following site: http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/newfreedom.
The Plan, which was published in
the Federal Register on July 27, 2005 (70 FR 43522), can be accessed on
the Internet at the following site: http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/other/2005-3/072705d.html
).
Through the implementation of the NFI and the Plan, NIDRR seeks
to--(1) Improve the quality and utility of
[[Page 73739]]
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.
Invitation To Comment
We invite you to submit comments regarding these proposed
priorities and selection criterion. To ensure that your comments have
maximum effect in developing the notice of final priorities, we urge
you to identify clearly the specific proposed priority or selection
criterion that each comment addresses.
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 these proposed
priorities and selection criterion. 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 on this notice of proposed priorities 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 notice of proposed priorities. 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 priorities and selection criterion in a
notice in the Federal Register. We will determine the final priorities
and selection criterion after considering responses to this notice and
other information available to the Department. This notice does not
preclude us from proposing or using additional priorities or selection
criteria, subject to meeting applicable rulemaking requirements.
Note: This notice does not solicit applications. In any year in
which we choose to use these proposed priorities, we invite
applications through a notice in the Federal Register. When inviting
applications we designate the priorities 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)).
Priorities
Background
The SCIMS Program
In 1972, the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare
established the national Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems (SCIMS)
Program by funding four projects to provide comprehensive,
multidisciplinary rehabilitation services to persons who experience
Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) and to conduct research to foster advances in
SCI rehabilitation. The SCIMS program became part of the research
portfolio of NIDRR when NIDRR was established (initially as the
National Institute of Handicapped Research) within the Department of
Health, Education, and Welfare (now Education) in 1978.
The SCIMS program is designed to study the course of recovery and
outcomes following the delivery of a coordinated system of care for
individuals with SCI, which for purposes of this program is defined as
a clinically discernible degree of neurologic impairment following a
traumatic event. Since 1973, SCIMS programs have collected and
contributed information on common data elements for a centralized SCI
database, the SCIMS database, which is maintained through a NIDRR-
funded grant for a National Data and Statistical Center. (Additional
information on the SCIMS database can be found at http://www.spinalcord.uab.edu.
) The data collected and contributed to the
database thus far have involved more than 23,000 cases, with follow up
data on some subjects covering a 30-year period post injury. There are
certain criteria that must be met in order for a SCIMS program to
include information relating to a particular subject in the database.
Eligible subjects must--
(a) Be admitted to and receive care in at least one component of a
model SCI system, including acute or surgical care, inpatient
rehabilitation, outpatient rehabilitation, or day-hospitalization
rehabilitation; (b) Be treated at a model SCI system within one year of
the injury; (c) Sign a consent form and the Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) authorization; (d)
Reside in a geographic catchment area of the model system at the time
of the injury; and (e) Be a U.S. citizen.
SCIMS Centers
There are currently 16 SCIMS centers funded by NIDRR. These centers
provide comprehensive rehabilitation services to individuals with SCI
and conduct spinal cord research, including clinical research and the
analysis of standardized data in collaboration with other related
projects.
Each SCIMS Center funded under this program establishes a
multidisciplinary system for providing rehabilitation services
specifically designed to meet the special needs of individuals with
SCI. These services include acute care as well as periodic inpatient or
outpatient follow up and vocational services. Centers demonstrate and
evaluate the benefits and cost effectiveness of their systems for
providing rehabilitation services to individuals with SCI and
demonstrate and evaluate existing, new, and improved methods and
equipment essential to the care, management, and rehabilitation of
individuals with SCI. Centers also demonstrate and evaluate methods of
community outreach and education for individuals with SCI in connection
with the problems these individuals experience in such areas as
housing, transportation, recreation, employment, and community
activities. SCIMS centers engage in initiatives and new approaches and
maintain close working relationships with other governmental and
voluntary institutions and organizations to unify and coordinate
scientific efforts, encourage joint planning, and promote the
interchange of data and reports among SCI researchers.
