[Federal Register: April 6, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 65)]
[Notices]
[Page 17426-17427]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr06ap05-59]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research--
Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects and Centers Program--
Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects
AGENCY: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services,
Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice of proposed priority.
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SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary for Special Education and
Rehabilitative Services proposes a priority for the National Institute
on Disability and Rehabilitation Research's (NIDRR) Disability and
Rehabilitation Research Projects and Centers Program, Disability and
Rehabilitation Research Projects (DRRP). 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 May 6, 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, the specific reference is
in Chapter 3, Employment Outcomes. 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.
Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects (DRRP) Program
The purpose of the DRRP Program is to plan and conduct research,
demonstration projects, training, and related activities that help to
maximize the full inclusion and integration of individuals with
disabilities into society and to improve the effectiveness of services
authorized under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (the Act).
An applicant for assistance under this program must demonstrate in its
application how it will address, in whole or in part, the needs of
individuals with disabilities from minority backgrounds (34 CFR
350.40(a)). The approaches an applicant may take to meet this
requirement are found in 34 CFR 350.40(b). Additional information on
the DRRP program can be found at: http://www.ed.gov/rschstat/research/pubs/res-program.html#DRRP
.
Priority
Background
Despite past attempts to reduce unemployment rates for individuals
with disabilities, these individuals continue to be employed at much
lower rates than individuals without disabilities. The 2003 American
Community Survey (U.S. Bureau of the Census, http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Products/Profiles/Single/2003/ACS/Tabular/010/01000US2.htm
), for
example, found that approximately 37.8 percent of adults age 21 to 64
with disabilities were employed, compared to approximately 77.5 percent
of adults with no disability. NIDRR is committed
[[Page 17427]]
to supporting research on employment models and intervention approaches
that can help reduce this discrepancy.
Strategic models and approaches for employment and job placement of
individuals with disabilities fall primarily into two categories:
Supply-side and demand-side. In supply-side models, individuals are
matched against an available supply of jobs. In demand-side employment
models, the focus is on the employer and work environment (i.e.,
occupational shifts and industrial change).
NIDRR believes that a better understanding about market driven
workforce trends could improve employment outcomes for individuals with
disabilities and inform employment activities so that the potential
workforce applicant pool is better prepared to effectively meet future
or changing needs and requirements of the job market.
The supply-side and demand-side models for job placement are among
the most frequently discussed in the research literature. However,
there are a limited number of studies that describe the differences
between the two models. Similarly, the literature that does discuss the
differences between the two models provides limited insight about
factors that influence the employment rate for persons with
disabilities. Additionally, studies identify but provide limited
understanding about the following critical issues and concerns relating
to demand-side models: (1) Changing structure of the workforce and the
impact of downsizing; (2) increasing use of on-call workers, temporary
help agencies, and independent contractors; (3) rapid advances in
technology requiring the need for highly educated, highly skilled
workers; (4) employer perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes regarding the
employment of individuals with disabilities; (5) employer knowledge and
use of incentives for hiring individuals with disabilities; (6) the
effect of labor market demand policies and economic factors on
employment outcomes for individuals with disabilities; (7) employer-
based hiring practices that influence employment outcomes and employer
understanding of the implications of employment practices for
individuals with disabilities; and (8) predictors of return to work and
workforce participation. This priority seeks to improve our
understanding of demand-side placement models and strategies and
employment outcomes from a variety of perspectives.
Proposed Priority
The Assistant Secretary proposes a priority for one DRRP, which
must focus its research on demand-side employment placement models.
Studies conducted under this priority must support rigorous,
empirically based research designed to develop or identify and evaluate
demand-side employment placement models, methods, and measures.
To meet this priority, research activities and studies must
identify or develop, demonstrate, and evaluate methods, models, and
measures leading to the following:
(1) Psychometrically sound measures for determining employer-
focused employment needs;
(2) Types of employment interventions that effectively address
employer issues, including methods for increasing employer and business
entity participation in the development of strategies for improving
employment outcomes for individuals with disabilities;
(3) Analysis comparing the effectiveness of the demand-side model
and the supply-side model and identification of the predictors of
workforce participation for specific populations of individuals with
disabilities using both models; and
(4) Effective measures for evaluating the role of demand-side
models in relation to employment outcomes, employment data, individual
and systems level outcomes, and trends across workplace environments
and employment systems, including measures that involve macroeconomic,
legislative, or policy issues that potentially influence employment
outcomes.
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 the 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 DRRP Program have been well established over
the years in that similar projects have been completed successfully.
This proposed priority will generate new knowledge through the research
to be conducted under the proposed priority.
Another benefit of this proposed priority will be the establishment
of a new DRRP that supports the President's NFI and will support
improvements in the lives and potential employment outcomes of persons
with disabilities.
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 84.133A, Disability
Rehabilitation Research Project.)
Program Authority: 29 U.S.C. 762(g) and 764(a).
Dated: March 31, 2005.
John H. Hager,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 05-6748 Filed 4-5-05; 8:45 am]
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