TRADITIONALLY UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS.

SEC. 111. TRADITIONALLY UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS. (a) In General.— The Act is amended by inserting after section 20 (as added by section 110(a)) the following section: “SEC. 21. TRADITIONALLY UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS. “(a) Findings.— With respect to the programs authorized in titles II through VIII, the Congress finds as follows: “(1) Racial profile.—The racial profile of America is rapidly changing. While the rate of increase for white Americans 106 STAT. 4364is 3.2 percent, the rate of increase for racial and ethnic minorities is much higher: 38.6 percent for Latinos, 14.6 percent for African-Americans, and 40.1 percent for Asian-Americans and other ethnic groups. By the year 2000, the Nation will have 260,000,000 people, one of every three of whom will be either African-American, Latino, or Asian-American. “(2) Rate of disability.—Ethnic and racial minorities tend to have disabling conditions at a disproportionately high rate. The rate of work-related disability for American Indians is about one and one-half times that of the general population. African-Americans are also one and one-half times more likely to be disabled than whites and twice as likely to be severely disabled. “(3) Inequitable treatment.—Patterns of inequitable treatment of minorities have been documented in all major junctures of the vocational rehabilitation process. As compared to white Americans, a larger percentage of African-American applicants to the vocational rehabilitation system is denied acceptance. Of applicants accepted for service, a larger percent-age of African-American cases is closed without being rehabilitated. Minorities are provided less training than their white counterparts. Consistently, less money is spent on minorities than on their white counterparts. “(4) Recruitment.—Recruitment efforts within vocational rehabilitation at the level of preservice training, continuing education, and in-service training must focus on bringing larger numbers of minorities into the profession in order to provide appropriate practitioner knowledge, role models, and sufficient manpower to address the clearly changing demography of vocational rehabilitation. “(b) Outreach to Minorities.— “(1) Policy.—The Commissioner shall develop a policy to mobilize the resources of the Nation to prepare minorities for careers in vocational rehabilitation, independent living, and related services. “(2) Focus.— This policy shall focus on— “(A) the recruitment of minorities into the field of vocational rehabilitation counseling and related disciplines; and “(B) financially assisting Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-serving institutions of higher education, and other institutions of higher education whose minority enrollment is at least 50 percent to prepare students for vocational rehabilitation and related service careers. “(3) Plan.— “(A) Development.—The Commissioner shall develop a plan to provide outreach services and other related activities (such as cooperative efforts) to the entities described in subparagraph (B) in order to enhance the capacity and increase the participation of such entities in competitions for grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements under titles I through VIII. “(B) Entities.— The entities referred to in subparagraph (A) are— “(i) Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-serving institutions of higher education, and 106 STAT. 4365other institutions of higher education whose minority student enrollment is at least 50 percent; “(ii) nonprofit and for-profit agencies at least 51 percent owned or controlled by one or more minority individuals; and “(iii) underrepresented populations. “(C) Funding.—For the purpose of implementing the plan required in subparagraph (A), the Commissioner shall, for each of the fiscal years 1993 through 1997, expend 1 percent of the funds appropriated for the fiscal year involved for carrying out programs authorized in titles II through VIII of this Act, except programs authorized under title IV or V. “(3) Effort.—The Commissioner shall exercise the utmost authority, resourcefulness, and diligence to meet the requirements of this section. “(4) Report.— “(A) In general.—Not later than January 31 of each year, starting with fiscal year 1994, the Commissioner shall prepare and submit to Congress a final report on the progress toward meeting the goals of this section during the preceding fiscal year. “(B) Contents.— The report shall include— “(i) a full explanation of any progress toward meeting the goals of this section; and “(ii) a plan to meet the goals, if necessary. “(5) Demonstration.—In awarding grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements under titles I, II, III, VI, VII, and VIII, and section 509, the Commissioner and the Director of the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, where appropriate, shall require applicants to demonstrate how they will address, in whole or in part, the needs of individuals with disabilities from minority backgrounds.”. (b) Technical Amendment.—The table of contents relating to the Act is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 20 (as added by section 110(b)) the following item: “Sec. 21. Traditionally underserved populations.”.