Personnel Development to Improve Services and Results for Children with Disabilities--Preparation of Related Services Personnel Serving Children with Disabilities who have High-Intensity Needs

Overview

The purposes of this program are to (1) help address State-identified needs for personnel preparation in early intervention, special education, related services, and regular education to work with children, including infants, 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. Priorities: This competition includes one absolute priority and, within that absolute priority, one competitive preference priority.

Absolute Priority: Preparation of Related Services Personnel Serving Children with Disabilities who have High-Intensity Needs. The purpose of this priority is to increase the number and improve the quality of related services personnel, including multilingual personnel and personnel from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds, who are fully credentialed and licensed to serve children with disabilities who have high-intensity needs.3 The priority will fund high-quality projects that prepare scholars 4 in related services at the bachelor’s degree, certification, master’s degree, or clinical doctoral degree levels for professional practice in natural environments, early childhood programs, classrooms, school settings, and in distance learning environments serving children with disabilities who have high-intensity needs. 

Focus Areas: Within this absolute priority, the Secretary intends to support projects under the following two focus areas: (A) Preparing Related Services Personnel to Serve Infants, Toddlers, and Preschool Age Children with Disabilities who have High-Intensity Needs; and (B) Preparing Related Services Personnel to Serve School-Age Children with Disabilities who have High-Intensity Needs.

Focus Area A: Preparing Related Services Personnel to Serve Infants, Toddlers, and Preschool-Age Children with Disabilities who have HighIntensity Needs--This focus area is for projects that prepare related services personnel to provide services to infants, toddlers, and preschool children with disabilities who have high-intensity needs. In States where the certification age range is other than birth through five, applicants must propose a preparation project that complies with the State’s certification requirements for related services personnel to work in early intervention or early childhood special education.
Focus Area B: Preparing Related--Services Personnel to Serve School-Age Children With Disabilities Who Have High-Intensity Needs. This focus area is for projects that prepare related services personnel to work with school-age children with disabilities who have high-intensity needs.

Applicants must identify the specific focus area (i.e., A or B) under which they are applying as part of the competition title on the application cover sheet (SF 424, line 12). Applicants may not submit the same proposal under more than one focus area. Applicants may submit different proposals in different focus areas.

Note: Projects may include individuals who are not funded as scholars, but are in degree programs (e.g., general education, early childhood education, administration) that are cooperating with the grantee’s project. These individuals may participate in the coursework, assignments, field or clinical experiences, and other opportunities required of scholars’ program of study (e.g., speaker series, monthly seminars) if doing so does not diminish the benefit for project-funded scholars (e.g., by reducing funds available for scholar support or limiting opportunities for scholars to participate in project activities). 
Note: Projects that prepare scholars from two or more related services degree programs can qualify under  this priority. Related services degree programs across more than one institution of higher education (IHE) may partner together within a project. 
Note: Applications that propose to prepare early intervention and special education personnel who do not provide related services are not eligible under this priority but can qualify under the Preparation of Early  Intervention and Special Education Personnel Serving Children with Disabilities who have High-Intensity Needs priority (ALN 84.325K).