Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 106 Part 5.djvu/726

 106 STAT. 4364 PUBLIC LAW 102-569—OCT. 29, 1992 is 3.2 percent, the rate of increase for racial and ethnic minorities is much higher: 38.6 percent for Latinos, 14.6 percent for African-Americans, and 40.1 percent for Asian-Americans and other ethnic groups. By the year 2000, the Nation will have 260,000,000 people, one of eveiy three of whom will be either African-American, Latino, or Asian-American. "(2) RATE OF DISABILITY.— E thnic and racial minorities tend to have disabling conditions at a disproportionately high rate. The rate of work-related disability for American Indians is about one and one-half times that of the general population. African-Americans are also one and one-half times more likely to be disabled than whites and twice as likely to be severely disabled. "(3) INEQUITABLE TREATMENT.— Patterns of inequitable treatment of minorities have been documented in all major junctures of the vocational rehabilitation process. As compared to white Americans, a larger percentage of African-American applicants to the vocational rehabilitation system is denied acceptance. Of applicants accepted for service, a larger percentage of African-American cases is closed without being rehabilitated. Minorities are provided less training than their white counterparts. Consistently, less money is spent on minorities than on their white counterparts. "(4) RECRUITMENT. —Recruitment efforts within vocational rehabilitation at the level of pre-service training, continuing education, and in-service training must focus on bringing larger numbers of minorities into the profession in order to provide appropriate practitioner knowledge, role models, and sxifficient manpower to address the clearly changing demography of vocational rehabilitation. "(b) OUTREACH TO MINORITIES.— "(1) POLICY.— The Commissioner shall develop a policy to mobilize the resources of the Nation to prepare minorities for careers in vocational rehabilitation, independent living, and related services. "(2) Focus.—T h is policy shall focus on— "(A) the recruitment of minorities into the field of vocational rehabilitation counseling and related disciplines; and "(B) financially assisting Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-serving institutions of higher education, and other institutions of higher education whose minority enrollment is at least 50 percent to prepare students for vocational rehabilitation and related service careers. "(3) PLAN. — "(A) DEVELOPMENT.— The Commissioner shall develop a plan to provide outreach services and other related activities (such as cooperative efforts) to the entities described in subparagraph (B) in order to enhance the capacity and increase the participation of such entities in competitions for grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements under titles I through VIII. "(B) ENTITIES. — The entities referred to in subparagraph (A) are— "(i) Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-serving institutions of higher education, and

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