§ 361.73 - Use of funds.

(a) A State unit shall use all grant funds received under title I, part C of the Act to carry out programs and activities that are identified under the State's strategic plan, including but not limited to those programs and activities that are identified in paragraph (b) of this section.

(b) A State unit shall use at least 1.5 percent of the funds received under section 111 of the Act to carry out one or more of the following types of programs and activities that are identified in the State's strategic plan:

(1) Programs to initiate or expand employment opportunities for individuals with severe disabilities in integrated settings that allow for the use of on-the-job training to promote the objectives of title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

(2) Programs or activities to improve or expand the provision of employment services in integrated settings to individuals with sensory, cognitive, physical, and mental impairments who traditionally have not been served by the State vocational rehabilitation agency.

(3) Programs or activities to maximize the ability of individuals with disabilities to use rehabilitation technology in employment settings.

(4) Programs or activities that assist employers in accommodating, evaluating, training, or placing individuals with disabilities in the workplace of the employer consistent with the provisions of the Act and title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. These programs or activities may include short-term technical assistance or other effective strategies.

(5) Programs or activities that expand and improve the extent and type of an individual's involvement in the review and selection of his or her training and employment goals.

(6) Programs or activities that expand and improve opportunities for career advancement for individuals with severe disabilities.

(7) Programs, projects, or activities designed to initiate, expand, or improve working relationships between vocational rehabilitation services provided under title I of the Act and independent living services provided under title VII of the Act.

(8) Programs, projects, or activities designed to improve functioning of the system for delivering vocational rehabilitation services and to improve coordination and working relationships with other State agencies and local public agencies, business, industry, labor, community rehabilitation programs, and centers for independent living, including projects designed to—

(i) Increase the ease of access to, timeliness of, and quality of vocational rehabilitation services through the development and implementation of policies, procedures, systems, and interagency mechanisms for providing vocational rehabilitation services;

(ii) Improve the working relationships between State vocational rehabilitation agencies and other State agencies, centers for independent living, community rehabilitation programs, educational agencies involved in higher education, adult basic education, and continuing education, and businesses, industry, and labor organizations, in order to create and facilitate cooperation in—

(A) Planning and implementing services; and

(B) Developing an integrated system of community-based vocational rehabilitation services that includes appropriate transitions between service systems; and

(iii) Improve the ability of professionals, advocates, business, industry, labor, and individuals with disabilities to work in cooperative partnerships to improve the quality of vocational rehabilitation services and job and career opportunities for individuals with disabilities.

(9) Projects or activities that ensure that the annual evaluation of the effectiveness of the program in meeting the goals and objectives in the State plan, including the system for evaluating the performance of rehabilitation counselors, coordinators, and other personnel used in the State, facilitates and does not impede the accomplishment of the purpose of this part, including serving individuals with the most severe disabilities.

(10) Projects or activities to support the initiation, expansion, and improvement of a comprehensive system of personnel development.

(11) Programs, projects, or activities to support the provision of training and technical assistance to individuals with disabilities, business, industry, labor, community rehabilitation programs, and others regarding the implementation of the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1992, of title V of the Act, and of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

(12) Projects or activities to support the funding of the State Rehabilitation Advisory Council and the Statewide Independent Living Council.