[Federal Register: April 6, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 67)]
[Notices]
[Page 18359-18363]
>From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr06ap01-134]
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Part II
Department of Education
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National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research; Notice
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research
AGENCY: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services,
Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice of Proposed Funding Priorities for Fiscal Years (FYs)
2001-2003 for Community-based Research Projects on Technology for
Independence and Resource Center for Community-based Disability and
Rehabilitation Research Projects on Technology for Independence.
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SUMMARY: We propose funding priorities for Community-based Research
Projects on Technology for Independence and Resource Center for
Community-based Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects on
Technology for Independence under the National Institute on Disability
and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) for FYs 2001-2003. We take this
action to focus research attention on areas of national need. We intend
these priorities to improve the rehabilitation services and outcomes
for individuals with disabilities. This notice contains proposed
priorities under the Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects
and Centers Program.
DATES: We must receive your comments on or before May 7, 2001.
ADDRESSES: All comments concerning these proposed priorities should be
addressed to Donna Nangle, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland
Avenue, SW., room 3414, Switzer Building, Washington, DC 20202-2645.
Comments may also be sent through the Internet: donna_nangle@ed.gov
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Donna Nangle. Telephone: (202) 205-
5880. Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf
(TDD) may call the TDD number at (202) 205-4475.
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 in the preceding
paragraph.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Invitation To Comment
We invite you to submit comments regarding these proposed
priorities.
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. 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 these priorities in Room 3414, Switzer Building, 330 C
Street SW., Washington, DC, between the hours of 8 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 these proposed priorities. If you want to
schedule an appointment for this type of aid, you may call (202) 205-
8113 or (202) 260-9895. If you use a TDD, you may call the Federal
Information Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339.
National Education Goals
These proposed priorities will address the National Education Goal
that every adult American will be literate and will possess the
knowledge and skills necessary to compete in a global economy and
exercise the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.
The authority for the program to establish research priorities by
reserving funds to support particular research activities is contained
in sections 202(g) and 204 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as
amended (the Act) (29 U.S.C. 762(g) and 764(b)(4)). Regulations
governing this program are found in 34 CFR part 350.
We will announce the final priorities in a notice in the Federal
Register. We will determine the final priorities 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 these proposed priorities, we invite
applications through a notice published in the Federal Register.
When inviting applications we designate each priority as absolute,
competitive preference, or invitational.
The proposed priorities refer to NIDRR's Long Range Plan (the
Plan). The Plan can be accessed on the World Wide Web at: (http://
www.ed.gov/offices/OSERS/NIDRR/#LRP).
Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects and Centers Program
The purpose of the DRRP and Centers program is to plan and conduct
research, demonstration projects, training, and related activities to:
(a) Develop methods, procedures, and rehabilitation technology that
maximizes the full inclusion and integration into society, employment,
independent living, family support, and economic and social self-
sufficiency of individuals with disabilities; and
(b) Improve the effectiveness of services authorized under the Act.
Priorities for Community-based Rehabilitation Projects on
Technology for Independence
Background
Issues in Involvement of Community-based Organizations of People With
Disabilities in Promoting Technology for Independence.
As stated in the Plan, ``It is the mission of NIDRR to generate,
disseminate, and promote the full use of new knowledge that will
improve substantially the options for disabled individuals to perform
regular activities in the community, and the capacity of society to
provide full opportunities and appropriate supports for its disabled
citizens.'' Assistive Technology (AT) and environmental access play key
roles in this mission. The Plan provides detailed definitions,
examples, and research objectives for AT and environmental access,
including universal design.
According to a National Center for Health Statistics report titled
``Trends and Differential Use of Assistive Technology Devices: United
States, 1994,'' approximately 17 million people used at least one AT
device. AT and related environmental access approaches (environmental
access approaches include the concept of universal design) help people
with disabilities function on a more equal basis in society. For more
information on the contributions of AT and access solutions, see the
examples and links to relevant web sites provided by the United States
Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, also known
as the Access Board (http://www.access-board.gov/), and the Doorway to
Research on Technology for Access and Function at the National Center
for the Dissemination of Disability Research (NCDDR) (http://
www.ncddr.org/rpp/techaf/index.html).
