Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 92 Part 3.djvu/338

 92 STAT. 2970

PUBLIC LAW 95-602—NOV. 6, 1978 TRAINING

Ante, p. 2963.


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Interpreters for the deaf, grants,

Application.

,;

SEC. 114. Section 304 of the Eehabilitation Act of 1973 (as so redesignated by section 109(2) of this Act) is amended— (1) in subsection (a)— (A) by striking out "The Secretary, through the Commissioner, in coordination with other appropriate programs in the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, is authorized to" and inserting in lieu thereof "The Commissioner may"; (B) by inserting ", medical, social, and psychological rehabilitation" after "vocational"; and (C) by striking out "and" before "in performing" and inserting in lieu thereof the following: ", including personnel specially trained in providing employment assistance to handicapped individuals through job development and job placement services, and personnel trained"; (2) in subsection (b) — (A) by inserting ", rehabilitation psychiatry" after "work"; and (B) by inserting after "blind and deaf individuals," the following: "specialized personnel in providing job development and job placement services for handicapped individuals,"; and (3) by adding at the end the following new subsections: "(c) The Commissioner shall evaluate the impact of the training programs conducted under this section, shall determine training needs for personnel necessary to provide services to handicapped individuals, and shall develop a long-term rehabilitation manpower plan designed to target resources on areas of personnel shortage. "(d)(1) For the purpose of training a sufficient number of interpreters to meet the communications needs of deaf individuals, the Secretary, through the Office of Information and Resources for the Handicapped, may award grants under this section to any public or private nonprofit agency or organization to establish interpreter training programs or to provide financial assistance for ongoing interpreter training programs. Not more than twelve programs shall be established or assisted by grants under this section. The Secretary shall award grants for programs in such geographic areas throughout the United States as the Secretary considers appropriate to best carry out the purpose of this section. Friority shall be given to public or private nonprofit agencies or organizations with existing programs that have demonstrated their capacity for providing interpreter training services. " (2) No grant shall be awarded under this section unless the applicant has submitted an application to the Secretary in such form, and in accordance with such procedures, as the Secretary may require. Any such application shall— "(A) describe the manner in which an interpreter training program would be developed and operated during the five-year period following the award of any grant under this section; "(B) demonstrate the applicant's capacity or potential for providing training for interpreters for deaf individuals; "(C) provide assurances that any interpreter trained or retrained under such program shall meet such minimum standards of competency as the Secretary may establish for purposes of this section; "(D) provide assurances that (i) to the extent appropriate, the applicant shall provide for the training or retraining (including

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