Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1986

(Measure indefinitely postponed in Senate, H.R. 4021 passed in lieu)

Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1986 - Title I: General Provisions Amendments - Amends the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (the Act) to direct the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) to ensure that the Rehabilitation Services Administration staff shall: (1) be in sufficient numbers to meet program needs and at levels to attract and maintain the most qualified personnel; and (2) include individuals with training experience in rehabilitation services and with competencies which meet professional standards.

Revises the definitions of "evaluation of rehabilitation potential" and "severe handicap." Adds definitions of "employability," "rehabilitation engineering," and "supported employment."

Authorizes the Commissioner of Rehabilitative Services (the Commissioner) to: (1) provide monitoring and conduct evaluations; and (2) appoint necessary task forces.

Revises provisions for program and project evaluation to: (1) require the use of appropriate methodology and evaluative research designs; and (2) give the Commissioner, rather than the Secretary, responsibility for carrying out such evaluations.

Permits up to one-half of one percent of funds appropriated for discretionary grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements under the Act to be used to provide non-Federal panels of experts to review applications for such grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements.

Adds provisions for review of grant or contract applications.

Title II: Vocational Rehabilitation Services - Extends through FY 1990 the authorization of appropriations for grants to States (and Indian tribes) for provision of vocational rehabilitation services and for innovation and expansion of such services.

Revises requirements for State plans for vocational rehabilitation services. Requires such plans to: (1) include the results of a comprehensive, State-wide assessment of the rehabilitation needs of all individuals with severe handicaps residing within the State and the State's response to the assessment; (2) describe how rehabilitation engineering services will be provided to assist an increasing number of individuals with handicaps; (3) provide for cooperative agreements with mental health community support programs; (4) provide for conducting a full needs assessment for serving individuals with severe handicaps; and (5) provide satisfactory assurances that the State has an acceptable plan for supported employment services for severely handicapped individuals.

Revises provisions for individualized written rehabilitation programs. Requires each such program to: (1) be developed to achieve the vocational objective of the individual; (2) include, where appropriate, a statement of the specific rehabilitation engineering services to be provided; (3) include an assessment of the expected need for post-employment services; and (4) provide for a reassessment of the need for post-employment services prior to case closure, and a statement, where appropriate for severely handicapped individuals, of how such services will be provided. Revises provisions for review of determinations.

Changes the scope of vocational rehabilitation services that must be provided under the Act to include rehabilitation engineering services.

Revises provisions for the client assistance program.

Permits the Governor of a State to remove an agency designated as a client assistance agency only for good cause and after notice.

Authorizes the Commissioner to increase minimum allotments under the client assistance program under specified circumstances.

Directs the Secretary to pay a client assistance agency a specified amount.

Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through FY 1990 for the client assistance program.

Title III: Research and Training - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through FY 1990 for the National Institute of Handicapped Research (the Institute) and for research grants for methods and devices to assist in the provision of vocational and rehabilitation services for handicapped individuals.

Adds provisions specifying the purpose and functions of the Pacific Basin Research and Training Center.

Includes the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health on the Interagency Committee on Handicapped Research.

Includes among research projects which may receive funding: (1) studies and analyses of recreational factors affecting rehabilitation of handicapped individuals; and (2) studies, analyses, and other activities related to supported employment.

Requires that peer review of all applications for renewal of Rehabilitation Research and Training Center grants take into account past performance of the applicant.

Prohibits the host institution with which the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center is affiliated from collecting more than 15 percent in indirect cost charges.

Adds to the functions of Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers the demonstration and dissemination of innovative models for the delivery of cost-effective rehabilitation engineering services to meet the needs of, and address barriers confronted by, individuals with handicaps. Requires that at least two such Centers be established in FY 1987, one in South Carolina and one in Connecticut.

Includes the National Institute of Mental Health among agencies to be in joint projects involving rehabilitation.

Authorizes grants for demonstration projects to provide incentive for the development, manufacturing, and marketing of orphan technological devices designed to enable individuals with handicaps to achieve independence and accessibility to gainful employment.

Authorizes the Director of the National Institute of Handicapped Research to arrange for site visits in evaluating research demonstration and related projects. Requires site visits as part of the peer review for research grants exceeding a specified amount.

Title IV: Supplementary Services and Facilities - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1990 for: (1) grants for construction of rehabilitation facilities, staffing, and planning assistance; (2) vocational training services for handicapped individuals; (3) training for personnel involved in providing rehabilitation services for handicapped individuals; (4) comprehensive rehabilitation centers; (5) special projects and supplementary services; and (6) special recreational programs.

Includes, under provisions for personnel training grants and contracts, personnel specifically trained to identify, assess, and meet the individual rehabilitation needs of individuals with severe handicaps.

Includes among the areas to which personnel training funds may be targeted: (1) rehabilitation engineering; (2) rehabilitation dentistry; (3) physical education; (4) therapeutic recreation; (5) specialized personnel in providing employment training for supported employment; and (6) other specialized personnel for those individuals who meet the definition of severely handicapped.

Adds new provisions under provisions for special demonstration programs.