The Conference Report accompanying the 2005 Appropriations Act
noted that NIDRR was receiving additional funding for the SCIMS program
and stated that the conferees intended that the
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additional funds be used to support investments that could facilitate
multi-center research on SCI therapies and interventions, and the use
of technology in providing SCI rehabilitation services. In order to
plan for this expanded funding, NIDRR conducted a review of its current
program and met with SCI organizations and Federal partners. The
priorities and selection criterion proposed in this notice are the
result of this review and subsequent discussions. It is NIDRR's
intention that, through funding of projects under these priorities, the
SCIMS program will serve as a platform for multi-site research that
contributes to the formulation of practice guidelines to improve
outcomes for individuals with SCI.
Proposed Priorities and Selection Criterion
In accordance with section 204(b)(4) of the Rehabilitation Act of
1973, as amended (Act), and 34 CFR part 359, Priority One will provide
for the funding of SCIMS centers that will build upon the work of the
current centers, to provide comprehensive rehabilitation services to
individuals with SCI and conduct spinal cord research, including
clinical research and the analysis of standardized data in
collaboration with other related projects.
Priority Two, authorized under section 202 of the Act and 34 CFR
part 350, will provide for the funding of Disability and Rehabilitation
Research Projects (DRRP) that will conduct multi-site research that
contributes to evidence-based rehabilitation interventions and clinical
practice guidelines that improve the lives of individuals with SCI.
These projects will serve the overall purpose of the DRRP program,
which is to plan and conduct research, demonstration projects,
training, and related activities to develop methods, procedures, and
rehabilitation technology that maximize the full inclusion and
integration into society, employment, independent living, family
support, and economic and social self-sufficiency of individuals with
disabilities, especially individuals with the most severe disabilities,
and to improve the effectiveness of services authorized under the Act.
DRRPs carry out one or more of the following types of activities, as
specified in 34 CFR 350.13 through 350.19: research, development,
demonstration, training, dissemination, utilization, and technical
assistance. Additional information on the DRRP program can be found at:
http://www.ed.gov/rschstat/research/pubs/res-program.html#DRRP.
The Department is interested in ensuring that grantees use rigorous
methods to carry out multi-site research conducted under Priority Two.
Therefore, we propose an additional criterion to address methods for
carrying out multi-site research collaboration for Priority Two. This
proposed criterion is intended to emphasize the importance of multi-
site research collaboration.
To be eligible under Priority Two, an applicant must have received
a grant under Priority One. The Department intends to announce the
competition for Priority Two awards after selecting the grantees from
the Priority One competition. Only successful applicants from the
Priority One competition will be eligible to apply for awards under the
Priority Two competition.
Proposed Priority One--SCIMS Centers
The Assistant Secretary proposes a priority for the funding of
Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems (SCIMS) centers to conduct research
that contributes to evidence-based rehabilitation interventions and
clinical and practice guidelines that improve the lives of individuals
with spinal cord injury (SCI). Each SCIMS center must--
1. Contribute to continued assessment of long-term outcomes of SCI
by enrolling at least 30 subjects per year into the SCIMS database,
following established protocols for the collection of enrollment and
follow-up data on subjects;
2. Contribute to improved outcomes for persons with SCI by
proposing and participating in at least one collaborative research
module project, which may range from pilot research to more extensive
studies (At the beginning of the funding cycle, the SCI model system
directors, in conjunction with NIDRR, will select specific modules for
implementation from the approved applications); and
3. Contribute to improved long-term outcomes of individuals with
SCI by conducting one site-specific research project to test innovative
approaches to treating and evaluating SCI outcomes in accordance with
the focus areas identified in NIDRR's Proposed Long-Range Plan for FY
2005-2009 (Plan).
In carrying out these activities, applicants may select from the
following research domains related to specific areas of the Plan:
Health and function, employment, participation and community living,
and technology for access and function.
In addition, applicants must address the following requirements:
Provide a multidisciplinary system of rehabilitation care
specifically designed to meet the needs of individuals with SCI. The
system must encompass a continuum of care, including emergency medical
services, acute care services, acute medical rehabilitation services,
and post-acute services.
Address the needs of people with disabilities including
individuals from traditionally underserved populations.
