State Technical Assistance Projects to Improve Services and Results for Children who are Deaf-Blind and National Technical Assistance and Dissemination Center for Children who are Deaf-Blind

Overview

Purpose of Program: Two Department programs fund this competition: the Technical Assistance and Dissemination to Improve Services and Results for Children with Disabilities (TA&D) program and the Personnel Development to Improve Services and Results for Children with Disabilities (PD) program.

The purpose of the TA&D program is to promote academic achievement and improve results for children with disabilities by providing TA, supporting model demonstration projects, disseminating useful information, and implementing activities that are supported by scientifically based research.

The purposes of the PD program are to (1) help address State identified needs for personnel preparation in special education, early intervention, related services, and general 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.

Absolute Priority: State Technical Assistance Projects to Improve Services and Results for DeafBlind Children and a National Technical Assistance and Dissemination Center for DeafBlind Children. 

The purpose of this priority is to establish and operate State Technical Assistance Projects to Improve Services and Results for DeafBlind Children and a National Technical Assistance and
Dissemination Center for DeafBlind Children that will provide TA and support to the State projects.
The State Technical Assistance Projects to Improve Services and Results for DeafBlind Children (State DeafBlind Projects) will help SEAs, Part C LAs, LEAs, including charter school LEAs, EIS providers, teachers, service providers, and families to address the educational, related services, transitional, and early intervention needs of DeafBlind children. For more than 30 years, the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) has supported State DeafBlind Projects to improve support to local schools and agencies within States that are serving DeafBlind children and their families.
The State DeafBlind Projects are designed to increase access to, and progress in, the grade-level general education curriculum, including grade level or alternate academic achievement standards, for DeafBlind children and improve their communication skills with a goal of supporting lifelong
learning, including postsecondary education and employment readiness.

For the purposes of this competition, the Department has separated the absolute priority into two focus areas:

Focus Area A - State DeafBlind Projects

Focus Area B - A National Center

Applicants must identify whether they are applying under Focus Area A, Focus Area B, or both. 

State Technical Assistance Projects to Improve Services and Results for DeafBlind Children (Focus Area A).

This priority will fund discretionary grants to establish and operate State Technical Assistance Projects to Improve Services and Results for DeafBlind. The State DeafBlind Projects are expected to work closely with SEAs, LAs, LEAs, EIS providers, teachers, service providers, and families to address the intensive educational, related services, transitional, and early intervention needs of DeafBlind children, to ensure that these children have meaningful access to the general
education curriculum and can successfully transition to postsecondary education or employment.

National Technical Assistance and Dissemination Center for DeafBlind Children (Focus Area B).

The purpose of this priority is to fund a cooperative agreement to establish and operate a National Technical Assistance and Dissemination Center for DeafBlind Children. The National Center will work with the State DeafBlind Projects to ensure that family members and caregivers, EIS providers, special and general education teachers, interveners, and related services personnel have access to the specialized training and tools needed to support the educational, communication, and socialization needs of DeafBlind children.

Estimated Average Size of Awards:
Focus Area A: $176,000. 
Focus Area B: $2,100,000.