[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 17 (Tuesday, January 27, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4148-4150]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-1936]
[[Page 4147]]
_______________________________________________________________________
Part VII
Department of Education
_______________________________________________________________________
National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research; Notice of
Proposed Funding Priority for Fiscal Years 1998-1999 for a
Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center; Notice
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 17 / Tuesday, January 27, 1998 /
Notices
[[Page 4148]]
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research;
Notice of Proposed Funding Priority for Fiscal Years 1998-1999 for a
Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center
AGENCY: Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice of Proposed Funding Priority for Fiscal Years 1998-1999
for a Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center.
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SUMMARY: The Secretary proposes a funding priority for a Rehabilitation
Engineering Research Center (RERC) under the National Institute on
Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) for fiscal years 1998-
1999. The Secretary takes this action to focus research attention on
problems that are significant to disabled persons and to the research
community. This priority is intended to improve rehabilitation services
and outcomes for individuals with disabilities.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before February 26, 1998.
ADDRESSES: All comments concerning this proposed priority should be
addressed to Donna Nangle, U.S. Department of Education, 600 Maryland
Avenue, SW., room 3418, Switzer Building, Washington, DC 20202-2645.
Comments may also be sent through the Internet: comments@ed.gov.
You must include the term ``Engineering Research Centers'' in the
electronic message.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Donna Nangle. Telephone: (202) 205-
5880. Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf
(TDD) may call the TDD number at (202) 205-2742. Internet:
Donna__Nangle@ed.gov.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an
alternate format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) on request to the contact person listed in the preceding
paragraph.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice contains a proposed priority
under the Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects and Centers
program for an RERC focused on the development of rehabilitation
technology devices, particularly low-cost prosthetic and orthotic
devices, to meet the rehabilitation needs of land mine survivors.
The authority for RERCs is contained in section 204(b)(3) of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (29 U.S.C. 762(b)(3)). Under
this program the Secretary makes awards to public and private agencies
and organizations, including institutions of higher education, Indian
tribes, and tribal organizations, to conduct research, demonstration,
and training activities regarding rehabilitation technology in order to
enhance opportunities for meeting the needs of, and addressing the
barriers confronted by, individuals with disabilities in all aspects of
their lives. An RERC must be operated by or in collaboration with an
institution of higher education or a nonprofit organization. NIDRR is
authorized, under Section 204(b)(6) of the Rehabilitation Act, to
provide support for a program of international rehabilitation research,
demonstration, and training.
The authority for the Secretary to establish research priorities by
reserving funds to support particular research activities is contained
in sections 202(g) and 204 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as
amended (29 U.S.C. 761a(g) and 762).
The Secretary will announce the final priority in a notice in the
Federal Register. The final priority will be determined by responses to
this notice, available funds, and other considerations of the
Department. Funding of a particular project depends on the final
priority, the availability of funds, and the quality of the
applications received. The publication of this proposed priority does
not preclude the Secretary from proposing additional priorities, nor
does it limit the Secretary to funding only this priority, subject to
meeting applicable rulemaking requirements.
Note: This notice of proposed priority does not solicit
applications. A notice inviting applications under this competition
will be published in the Federal Register concurrent with or
following the notice of final priority.
Description of the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center
Program
RERCs carry out research or demonstration activities by:
(a) Developing and disseminating innovative methods of applying
advanced technology, scientific achievement, and psychological and
social knowledge to (1) solve rehabilitation problems and remove
environmental barriers, and (2) study new or emerging technologies,
products, or environments;
(b) Demonstrating and disseminating (1) innovative models for the
delivery of cost-effective rehabilitation technology services to rural
and urban areas, and (2) other scientific research to assist in meeting
the employment and independent living needs of individuals with severe
disabilities; or
(c) Facilitating service delivery systems change through (1) the
development, evaluation, and dissemination of consumer-responsive and
individual and family centered innovative models for the delivery to
both rural and urban areas of innovative cost-effective rehabilitation
technology services, and (2) other scientific research to assist in
meeting the employment and independent living needs of individuals with
severe disabilities.
Each RERC must provide training opportunities to individuals,
including individuals with disabilities, to become researchers of
rehabilitation technology and practitioners of rehabilitation
technology in conjunction with institutions of higher education and
nonprofit organization.
Priority
Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3), the Secretary proposes to give an
absolute preference to applications that meet the following priority.
The Secretary proposes to fund under this competition only applications
that meet this absolute priority.
Proposed Priority: Improved Technology Access for Land Mine Survivors
Background
In the House Report accompanying the appropriations for the
Department of Education:
The Committee has included up to $850,000 * * * for NIDRR to
establish, through a competitive award, a rehabilitation engineering
research center dealing with the unique needs of land mine
survivors. The center is to operate in cooperation with an
institution of higher education involved in both rehabilitation
medicine and engineering research, training and service and is to
focus on the unique rehabilitation needs of the victims of land mine
injuries. Specifically, the center is to focus on the development of
inexpensive replacement limbs; the development and dissemination of
educational materials on prosthetics, and other appropriate
prosthetic, orthotic, or assistive technology devices; and the
training of health care providers in effective methods of assistance
to this population.
In response to this report language, the Secretary is proposing the
following priority. Both the Congress and NIDRR are aware of the
historic significance of periods of international conflict in
stimulating the science of rehabilitation to develop solutions to the
impairments caused by sustained large-scale violence. Most recently,
survivors of landmine injuries in dozens of nations in Latin America,
Europe, Africa, and Asia are in need of innovative solutions to address
the loss of limbs and other
[[Page 4149]]
conditions such as sensory impairments, communication impairments,
burns, and other conditions caused by anti-personnel land mines. The
Secretary is particularly interested in receiving comments about the
feasibility of addressing, to some extent, land mine injuries that do
not involve missing limbs, such as vision, hearing, and other types of
impairments within the scope of this RERC.
