TRAINING.

SEC. 302. TRAINING. (a) Training Grants and Contracts.— (1) Certain projects.— Section 302(a) (29 U.S.C. 774(a)) (as so redesignated by section 301(b)(3)) is amended in the first sentence— (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1)— (i) by inserting after “traineeships, and related activities” the following: “, including the provision of technical assistance,”; and (ii) by inserting “, and other services provided under this Act,” after “rehabilitation services”; (B) in paragraph (1), by striking “specially” and inserting “specifically”;; (C) in paragraph (2), by inserting before the comma at the end the following: “, including needs for rehabilitation technology services.” (D) in paragraph (3)— (i) by striking “comprehensive services for independent living” and inserting “independent living services”; and (ii) by striking “and” at the end; (E) by redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph (5); and 106 STAT. 4412 (F) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following: “(4) personnel specifically trained to deliver services, through supported employment programs, to individuals with the most severe disabilities, and”; (2) Certain requirements; application for assistance.— Section 302(a) (29 U.S.C. 774(a)), as amended by para-graph (1), is amended— (A) by striking the second and third sentences; (B) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (5) as subparagraphs (A) through (E), respectively; (C) by inserting “(1)” after the subsection designation; and (D) by adding at the end the following paragraphs: “(2) Grants and contracts under paragraph (1) may be expended for scholarships, with necessary stipends and allowances. “(3) In carrying out this subsection, the Commissioner shall furnish training regarding the services provided under this Act, and, in particular, services provided in accordance with amendments made by the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1992, to rehabilitation counselors and other rehabilitation personnel. In carrying out this subsection, the Commissioner shall also furnish training to such counselors and personnel regarding the applicability of section 504 of this Act, title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and the provisions of titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act that are related to work incentives for individuals with disabilities. “(4) The Commissioner, in carrying out this subsection, shall make grants to Historically Black Colleges and Universities and other institutions of higher education whose minority student enrollment is at least 50 percent. “(5) No grant shall be awarded under this section unless the applicant has submitted an application to the Commissioner in such form, and in accordance with such procedures, as the Commissioner may require. Any such application shall include a detailed description of strategies that will be utilized to recruit and train persons so as to reflect the diverse populations of the United States, as part of the effort to increase the number of individuals with disabilities, and individuals who are members of minority groups, who are available to provide rehabilitation services.”. (b) Projects.—Section 302(b) (29 U.S.C. 774(b)) is amended— (1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following: “(1) (A) In making such grants or contracts, the Commissioner shall target funds made available for any year to areas of personnel shortage. “(B) Projects described in subsection (a) may include— “(i) projects to train personnel in the areas of vocational rehabilitation counseling, rehabilitation technology, rehabilitation medicine, rehabilitation nursing, rehabilitation social work, rehabilitation psychiatry, rehabilitation psychology, rehabilitation dentistry, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech pathology and audiology, physical education, therapeutic recreation, community rehabilitation programs, or prosthetics and orthotics; “(ii) projects to train personnel to provide— “(I) services to individuals with specific disabilities or specific impediments to rehabilitation, including individ-106 STAT. 4413uals who are members of populations that are unserved or underserved by programs under this Act; “(II) job development and job placement services to individuals with disabilities; “(III) supported employment services, including services of employment specialists for individuals with disabilities; “(IV) specialized services for individuals with severe disabilities; or “(V) recreation for individuals with disabilities; and “(iii) projects to train personnel in other fields contributing to the rehabilitation of individuals with disabilities.”; and (2) in paragraph (3)(A)— (A) by inserting “, for any academic year beginning after June 1, 1992,” after “who receives a scholarship ; and (B) by striking clause (i) and inserting the following: “(i) maintain employment— “(I) in a nonprofit rehabilitation agency or related agency or in a State rehabilitation agency or related agency, including a professional corporation or professional practice group through which the individual has a service arrangement with the designated State agency; “(II) on a full- or part-time basis; and “(III) for a period of not less than the full-time equivalent of 2 years for each year for which assistance under this section was received, within a period, beginning after the recipient completes the training for which the scholarship was awarded, of not more than the sum of the number of years in the period described in subclause (III) and 2 additional years; and”. (c) Technician Training; Career Advancement and Competency-Based Training.