The new paradigm of disability embodied in the Plan requires
analysis of the extent to which AT and
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environmental access helps individuals with disabilities in attaining
full participation in society. Much of NIDRR's work reflects the
components of the Independent Living (IL) philosophy: consumer control,
self-help, advocacy, peer relationships and peer role models, and equal
access to society, programs, and activities. IL and achieving community
integration to the maximum extent possible are issues at the crux of
NIDRR's mission. Furthermore, NIDRR is committed to the creation of a
theoretical framework with measurable outcomes that is based upon the
experiences of individuals with disabilities.
To improve ``end-user'' participation in addressing AT problems,
and related environmental access solutions, NIDRR will support projects
that involve community-based organizations in researching AT related
problems and needs. Two types of projects will be supported. The first
type includes research projects that will investigate the use of, and
need for, AT devices and services at the community level. The second
type of project is a community-based research ``Resource Center'' that
will develop, evaluate, and disseminate improved research and training
methods appropriate to AT and environmental access involvement of
community-based disability organizations. The Resource Center will also
provide AT and environmental access technical assistance to community-
based organizations and will foster cooperation among the funded
projects. These community-based research projects will broaden the
inclusion of persons with disabilities in developing practical and
affordable solutions to AT and environmental access problems and needs.
In recent years, a number of NIDRR grant competitions have led to
research projects and activities that aim at improving access to AT and
reducing environmental barriers. For many years, NIDRR funded grants to
States under the Technology-Related Assistance for Individuals with
Disabilities Act of 1988 (Tech Act). In addition to research programs
under Title II of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (29 U.S.C.
796) (Rehab Act), NIDRR now has responsibility for AT programs under
the Assistive Technology Act of 1998 (AT Act), which replaced the Tech
Act. A June 5, 2000 notice (65 FR 35768-35774) for a new Alternative
Financing Program under Title III of the AT Act identified numerous
issues affecting access of people with disabilities to AT. An April 5,
1999 notice (64 FR 16531) under NIDRR's Rehabilitation Engineering
Research Center (RERC) program discussed the importance of improving
access to the environment through universal design. For information on
ongoing and completed NIDRR-supported activities in these areas,
contact the National Rehabilitation Information Center at http://
www.naric.com/ or telephone 1-800-346-2742.
This year, NIDRR anticipates awarding a number of projects related
to AT and environmental access. For updates on the status of
announcements please see the Education Department Forecast of Funding
Opportunities under Department of Education Discretionary Grant
Programs for FY 2001 at http://ocfo.ed.gov/grntinfo/forecast/
forecast.htm.
According to the Rehab Act, the purpose of IL programs is ``to
promote a philosophy of consumer control, peer support, self-help,
self-determination, equal access, and individual empowerment, equal
access, and system advocacy, in order to maximize the leadership,
empowerment, independence, and productivity of individuals with
disabilities, and the integration and full inclusion of individuals
with disabilities into the mainstream of American society.'' The
concepts in this philosophy of consumer control, peer support, and
self-help place these Title VII independent living centers (CILs)
within a broader world-wide grouping known as ``community-based''
organizations.
The term ``community-based'' organization has varying meanings in
disability and rehabilitation programs and in social research. For the
purpose of these two priorities, a ``community-based disability
organization'' is a consumer-directed community organization such as a
CIL. Consumer control is the key. Some community rehabilitation service
organizations, for example psychosocial rehabilitation programs, also
value consumer direction. Other disability-related organizations are
located in community settings, but do not have significant consumer
direction. Section 7 of the Rehab Act, for example, identifies
community rehabilitation programs as providers of AT devices and
services for persons with disabilities, but such organizations may or
may not be consumer directed. Organizations with consumer direction,
including CILs and other organizations such as protection and advocacy
(P&A) agencies, are in a unique position to help identify and study the
specific needs for AT and environmental access of individuals from
diverse populations and therefore are the focus of this research
effort.
A number of private foundations and international agencies have
identified the value of investing in ``grassroots'', consumer-directed
organizations, particularly in public health and economic development.
