Technical Assistance and dissemination

(a) Grant authorized From the amounts appropriated for this title, the Secretary (acting through the Office of Disability Employment Policy of the Department of Labor in partnership with the Employment and Training Administration of the Department of Labor), in partnership with the Administration for Community Living of the Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services of the Department of Education, shall award a grant to a nonprofit entity to— (1) (A) provide technical assistance to employers who are transforming from employing individuals with disabilities using special certificates to providing competitive integrated employment; (B) identify and disseminate private and public sector models of the transition described in subparagraph (A); and (C) build a set of replicable strategies for employers using special certificates to increase their use of evidence-based practices in providing competitive integrated employment and increase their options for providing competitive integrated employment; (2) collect and disseminate— (A) evidence-based practices with respect to the transformations described in paragraph (1)(A), including practices that increase awareness of and access to training materials from and opportunities offered through the Office of Disability Employment Policy of the Department of Labor; and (B) evidence-based strategies for implementing the aims of activities, intended to improve the quality of integrated services to result in competitive integrated employment for individuals with disabilities, carried out— (i) under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.); (ii) through settlement agreements made pursuant to the employment requirements under the Olmstead decision; or (iii) through home and community-based services described in the Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) final rule published on January 16, 2014 (79 Fed. Reg. 2948), or a successor rule; (3) leverage and increase awareness of and access to training materials and opportunities made available through training and technical assistance investments of— (A) the Office of Disability Employment Policy of the Department of Labor; (B) the Employment and Training Administration of the Department of Labor; (C) the Administration for Community Living of the Department of Health and Human Services; and (D) the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services of the Department of Education; and (4) (A) raise awareness of efforts in States to carry out the Employment First initiative; and (B) coordinate dissemination efforts related to ABLE accounts and other financial asset development resources through the ABLE National Resource Center and the Department of the Treasury. (b) Application (1) In general To be eligible to receive a grant under this section, a nonprofit entity shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and including such information that the Secretary may reasonably require. (2) Contents Each application submitted under paragraph (1) shall include— (A) a description of the nonprofit entity’s expertise in providing technical assistance that shall include evidence of— (i) knowledge of transforming business and program models providing employment using special certificates to models providing competitive integrated employment and integrated services; (ii) knowledge of methods for supporting employers, including employers not receiving a grant under title I, to transform as described in clause (i); (iii) experience working with nonprofit, for-profit, Federal, State, and local agencies focusing on employment of youth and adults who are individuals with disabilities; and (iv) experience working with individuals with disabilities and their families; (B) a description of the nonprofit entity’s expertise in providing, collecting, compiling, communicating, and disseminating information about program and systems change for programs serving individuals with disabilities that shall include— (i) expertise documenting program change; (ii) experience compiling recommended practices related to program transformations; (iii) expertise regarding competitive integrated employment for youth and adults who are individuals with disabilities; (iv) expertise working with individuals with disabilities and their families through systems change procedures; (v) expertise creating accessible products to disseminate learned information, including through web-based means; (vi) experience creating accessible websites to disseminate information; (vii) experience working with nonprofit, for-profit, Federal, State, and local agencies focusing on employment of youth and adults who are individuals with disabilities; (viii) experience with assisting youth who are individuals with disabilities in transitioning from receiving services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401 et seq.) to inclusive postsecondary education and competitive integrated employment; and (ix) experience leveraging resources, available through the Office of Disability Employment Policy and the Employment and Training Administration, that are designed to provide effective and efficient services to job seekers who are individuals with disabilities in competitive integrated employment settings; and (C) a description of the individuals at the nonprofit entity who will be responsible for carrying out the activities under this title. (3) Duration of award A grant under this section shall be awarded for a period of 6 years, and shall be non-renewable. (4) Nonprofit entity defined In this section, the term nonprofit entity means a nonprofit entity with expertise in collecting, compiling, communicating, and disseminating information about program and systems change for programs serving individuals with disabilities.