— Section 302 (29 U.S.C. 774) is amended— (1) by redesignating subsections (d) through (f) as subsections (f) through (h), respectively; and (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the following subsections: “(d) In carrying out subsection (a), the Commissioner shall award two grants to States, public or nonprofit private agencies and organizations, and institutions of higher education to support the development of rehabilitation technician programs. Such pro- grams shall be designed to train local employees, who are recruited from or reside in a community historically unserved or underserved by programs providing vocational rehabilitation services under this Act, to be liaisons between the community and vocational rehabilitation counselors. The rehabilitation technician program shall provide a mechanism through which individuals with disabilities residing in remote, isolated settings can successfully access vocational rehabilitation services. “(e) (1) In carrying out subsection (a), the Commissioner shall award two grants to States, public or nonprofit private agencies and organizations, and institutions of higher education to support the formation of consortia or partnerships of public or nonprofit private entities for the purpose of providing opportunities for career advancement or competency-based training to current employees of public or nonprofit private agencies that provide services to 106 STAT. 4414individuals with disabilities. Such opportunities shall include certificate or degree granting programs in vocational rehabilitation services and related services. “(2) An entity that receives a grant under paragraph (1) may use the grant for purposes including— “(A) establishing a program with an institution of higher education to develop creative new programs and coursework options, or to expand existing programs, concerning the fields of vocational rehabilitation services and related services, including— “(i) providing release time for faculty and staff for curriculum development; and “(ii) paying for instructional costs and startup and other program development costs; “(B) establishing a career development mentoring program using faculty and professional staff members of participating agencies as role models, career sponsors, and academic advisors for experienced State, city, and county employees, and volunteers, who— “(i) have demonstrated a commitment to working in the fields described in clause (i); and “(ii) are enrolled in a program relating to such a field at an institution of higher education; “(C) supporting a wide range of programmatic and research activities aimed at increasing opportunities for career advancement and competency-based training in such fields; and “(D) identifying existing public or private agency and labor union personnel policies and benefit programs that may facilitate the ability of employees to take advantage of higher education opportunities, such as leave time and tuition reimbursement. “(3) In making grants for projects under paragraph (1), the Commissioner shall ensure that the projects shall be geographically distributed throughout the United States in urban and rural areas. “(4) The Commissioner shall, for the purpose of providing technical assistance to States or entities receiving grants under para-graph (1), enter into a cooperative agreement through a separate competition with an entity that has successfully demonstrated the capacity and expertise in the education, training, and retention of employees to serve individuals with disabilities through the use of consortia or partnerships established for the purpose of retraining the existing work force and providing opportunities for career enhancement. “(5) The Commissioner may conduct an evaluation of projects funded under this subsection. “(6) During the period in which an entity is receiving financial assistance under paragraph (1), the entity may not receive financial assistance under paragraph (4).”. (d) Office of Deafness and Communicative Disorders.— Section 302(f) (29 U.S.C. 774(f)) (as so redesignated by subsection (c)) is amended— (1) in paragraph (1)— (A) in the first sentence— (i) by striking “deaf individuals” and inserting “individuals who are deaf and individuals who are deaf-blind”; 106 STAT. 4415 (ii) by striking “Office of Information and Resources for Individuals With Disabilities” and inserting “Office of Deafness and Communicative Disorders”; and (iii) by striking “grants under this section” and inserting “grants”; and (B) by striking the second sentence; and (2) in paragraph (2)— (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking “this section” and inserting “paragraph (1)”; (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking “deaf individuals” and inserting “individuals who are deaf and individuals who are deaf-blind”; (C) in subparagraph (C), by adding “and” after the semicolon at the end; (D) by striking subparagraph (D); and (E) by redesignating subparagraph (E) as subparagraph (D). (e) Compensation of Experts and Consultants.— Section 302(g) (29 U.S.C. 774(g)) (as so redesignated by subsection (c)) is amended— (1) in paragraph (1), by striking “rehabilitation facilities” and inserting “community rehabilitation programs”; (2) in paragraph (2), by striking “the daily rate payable for grade GS–18 of the General Schedule under section 5332” and inserting “the daily equivalent of the rate of pay for level 4 of the Senior Executive Service Schedule under section 5382”; and (3) by adding at the end the following: “(3) (A) Subject to subparagraph (B), at least 15 percent of the sums appropriated to carry out this section shall be allocated to designated State agencies to be used, directly or indirectly, for projects for in-service training of rehabilitation personnel, including projects designed— “(i) to address recruitment and retention of qualified rehabilitation professionals; “(ii) to provide for succession planning; “(iii) to provide for leadership development and capacity building; and “(iv) for fiscal years 1993 and 1994, to provide training regarding the amendments to this Act made by the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1992. “(B) If the allocation to designated State agencies required by subparagraph (A) would result in a lower level of funding for projects being carried out on the date of enactment of the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1992 by other recipients of funds under this section, the Commissioner may allocate less than 15 percent of the sums described in subparagraph (A) to designated State agencies for such in-service training.”. (f) Relationship to Training Activities.—Section 302 (29 U.S.C. 774) (as amended by subsection (c)) is amended by adding at the end the following: “(i) (1) Consistent with paragraph (2), and consistent with the general authority set forth in this section to fund training activities, nothing in this Act shall be construed to prohibit the Commissioner from exercising authority under this title, or making available 106 STAT. 4416funds appropriated to carry out this title, to fund the training activities described in section 803. “(2) If the amount of funds appropriated for a fiscal year to carry out this section exceeds the amount of funds appropriated for the preceding fiscal year to carry out this section, adjusted by the percent by which the average of the estimated gross domestic product fixed-weight price index for that fiscal year differs from that estimated index for the preceding fiscal year, the amount of the excess shall be treated as if the excess were appropriated under title VIII.”.