Sec. 5. Grants for transition of youths with significant disabilities to adulthood
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Title III of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 ( 29 U.S.C. 771 et seq. ) is amended by adding at the end the following new section: In this section: The term braided funding means a resource utilization strategy to maximize the efficient access and use of existing resources through the coordination, sequencing, and integration of available funding from multiple public agencies and private sources. The term customized employment means a set of strategies implemented during the search for employment leading to an integrated employment outcome for an individual with a disability, which includes the following components:
A negotiated relationship with an employer that focuses on unmet needs and other specific value-added to the employer rather than open, demand job slots. A process of discovery, job seeker exploration, development of descriptive profile documents, individualized employment planning, innovative representation materials, employer needs analysis, and representation by a job developer. The term employment first — means a delivery model of publicly financed supports for individuals with disabilities, including individuals with significant disabilities and individuals with the most significant disabilities, that effectuates on a systemic basis the presumption of integrated employment as the primary or preferred employment outcome of such individuals; and includes policies, practices, and procedures promulgated through Federal and State governmental entities, including policies, practices, and procedures requiring that public systems have a statutory responsibility to provide services that align their priorities, funding and reimbursement practices, and policies and guidance to promote, encourage, incentivize, and prioritize services and supports that lead to integrated employment outcomes.
The term person-centered planning process means a process that enables and assists a youth with a significant disability to identify and access a personalized mix of paid and non-paid services and supports that will assist such youth to achieve individually defined outcomes in the most integrated community setting. The term State Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Agency means the primary State agency or subdivision with administrative, programmatic, and operational responsibility for the full range of services and supports furnished to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
In this subsection, the term youth with a significant disability means an individual who— is an individual with a significant disability or an individual with a most significant disability; and has attained the age of 14 but has not attained the age of 27. For each of the fiscal years 2014 through 2018, the Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, in cooperation with the officials specified in paragraph (2), is authorized to provide grants to eligible entities to carry out the activities authorized under this section.
The officials specified in this paragraph are the Commissioner of the Agency on Developmental Disabilities, the Director of Medicaid Operations at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Disability Employment Policy. The Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services may provide up to 10 grants under this subsection during a fiscal year. A grant provided under this subsection shall be provided for a period of five years.
An eligible entity may not receive more than one grant during a five-year period. To be eligible to receive a grant under subsection (a), an entity shall be a consortium that— consists of and is managed by, at a minimum, representatives from the State educational agency, the State Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Agency, the State vocational rehabilitation agency, the State Medicaid agency, the State department of labor and workforce investment board, and the State department of higher education; includes stakeholders who will be involved in the planning and implementation of funds made available through the grant, including— representatives from local or regional University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, and Service, State protection advocacy and client assistance programs, State councils on developmental disabilities, and centers on independent living; and representatives from self-advocacy organizations and family organizations; and includes additional public and private individuals and entities with demonstrated expertise in providing transition services that result in post-secondary education, integrated employment, and economic advancement for individuals with significant disabilities and individuals with the most significant disabilities with expertise in the provision of supported employment services and customized employment strategies and that— provide services resulting in integrated post-secondary education outcomes or integrated employment outcomes at the greater of minimum or competitive wages with access to related health and employment benefits; have expertise in person-centered planning processes; or have experience operating mentoring or advocacy training programs for individuals with significant disabilities and individuals with the most significant disabilities in culturally and socioeconomically diverse communities.