These organizations aim at reducing poverty or specific diseases such
as HIV/AIDS, or they provide assistance to special needs groups such as
people in troubled urban and rural areas (see the World Wide Web sites
or publications of the Pew Fund for Health and Human Services at http:/
/www.pewtrusts.com/, the World Health Organization at http://
www.who.int/, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation at http://
www.rwjf.org/index.jsp for examples).
Community-based research encompasses a broad set of research
activities with differing, and sometimes competing, concepts and
methods. Sociology, anthropology, community psychology and public
health, for example, use applied community research methods. For the
purpose of these two proposed priorities, community-based research is
intensive, systematic study directed toward new or full scientific
knowledge or understanding of AT or environmental access problems. In
addition, the research must be completed in the community under the
direction of community-based disability organizations (Sclove, R.E,
Scammell, M.L. & Holland, B. (1998). Community-based Research in the
U.S. Amherst, MA: The Loka Institute http://www.loka.org/).
Community-based disability and rehabilitation research puts primary
emphasis on assisting persons with disabilities by producing and
disseminating knowledge and technology and promoting and advancing the
rehabilitation and integration process at the community level.
Community-based disability and rehabilitation research, according to
these two priorities, applies to the use of, or need for, AT devices
and services by persons with disabilities in the community, and related
issues of environmental access. Such research should be performed by
qualified researchers in cooperation with community-based disability
organizations. NIDRR supports the notion that persons with disabilities
provide unique perspectives about living with disability and must be
included in community-based research projects to the greatest possible
extent. Their experience with, and interest in, finding practical
solutions to problems encountered in home, school, place of work, and
community make them informed participants, if not particularly
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qualified researchers. To ensure that technology-related problems
relevant to persons with disabilities are studied, contributions from
such persons are encouraged. In addition, university-based research on
disability needs to be complemented by community-based research to
provide the community with useful and immediate tools, technologies,
and knowledge for overcoming barriers to access and participation in
economy and society.
Community-based rehabilitation research is particularly suited for
persons with disabilities. According to the University of Washington
School of Public Health and Community Medicine's Principles of
Community-Based Research, a research partnership between a university
and community-based organizations should accomplish the following:
Community partners should be involved at the earliest
stages of the project, helping to define research objectives and having
input into how the project will be organized.
Community partners should have real influence on project
direction--that is, enough leverage to ensure that the original goals,
mission, and methods of the project are adhered to.
Research processes and outcomes should benefit the
community. Community members should be hired and trained whenever
possible and appropriate, and the research should help build and
enhance community assets;
Community members should be part of the analysis and
interpretation of data and should have input into how the results are
distributed. This does not imply censorship of data or of publication,
but rather the opportunity to make clear the community's views about
the interpretation prior to final publication;
Productive partnerships between researchers and community
members should be encouraged to last beyond the life of the project.
This will make it more likely that research findings will be
incorporated into ongoing community programs and therefore provide the
greatest possible benefit to the community from research; and
Community members should be empowered to initiate their
own research projects that address needs they identify themselves.
Proposed Priority 1: Community-based Disability and Rehabilitation
Research Projects on Technology for Independence
The Plan identifies disability in terms of the relationship between
the individual and the natural, built, cultural, and social
environments (63 FR 57189-57219). The Plan focuses on both individual
and systemic factors that have an impact on the ability of people to
function. The elements of the Plan include employment outcomes, health
and function, technology for access and function, and IL and community
integration. To attain the goals in these areas, the Plan also includes
capacity building for research and training, and to ensure knowledge
dissemination and utilization. Each area of the Plan includes
objectives at both the individual and system levels. For example, the
technology for access and function area of the Plan includes research
objectives to develop AT that supports people with disabilities to
function and live independently and obtain better employment outcomes,
and research objectives to promote improved access to the built
environment and concepts of universal design. It is clear that the
challenges and opportunities for AT and improved environmental access
reflect all of the priority areas of the Plan.
Proposed Priority 1
We proposes to establish research projects to involve community-
based disability organizations in AT and environmental access research
leading to practical and affordable solutions to identified problems
and needs, and building research capacity at the community level and in
community-based organizations serving persons with disabilities.
