VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION ACT AUTHORIZATION OF (As Amended Through 1970) APPROPRIATIONS FOR GRANTS; PURPOSES FOR SECTION 1. (a) The Secretary is authorized to make grants as provided in this Act for the purpose of assisting States in rehabilitating handicapped individuals so that they may prepare for and engage in gainful employment to the extent of their capabilities, thereby increasing not only their social and economic well-being but also the productive capacity of the Nation. (b) (1) For the purpose of making grants to States under section 2, to assist them in meeting the costs of vocational rehabilitation services, there is authorized to be appropriated for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1966, the sum of $300,000,000, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1967, the sum of $350,000,000, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1968, the sum of $400,000,000, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1969, the sum of $500,000,000, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1970, the sum of $600,000,000,1 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1971, the sum of $700,000,000,2 and for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1972, the sum of $700,000,000.3 (2) For the purpose of making grants under section 3, relating to grants to States to assist them in meeting the costs of projects for innovation of vocational rehabilitation services, there is authorized to be appropriated ofr the fiscal year ending June 30, 1966, the sum of $5,000,000, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1967, the sum of $7,000,000, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1968, the sum of $9,000,000, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1969 the sum of $3,200,000, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1970, the sum of $6,000,000, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1971, the sum of $10,000,000, and for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1972, the sum of $10,000,000.5 (3) For the purpose of (A) making grants under section 4(a) (1) for research, demonstrations, training, and traineeships; (B) making grants under clause (2) (A) of section 4(a) for planning, preparing for, and initiating special programs to expand State vocational rehabilitation services; (C) making contracts and jointly financed cooperative arrangements under clause (2) (B) of section 4(a) for projects for providing jobs to handicapped individuals; and (D) making grants under clauses (2) (C) and (D) of section 4(a) to develop new programs to recruit and train individuals for new career opportunities, there is authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year ending June 30, 1966, the sum of $80,000,000, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1967, the sum of $104,000,000, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1968, the sum of 1 Authorization extended through FY 1970 by P.L. 90-99. (1) 2 $117,000,000, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1969, the sum of $80,000,000, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1970, the sum of $115,000,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1971, the sum of $140,000,000, and for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1972, the sum of $140,000,000.7 6 (4) For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1973,8 and each of the succeeding fiscal years, only such sums may be appropriated for the purposes described in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) as the Congress may hereafter authorize by law. 9 GRANTS TO STATES FOR VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION SERVICES SEC. 2. (a) For each fiscal year each State shall be entitled to an allotment of an amount bearing the same ratio to the amount authorized to be appropriated by paragraph (1) of section 1(b) for meeting the cost of vocational rehabilitation services, as the product of (1) the population of the State and (2) the square of its allotment percentage (as defined in section 11(h)) bears to the sum of the corresponding products for all the States. The allotment to any State under the preceding sentence which is less than the amount such State was entitled to receive under subsection (b) of the section for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1965, shall be increased to that amount, the total of the increases thereby required being derived by proportionately reducing the allotments of each of the remaining States under the preceding sentence, but with such adjustments as may be necessary to prevent the allotment of any of such remaining States from being thereby reduced to less than that amount. The allotment to any State (other than the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and Guam) for any fiscal year under the preceding two sentences which is less than $1,000,000 shall be increased to that amount, the total of the increases thereby required being derived by proportionately reducing the allotments of each of the remaining such States under the preceding two sentences, but with such adjustments as may be necessary to prevent the allotment of any of such remaining States from being thereby reduced to less than that amount.10 (b) For each fiscal year the Secretary shall pay to each State an amount equal to the Federal share (determined as provided in section 11(i) of the cost of vocational rehabilitation services under the plan for such State approved under section 5, including expenditures for the administration of the State plan, except that the total of such payments to such State for such fiscal year may not exceed its allotment under subsection (a) for such year and such payments shall not be made in an amount which would result in a violation of the provision of the State plan required by section 5(a) (14)," and except that the amount otherwise payable to such State for such year under this section shall be reduced by the amount (if any) by which expenditures from non-Federal sources (except for expenditures with respect to which the State is entitled to payments under section 3) during such 6 Par. 3 (C) and (D). Authorization extended through FY 1971 by P.L. 90-391. 7 P.L. 91-610. 8 P.L. 91-610. 9 P.L. 90-391. 10 Minimum allotment of $1,000,000-P.L. 90-391. 