An eligible entity that desires to receive a grant under subsection
(a)shall submit to the Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services an application at such time, in such manner, and including such information as the Assistant Secretary may require. Each application shall include— an implementation plan, including the identification of the lead agency by the State, describing the actions the entity intends to take to carry out the activities authorized under this subsection; assurances that a memorandum of understanding among the participating State agencies will be developed outlining key steps to be taken to collaborate and coordinate efforts to institute systemic change related to employment first, including braided funding and a uniform focus on improving outcomes in post-secondary education, integrated employment, and economic advancement for youths with significant disabilities; a description of the means and mechanisms by which participating State agencies will coordinate efforts to evaluate and reform existing State laws, regulations, guidelines, operational procedures, and funding practices, including braided funding, to institute systemic change related to employment first, focused on improving outcomes in post-secondary education, integrated employment, and economic advancement for youths with significant disabilities; an evaluation plan describing the strategy the entity will use to evaluate the use of funds made available through the grant, with a specific focus on the collection of data (by age, race, gender, geographic area, type of disability, income level, communication level, and use of assistive technology) tracking, at a minimum— the number of youths with significant disabilities who directly enter integrated employment opportunities paid at the greater of minimum wage or competitive wages with access to related employment and health benefits, or a post-secondary educational or training program that is focused on leading to an integrated employment outcome, upon exiting the school system; the wages and number of hours worked of youths per pay period; the impact of employment on any State and Federal benefits received; indicators on the types of settings in which youths benefitting from the State grant primarily reside; indicators of improved economic status and self-sufficiency; data on those youths with significant disabilities for whom a post-secondary or integrated employment outcome has not yet occurred, including information on why such outcome has not yet been attained, and additional information such as the number of months an individual has not had a post-secondary education or integrated employment outcome, and the progress made to date on efforts to ensure that an individual achieves a post-secondary education or integrated employment outcome; and location and type of settings where youths who are receiving services through the grant are living; a description of how the eligible entity will disseminate information about the types of transition services and the impact of such services on the lives of youths with significant disabilities who are served by the project; and a description of the approaches the eligible entity intends to use to coordinate activities with relevant service providers in the localities in which the activities of the grant will be focused. An entity that receives a grant under this subsection shall use the funds made available through the grant to carry out the following activities for youths with significant disabilities: The development of innovative and effective practices through person-centered planning processes for attaining integrated employment experiences, including customized employment, supported employment services, and employment experiences after school, on weekends, and in the summer months. The development of objectives and activities based upon the highest expectations of youths with significant disabilities and related to the following areas: Academic and school-based preparatory experiences, including access to the general education curriculum in the least restrictive environment. Work and career readiness. Self-determination and leadership. Comprehensive community connections. Life-long learning. Family involvement and engagement. The development of appropriate and effective curricula and the deployment of professionals with expertise to provide training to school personnel, including transition coordinators, and other personnel connected to the implementation of the implementation plan of the grantee to enable such school personnel to develop skills needed to assist such youths in actualizing their ability to obtain and maintain integrated employment at the greater of minimum or competitive wages. Such training shall be focused on developing the skills in personnel necessary to help such youths successfully identify and complete desired objectives in the following areas: Academic and school-based preparatory experiences, including access to the general education curriculum in the least restrictive environment. Work and career readiness. Youth development and leadership. Comprehensive community connections. Family involvement and engagement. Integrated employment experiences, including customized employment, supported employment services, and employment experiences after school, on weekends, and in the summer months. The provision of assistance to youths with significant disabilities and their families with respect to determining appropriate services under relevant Federal and State programs, to include the following: An informed decisionmaking process leading to an integrated employment or post-secondary education outcome and securing ongoing services required for sustaining the employment or post-secondary education outcome. A benefits planning process in order to educate youths with significant disabilities regarding strategies for identifying, optimizing and managing available resources to support the youth. A series of individualized economic advancement strategies to advance the optimal self-sufficiency and economic security of a youth with a significant disability with specific goals for asset development, including the use of favorable tax benefits, work incentives, matched savings plans, and financial education. Funds made available through a grant under subsection
(a)may not be used for activities that result in youths with significant disabilities being placed in facility-based segregated services as an employment outcome or post-secondary outcome. In this paragraph, the term facility-based segregated services means rehabilitation or employment services provided by segregated entities, such as sheltered workshops, day habilitation, enclaves, or any other similar settings. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit any youth with a significant disability from having access to the general education curriculum during the pursuit of transition services or post-secondary education outcomes. An entity that receives a grant under this section shall collect data and report annually on, at a minimum, progress in achieving specific integrated employment outcomes outlined by the Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services. Such outcomes shall include the following: The number of youths with significant disabilities who directly enter integrated employment or post-secondary education upon exiting the school system. The types of positions and employment sectors the youths with significant disabilities are participating in, as defined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor. The wages of and number of hours worked by youths with significant disabilities monthly. The impact of employment on any Federal and State benefits received. Indicators of improved economic status and self-sufficiency. Data on those youths with significant disabilities who have not yet entered post-secondary education or integrated employment, outlining the reasons that such youths have not yet entered post-secondary education or integrated employment as well as the progress made to date in the acquisition of skills, training, and development necessary to attain an integrated employment outcome. There is established a National Coordination Center on Systems Change and Transformation in the Transition of Youths with Significant Disabilities into Adulthood (in this paragraph referred to as the Center ) to coordinate personnel training and professional development in evidence-based best practices resulting in integrated employment or post-secondary education outcomes. The Center shall coordinate assistance with the State grantees and their leadership teams and support grantees in their systems change efforts through the provision of training, professional development, technical assistance, data collection, and research. There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section (other than subsection (g)(2)) $50,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2014 through 2018. There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out subsection (g)(2) $5,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2014 through 2018. . The table of contents for the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 306 the following new item: Sec. 307. Grants for transition of youths with significant disabilities to adulthood. .
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Sec. 5
Grants for transition of youths with significant disabilities to adulthood
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