special projects and demonstrations

special projects and demonstrations Sec. 304. (a) (1) For the purpose of making grants under this section for special projects and demonstrations (and research and evaluation connected therewith), there is authorized to be appropriated $15,000,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1974, and $17,000,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1975; and there is further authorized to be appropriated for such purposes for each such year such additional sums as the Congress may determine to be necessary. (2) Of the amounts appropriated pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection, 5 per centum in each such fiscal year shall be available only for the purpose of making grants under subsection (c) of this section, and there is authorized to tie appropriated in each such fiscal year such additional amount as may be necessary to equal, when added to the amount made available for the purpose of making grants under such subsection an amount of $5,000,000 to be available for each such fiscal year. (b) The Secretary, subject to the provisions of section 306, shall make grants to States and public or nonprofit agencies and organizations for paying part or all of the cost of special projects and demonstrations (and research and evaluation in connection therewith) (1) for establishing programs and facilities for providing vocational rehabilitation services which hold promise of expanding or otherwise 87 Stat. 382improving rehabilitation services to handicapped individuals (especially those with the most severe handicaps) including individuals with spinal cord injuries, older blind individuals, and deaf individuals, whose maximum vocational potential has not been reached, and (2) for applying new types or patterns of services or devices (including opportunities for new careers for handicapped individuals for other individuals in programs servicing handicapped individuals). Projects and demonstrations providing services to individuals with spinal cord injuries shall include provisions to— (A) establish, on an appropriate regional basis, a multidisciplinary system of providing vocational and other rehabilitation services, specifically designed to meet the special needs of individuals with spinal cord injuries, including acute care as well as periodic inpatient or outpatient followup and services; (B) demonstrate and evaluate the benefits to individuals with spinal cord injuries served in, and the degree of cost effectiveness of, such a regional system; (C) demonstrate and evaluate existing, new, and improved methods and equipment essential to the care, management, and rehabilitation of individuals with spinal cord injuries; and (D) demonstrate and evaluate methods of community outreach for individuals with spinal cord injuries and community education in connection with the problems of such individuals in areas such as housing, transportation, recreation, employment, and community activities. (c) The Secretary, subject to the provisions of section 306, is authorized to make grants to any State agency designated pursuant to a State plan approved under section 101, or to any local agency participating in the administration of such a plan, to pay up to 90 per centum of the cost of projects or demonstrations for the provision of vocational rehabilitation services to handicapped individuals, as determined in accordance with rules prescribed by the Secretary of Labor, are migratory agricultural workers or seasonal farmworkers, and to members of their families (whether or not handicapped) who are with them, including maintenance and transportation of such individuals and members of their families where necessary to the rehabilitation of such individuals. Maintenance payments under this section shall be consistent with any maintenance payments made to other handicapped individuals in the State under this Act. Such grants shall be conditioned upon satisfactory assurance that in the provision of such services there will be appropriate cooperation between the grantee and other public or nonprofit agencies and organizations having special skills and experience in the provision of services to migratory agricultural workers, seasonal farmworkers, or their families. This subsection shall be administered in coordination with other programs serving migrant agricultural workers and seasonal farmworkers, including programs under title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, section 311 of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, the Migrant Health Act, and the Farm Labor Contractor Registration Act of 1963. (d) The Secretary is authorized to make contracts or jointly financed cooperative arrangements with employers and organizations for the establishment of projects designed to prepare handicapped individuals for gainful and suitable employment in the competitive labor market under which handicapped individuals are provided training and employment in a realistic work setting and such other services (determined in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary) as may be necessary for such individuals to continue to engage in such employment. 87 Stat. 383 (e) (1) The Secretary is authorized, directly or by contract with State vocational rehabilitation agencies or experts or consultants or groups thereof, to provide technical assistance (A) to rehabilitation facilities, and (B) for the purpose of removal of architectural and transportation barriers, to any public or nonprofit agency, institution, organization or facility. (2) Any such experts or consultants shall, while serving pursuant to such contracts, be entitled to receive compensation at rates fixed by the Secretary, but not exceeding the pro rata pay rate for a person employed as a GS–18, under section 5332 of title 5, United States Code, including traveltime, and while so serving away from their homes or regular places of business, they may be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by section 5703 of title 5, United States Code, for persons in the Government service employed intermittently.