In carrying out these purposes, a project must:
(a) From the examples of research objectives below, conduct a
significant and substantial research program on the involvement of
community-based disability organizations in promoting technology for
access and function that will contribute to the advancement of
knowledge in accordance with the Plan by:
Investigating and developing research questions,
methodologies, and recommendations for use by other research entities
in solving technology-related, engineering, psychosocial, economic and
other problems at the individual and systems levels, in the United
States (U.S.); and
Designing and testing models for partnership of community-
based disability organizations in research, participant observation
studies and other qualitative and quantitative research approaches to
using technology in community-based settings; and
(b) Disseminate findings from community-based research to persons
with disabilities, their representatives, disability and rehabilitation
service providers, researchers, planners, and policy makers.
In carrying out these purposes, the project must:
Coordinate with appropriate federally funded projects.
Coordination responsibilities will be identified through consultation
with the NIDRR project officer and may include outreach to specific
NIDRR DRRPs, RERCs, Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers
(RRTCs), Disability Business Technical Assistance Centers (DBTACs) and
AT Projects; Office of Special Education technology projects and Parent
Training and Information Centers; and Rehabilitation Services
Administration training, special demonstration, and IL projects;
Involve individuals with disabilities in key decision-
making;
Participate in a formative review session to be convened
by the Resource Center within six months of award, and cooperate with
the Resource Center's capacity-building and evaluation activities; and
Participate in a state-of-the-science conference in the
third year of the grant.
Proposed Priority 2: Resource Center for Community-based Disability
and Rehabilitation Research Projects on Technology for Independence
There is a need for capacity-building on conceptual and
methodological approaches to research on the involvement of community-
based organizations of people with disabilities in promoting technology
for independence. There is need for training, technical assistance, and
dissemination efforts to guide ongoing efforts. Advice and strategies
are needed in specific areas including, but not limited to, research
designs and methodologies, case studies, focus group research, AT and
environmental assessment, small sample surveys, participant
observation, ethnography, and participatory action research. There is a
need to develop ``how-to-do'' materials on disability-related AT and
environmental access community-based research, reference resources,
web-based access to materials, and other means of communicating
knowledge about community-based rehabilitation research in the U.S.
Proposed Priority 2
We propose to establish a resource center to assist Disability and
Rehabilitation Research Projects on Technology for Independence and
other related NIDRR activities under the Plan with capacity-building
for improving the involvement of community-based
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organizations of people with disabilities in promoting technology for
independence.
In carrying out these purposes, the project must:
(a) Establish and conduct a significant and substantial resource
program on capacity-building in research, training, and TA on the
involvement of community-based disability organizations in promoting
technology for access and function that will contribute to the
advancement of knowledge in accordance with the Plan.
(b) Disseminate findings from the Resource Center's program on
community-based research to DRRPs on Technology for Independence and
other related NIDRR-funded activities under the Plan.
In addition to the activities proposed by the applicant to carry
out these purposes, the Resource Center must:
Involve individuals with disabilities and, if appropriate,
their representatives, in planning and implementing the research,
training, and dissemination activities, and in evaluating the Center;
Coordinate with appropriate federally funded projects.
Coordination responsibilities will be identified through consultation
with the NIDRR project officer and may include outreach to specific
NIDRR DRRPs, RERCs, RRTCs, DBTACs and AT Projects; Office of Special
Education technology projects and Parent Training and Information
Centers; and Rehabilitation Services Administration training, special
demonstration, and IL projects;
Convene a formative review session within six months of
project award with the DRRPs on Technology for Independence to assist
these community-based rehabilitation researchers in the finalization of
their research plans, and to help them with the commencement of their
research projects; and
Conduct a state-of-the-science conference, including the
DRRPs on Technology for Independence, in the third year of the grant
and publish a comprehensive report on the final outcomes of the
conference in the fourth year of the grant.
Applicable Program Regulations: 34 CFR part 350.
Program Authority: 29 U.S.C. 762(g) and 764(b)(4).
Electronic Access to This Document
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Note: The official version of this document is published in the
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index.html
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: 84.133A, Disability
and Rehabilitation Research Project and Centers Program)
Dated: April 2, 2001.
Andrew J. Pepin,
Executive Administrator for Special Education and Rehabilitative
Services.
[FR Doc. 01-8462 Filed 4-5-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-D