Because most of those with unmet needs are located in countries
that are either not industrialized, lack infrastructures for
rehabilitative services, or lack economic resources, the approaches to
meeting these needs must be tailored to their particular circumstances.
Solutions, which will focus on, but not be limited to, limb
replacement, must be suitable for the available materials, resources,
and expertise in the relevant countries, and must also concentrate on
building capacity in those nations for design and fitting, manufacture,
distribution, maintenance, and provision of supports and services. This
RERC will have broad scope in the development of devices through
scientific methods, training of indigenous scientists, service
providers, and advocates, and transferring technology to the local
economies.
There are many national and international organizations that play a
role in addressing the problems of landmine survivors and the Center
should involve relevant organizations in appropriate roles in Center
operations. Included in this group are organizations of survivors
themselves; these consumer organizations are important targets of
education, information, and training, particularly in the areas of
self-help, maintenance of devices, and the need for accommodations,
supports, and follow-up care. Because so many of the victims of land
mines are children, special attention must be directed toward the
special needs of children who are growing and developing, and for whom
most prostheses or orthoses therefore will have a limited period of
utility. The Center may opt to address these problems through
technological solutions where feasible, or through partnerships that
will provide ongoing care and support.
The work of this RERC will have implications for the United States
population as well. There is a continuing need for new and different
types of prostheses and orthoses in the United States and other
developed nations, with special need for prosthetic and orthotic
devices and other rehabilitation technology that is suitable for
different climates, low-cost, and appropriate in various cultures. New
conditions of health care delivery portend limited resources for
rehabilitation technologies and services and durable medical equipment;
thus there will be a greater emphasis on durability, endurance, cost
containment, and ease of maintenance. This Center's activities will
contribute to advancing science, broadening knowledge of materials and
methods, and increasing our understanding of and sensitivity to
cultural and economic concerns in provision of these rehabilitation
technologies.
Priority
The Secretary proposes to establish an RERC to address the unique
rehabilitation needs of land mine survivors through developing and
testing appropriate innovative replacement limbs (particularly low-cost
limbs suitable for developing economies), and other prosthetic and
orthotic devices; training indigenous technicians, manufacturers, and
health care providers in the fabrication and fitting of appropriate
devices; and educating land mine survivors and their families.
In carrying out the general purposes of this priority, the RERC
shall:
1. Develop a sound scientific process for evaluating the
suitability of existing devices, assessing user needs, developing new
and innovative designs, and testing inexpensive replacement limbs,
prototypes of prostheses, orthoses, and other appropriate
rehabilitation technology devices.
2. Identify and evaluate existing technologies and systems used for
limb replacement and related rehabilitation technology in various
nations where there are extensive land mine injuries.
3. Demonstrate the suitability of proposed devices in terms of
cost-effectiveness and appropriateness to the indigenous economies,
including available materials, work force capabilities, and
infrastructure capacity for timely production and delivery of devices.
4. Identify the needs of land mine survivors for other types of
rehabilitation technologies which may include but need not be limited
to vision, hearing and speech aids, and wheelchairs.
5. Develop and maintain a database to track and correlate consumer
needs and characteristics, device specification and performance, and
outcomes and conduct a definitive evaluation of the products and
procedures.
In addition to its research functions, the RERC must:
Address the needs of land mine survivors of all ages, with
particular attention to systems for meeting the changing needs of
growing children.
Conduct, in the third year of the award, a state-of-the-
science conference and provide NIDRR with a report on this conference
by the end of the fourth year.
Conduct training of health care providers in affected
nations in effective methods of providing rehabilitative assistance to
this population.
Collaborate with key international organizations and
Government agencies in the affected nations, with consumer
organizations of land mine survivors, and with rehabilitation
researchers and service providers, and other Federal agencies including
the Department of Defense, Agency for International Development,
Centers for Disease Control, and the Department of Veterans' Affairs.
Electronic Access to This Document: Anyone may view this document,
as well as all other Department of Education documents published in the
Federal Register, in text or portable document format (pdf) on the
World Wide Web at either of the following sites:
http://ocfo.ed.gov/fedreg.htm
http://www.ed.gov/news.html
To use the pdf you must have the Adobe Acrobat Reader Program with
Search, which is available free at either of the preceding sites. If
you have questions about using the pdf, call the U.S. Government
Printing Office toll free at 1-888-293-6498.
Anyone may also view these documents in text copy only on an
electronic bulletin board of the Department. Telephone: (202) 219-1511
or, toll free, 1-800-222-4922. The documents are located under Option
G--Files/Announcements, Bulletins and Press Releases.
Note: The official version of this document is the document
published in the Federal Register.
Invitation to Comment
Interested persons are invited to submit comments and
recommendations regarding these proposed priorities. All comments
submitted in response to this notice will be available for public
inspection, during and after the comment period, in Room 3424, Switzer
Building, 330 C Street S.W., Washington, D.C., between the hours of
9:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday of each week except
Federal holidays.
Applicable Program Regulations: 34 CFR parts 350 and 353.
Program Authority: 29 U.S.C. 760-762.
[[Page 4150]]
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 84.133E,
Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers)
Dated: January 22, 1998.
Judith E. Heumann,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 98-1936 Filed 1-26-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P