Coordinate with the NIDRR-funded Model Systems Knowledge
Translation Center to provide scientific results and information for
dissemination to clinical and consumer audiences.
Ensure participation of individuals with disabilities in
all aspects of SCIMS research.
Proposed Priority Two and Selection Criterion for SCIMS Multi-Site
Research Projects
Proposed Priority
The Assistant Secretary proposes a priority for the funding of
Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems (SCIMS) multi-site research projects
to conduct research that contributes to evidence-based rehabilitation
interventions and clinical practice guidelines that improve the lives
of individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI).
To be eligible under this priority, an applicant must have received
a grant under the SCIMS Centers priority. Following completion of a
competition under the SCIMS Centers priority, the Department will
invite successful applicants under that competition to apply for
funding as a lead center under this SCIMS Multi-Site Research Projects
priority.
Each SCIMS multi-site research project must--
1. Ensure utilization of SCIMS capacity by collaborating with three
or more of the NIDRR-funded SCIMS centers (for a minimum of four SCIMS
sites). Applicants may propose to include other SCI research sites that
are not participating in a NIDRR-funded program in their multi-site
research projects;
2. Contribute to improved long-term outcomes of individuals with
SCI by conducting multi-site research on questions of significance to
SCI rehabilitation, using clearly identified research designs. The
research must focus on one or more specific domains identified in
NIDRR's Proposed Long-Range Plan for FY 2005-2009 (Plan), including
health and function, participation and community living, technology,
and employment, and ensure that the research study has appropriate
research hypotheses and methods to generate reliable and valid
findings;
3. Demonstrate the capacity to carry out multi-site research
projects,
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including the ability to coordinate research among centers; maintain
data quality; and adhere to research protocols, confidentiality
requirements, and data safety requirements; and
4. Specify start up activities that will be required to mount the
proposed multi-site research project, including infrastructure
requirements and measurement tools. Applicants must specify in their
applications the amount requested, not to exceed $800,000, to cover
these start-up costs.
In addition, applicants must address the following requirements:
Address the needs of people with disabilities, including
individuals from traditionally underserved populations.
Coordinate with the NIDRR-funded Model Systems Knowledge
Translation Center by providing scientific results and information for
dissemination to clinical and consumer audiences.
Ensure participation of individuals with disabilities in
all aspects of model systems research.
Proposed Selection Criterion
In accordance with the provisions of 34 CFR 350.53 and 350.54 and
in addition to the selection criteria specified in those sections, the
Secretary proposes to consider the following factor in evaluating
applications submitted under the SCIMS multi-site research projects
priority:
The extent to which the applicant clearly documents its capacity to
manage multi-site research projects, including administrative
capabilities, experience with management of multi-site research
protocols, and demonstrated ability to maintain standards for quality
and confidentiality of data gathered from multiple sites.
Executive Order 12866
This notice of proposed priorities 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
priorities are those resulting from statutory requirements and those we
have determined as necessary for administering these programs
effectively and efficiently.
In assessing the potential costs and benefits--both quantitative
and qualitative--of this notice of proposed priorities, we have
determined that the benefits of the proposed priorities justify the
costs.
Summary of Potential Costs and Benefits
The potential costs associated with these proposed priorities are
minimal while the benefits are significant.
The benefits of the Special Projects and Demonstrations for Spinal
Cord Injury and Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects
Programs have been well established over the years in that similar
projects have been completed successfully. These proposed priorities
will generate new knowledge and technologies through research,
development, dissemination, utilization, and technical assistance
projects.
Another benefit of these proposed priorities are that the
establishment of new SCIMS centers and the DRRPs conducting SCIMS
multi-site research projects will support the President's NFI and will
improve the lives of persons with disabilities. These centers and DRRPs
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 parts 350 and 359.
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
free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF, call the U.S.
Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in
the Washington, DC, area at (202) 512-1530.
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 84.133N, Model Spinal
Cord Injury Centers and 84.133A, Disability Rehabilitation Research
Projects) Program Authority: 29 U.S.C. 760, 764(a), and 764(b)(4).
Dated: December 7, 2005.
John H. Hager,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 05-23937 Filed 12-12-05; 8:45 am]
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