National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research; Notice of Proposed Funding Priority for Fiscal Years 1998-1999 for a Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center

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: [email protected].

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__N[email protected].

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]

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