11 P.L. 90-391. year under such State's plan are less than such expenditures under such plan for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1969.12 (c) For the purpose of determining the amount of payments to States for carrying out this section and section 3 with respect to expenditures under a State plan approved under section 5, State funds shall, subject to such limitations and conditions as may be prescribed in regulations of the Secretary, include contributions of funds made by any private agency, organization, or individual to a State to assist in meeting the cost of construction or establishment of a public or other nonprofit rehabilitation facility, which would be regarded as State funds except for the condition, imposed by the contributor, limiting use of such funds to construction or establishment of such facility.1 13 GRANTS TO STATES FOR INNOVATION OF VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION SERVICES SEC. 3. (a) (1) From the sums available for any fiscal year for grants to States to assist them in meeting the costs described in paragraph (2) of this subsection, each State shall be entitled to an allotment of an amount bearing the same ratio to such sums as the population of the State bears to the population of all the States. The allotment to any State under the preceding sentence for any fiscal year which is less than $5,000 (or such other amount as may be specified as a minimum allotment in the Act appropriating such sums for such year) shall be increased to that amount, the total of the increases thereby required being derived by proportionately reducing the allotments to each of the remaining States under the preceding sentence, but with such adjustments as may be necessary to prevent the allotment of any of such remaining States from being thereby reduced to less than that amount. (2) From each State's allotment under this section for any fiscal year, the Secretary shall pay to such State a portion of the cost of approved projects for vocational rehabilitation services (including their administration) under the State plan which (A) provide for the development of methods or techniques, which are new in the State, for providing vocational rehabilitation services for handicapped individuals, of (B) are specially designed for development of, or provision for, new or expanded vocational rehabilitation services for groups of handicapped individuals having disabilities which are catastrophic or particularly severe. The Secretary shall approve any project for purposes of this section only if the plan of such State approved under section 5 includes such project or is modified to include it. (b) Payments under this section with respect to any project may be made for a period of not to exceed five years beginning with the commencement of the first fiscal year for which any payment is made with respect to such project from an allotment under this section. To the extent permitted by the State's allotment under this section, such payments with respect to any project shall be equal to 90 per centum of the cost of such project for the first three years and 75 per centum of the cost of such project for the next two years, except that, at the 12 Maintenance of effort-P.L. 90-391. 13 "Laird Amendment" permitting use of private funds-P.L. 90-391. request of the State, such payments may be less than such percentage of the cost of such project. (c) No payment may be made from an allotment under this section with respect to any cost with respect to which any payment is made under section 2. (d) Whenever the Secretary determines that any amount of an allotment to a State for any fiscal year will not be utilized by such State in carrying out the purposes of this section, he shall make such amount available for carrying out the pruposes of this section to one or more other States which he determines will be able to use additional amounts during such year for carrying out such purposes. Any amount made available to a State for any fiscal year pursuant to the preceding sentence shall, for purposes of this Act, be regarded as an increase of such State's allotment (as determined under the preceding provisions of this section) for such year.' 14 GRANTS FOR SPECIAL PROJECTS SEC. 4. (a) From the sums available therefor for any fiscal year, the Secretary shall (1) make grants to States and public and other nonprofit organizations and agencies for paying part of the cost of projects for research, demonstrations, training, and traineeships, and projects for the establishment of special facilities and services, which, in the judgment of the Secretary, hold promise of making a substantial contribution to the solution of vocational rehabilitation problems common to all or several States, and problems related to the rehabilitation of the mentally retarded 15 and (2) (A) make grants to States and public and other nonprofit organizations and agencies for paying part of the cost of planning, preparing for, and initiating special programs to expand vocational rehabilitation services in those States where, in the judgment of the Secretary, such action holds promise of yielding a substantial increase in the number of persons vocationally rehabilitated, and sums appropriated for grants under this clause shall remain available for such grants through the close of June 30, 1973,16 (B) make contracts or jointly financed cooperative arrangements with employers and organizations for the establishment of projects designed to prepare handicapped individuals for gainful employment in the competitive labor market under which handicapped individuals are provided training and employment in a realistic work setting and such other services (determined in accordance with regulations of the Secretary) as may be necessary for such individuals to continue to engage in such employment, (C) make grants to State vocational rehabilitation agencies and other public and private nonprofit agencies to enable them to develop new programs to recruit and train individuals for new career opportunities in order to provide appropriate manpower in programs serving handicapped individuals and to upgrade or expand those services,18 and (D) make grants to vocational rehabilitation agencies and other public and private nonprofit agencies to enable them to develop new programs to recruit and train handicapped individuals to provide them with new career opportunities in the fields of rehabilitation, health, welfare, public safety and law enforcement, 14 Reallotment provision-effective with respect to fiscal years ending after June 30, 1969-Public Law 90-391. 15 Inclusion of mentally retarded-P.L. 90-391. 16 P.L. 90-391. 17 17 Contracts with industry-P.L. 90-391. 18 New career opportunities-P.L. 90-391. |