Authorizes grants for developing special projects and demonstrations providing supported employment (at least one nationwide in scope), and grants for technical assistance to States in implementing new provisions for supported employment services for severely handicapped individuals. Directs the Commissioner to report annually to the Congress on such grants. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1990 for such grants.

Directs the Commissioner to make grants to develop, expand, and disseminate model statewide transitional planning services to severely handicapped youth. Requires that some of such grants be made to public agencies: (1) in a predominantly urban State in New England, for an existing program; (2) in a predominantly rural western State; and (3) in a predominantly rural southwestern State. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1990 for such grants.

Revises provisions for special recreational programs. Allows grants for such programs to be made to nonprofit private organizations. Includes among authorized program activities leisure education, leisure networking, leisure resource development, physical education, and sports. Requires that, whenever possible and appropriate, such program and activities be: (1) provided in settings with nonhandicapped peers; and (2) designed to demonstrate ways of assisting in maximizing the independence and community integration of individuals with handicaps. Requires that each such grant be for a minimum three-year period.

Title V: National Council on the Handicapped - Revises the purpose and duties of the National Council on the Handicapped (the Council).

Directs the Council to review and evaluate all statutes pertaining to Federal programs which assisted handicapped individuals and persons with disabilities.

Directs the Council to assess the extent to which certain policies, programs, and activities provide incentives or disincentives to the establishment of community-based services for handicapped individuals, promote the full integration of such individuals in the community, in schools, and in the workplace, and contribute to the independence and dignity of such individuals.

Directs the Council to: (1) examine data on the circumstances of disabled citizens with respect to employment, income, housing, community living, education, discrimination, health services, and participation in community activities; (2) establish goals for individuals with handicaps to be reached by the year 2000 in each of those areas, and recommend strategies to meet such goals; (3) issue a report on such goals and strategies within six months after enactment of this Act; and (4) issue an annual report, beginning on January 30, 1989, to the President and the Congress outlining national progress in meeting such goals.

Authorizes appropriations for the Council for FY 1987 through 1990.

Title VI: Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board Reauthorization - Extends the authorization of appropriations for the Architectural and Transportation Compliance Board (the Board) through FY 1990.

Directs the Board to submit by February 1, 1988, additional reports on activities in the fields of: (1) transportation barriers of handicapped individuals; and (2) housing needs of handicapped individuals.

Directs the Secretary, through the National Institute of Handicapped Research and in consultation with the electronics industry, to develop and establish guidelines for electronic equipment accessibility designed to insure that handicapped individuals may use electronic office equipment with or without peripherals. Requires initial guidelines to be established by October 1, 1987, and continually revised as technologies advance or change. Directs the Administrator of the General Services Administration, beginning after September 30, 1988, to adopt such guidelines for Federal procurement of electronic equipment.

Title VII: Projects with Industry and Business Opportunies for Handicapped Individuals - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1990 for community services employment pilot programs for individuals with handicaps.

Revises the purpose and scope of projects with industry. Requires such projects to create and expand job opportunities for individuals with handicaps by providing for the establishment of appropriate job placement services. Provides for evaluation reports and technical assistance for such projects. Provides for business advisory councils. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1990 for projects with industry.

Establishes a new part C of title VI of the Act: Supported Employment Services for Severely Handicapped Individuals. Authorizes grants under such part C to assist States in developing collaborative programs with appropriate public agencies and private nonprofit organizations for training and short-term post-employment services leading to supported employment for severely handicapped individuals. Sets forth provisions relating to: (1) eligibility; (2) State allotments; (3) State plans; and (4) availability and comparability of services. Authorizes appropriations for such services for FY 1987 through 1990.

Title VIII: Services of Independent Living - Revises provisions for comprehensive services for independent living. Requires State plans to provide assurances that the State will consider recommendations of the State Independent Living Council in determining how independent living services will be expanded or modified. Requires each State receiving such assistance to establish a State Independent Living Council. Sets forth the duties of, and membership guidelines for, such councils.

Requires each Center for Independent Living to have a board which is composed of a majority of handicapped individuals. Includes recreation among the services offered by such centers. Shortens the deadline for State applications for assistance for such centers. Provides for evaluation and review of grants for such centers.

Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1990 for the following provisions under title VII (Comprehensive Services for Independent Living) of the Act: (1) comprehensive services; (2) centers for independent living; (3) independent living services for older blind individuals; and (4) general provisions (protection and advocacy of individual rights and employment of handicapped individuals).

Title IX: Helen Keller National Center - Amends the Helen Keller National Center Act to authorize appropriations for FY 1987 through 1990 to carry out such Act.

Title X: Technical Amendments and Miscellaneous Provisions - Makes technical amendments to the Act.

Requires that the President's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped be guided by the general policies of the National Council on the Handicapped.

Declares that States shall not be immune from suit in Federal court for violations of any Federal statute prohibiting discrimination by recipients of Federal financial assistance, and that remedies in such suits shall be available to the same extent as in suits against public or private entities other than States.

Sets forth a special rule relating to maintenance of effort under the Education of the Handicapped Act.