Applications for New Awards; Personnel Development To Improve Services and Results for Children With Disabilities-Leadership Development Programs: Increasing the Capacity of Leaders To Improve Systems Serving Children With Disabilities

Overview

<div>These grants will fund States to implement leadership development programs that recruit, increase the capacity of, and retain State, regional, and local leaders to promote high expectations and improve early childhood and educational outcomes for children with disabilities and their families by improving the systems that serve them.</div> <div></div> <div>The purposes of this program are to (1) help address State-identified needs for personnel preparation in special education, early intervention, related services, and regular education to work with children, including infants and toddlers, and youth with disabilities; and (2) ensure that those personnel have the necessary skills and knowledge, derived from practices that have been determined through scientifically based research, to be successful in serving those children.</div> <div></div> <div>This competition includes one absolute priority and one competitive preference priority.</div> <div>.</div> <div><strong>Absolute Priority:</strong><br>Leadership Development Programs: Increasing the Capacity of Leaders to Improve Systems Serving Children with Disabilities.</div> <div></div> <div>The purpose of this priority is to fund grants to achieve, at a minimum, the following expected outcomes:</div> <div style="padding-left:30px">(a) Development, improvement, or expansion of a high-quality, sustainable leadership development program to recruit, increase the capacity of, and retain a network of leaders at the State, regional, or local level to improve systems serving children with disabilities and their families;</div> <div style="padding-left:30px">(b) Development, improvement, or expansion of infrastructure and implementation supports, [2] including but not limited to partnerships with relevant child-serving agencies and diverse stakeholders (e.g., IHEs, parent centers, [3] State- and local-level Start Printed Page 8257administrators, technical assistance providers) to deliver and sustain leadership development programs; and</div> <div style="padding-left:30px">(c) Increased number of early intervention and special education leaders at the State, regional, or local level with the knowledge, skills, and competencies to improve systems serving children with disabilities and their families.</div> <div>To be considered for funding under this absolute priority, all applicants must meet the application requirements contained in the priority. All projects funded under this absolute priority also must meet the programmatic and administrative requirements specified in the priority.</div> <div>.</div> <div><strong>Competitive Preference Priority:</strong></div> <div><strong></strong>Matching Support (Up to 5 points)</div> <div></div> <div>An application that demonstrates matching support for the proposed project at—</div> <div style="padding-left:30px">(a) 20 percent of the requested Federal award (1 point);</div> <div style="padding-left:30px">(b) 40 percent of the total amount of the requested Federal award (2 points);</div> <div style="padding-left:30px">(c) 60 percent of the total amount of the requested Federal award (3 points);</div> <div style="padding-left:30px">(d) 80 percent of the total amount of the requested Federal award (4 points); or</div> <div style="padding-left:30px">(e) 100 percent of the total amount of the requested Federal award (5 points).</div>