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34 C.F.R. Subpart A—General

Title 34 - Education

Title 34: Education
PART 370—CLIENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

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Subpart A—General

§ 370.1   What is the Client Assistance Program (CAP)?

The purpose of this program is to establish and carry out CAPs that—

(a) Advise and inform clients and client applicants of all services and benefits available to them through programs authorized under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Act), as amended;

(b) Assist and advocate for clients and client applicants in their relationships with projects, programs, and community rehabilitation programs providing services under the Act; and

(c) Inform individuals with disabilities in the State, especially individuals with disabilities who have traditionally been unserved or underserved by vocational rehabilitation programs, of the services and benefits available to them under the Act and under title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), 42 U.S.C. 12101–12213.

(Authority: 29 U.S.C. 732(a))

§ 370.2   Who is eligible for an award?

(a) Any State, through its Governor, is eligible for an award under this part if the State submits, and receives approval of, an application in accordance with §370.20.

(b) The Governor of each State shall designate a public or private agency to conduct the State's CAP under this part.

(c) Except as provided in paragraph (d) of this section, the Governor shall designate an agency that is independent of any agency that provides treatment, services, or rehabilitation to individuals under the Act.

(d) The Governor may, in the initial designation, designate an agency that provides treatment, services, or rehabilitation to individuals with disabilities under the Act if, at any time before February 22, 1984, there was an agency in the State that both—

(1) Was a grantee under section 112 of the Act by serving as a client assistance agency and directly carrying out a CAP; and

(2) Was, at the same time, a grantee under any other provision of the Act.

(e) Except as permitted in paragraph (f) of this section, an agency designated by the Governor of a State to conduct the State's CAP under this part may not award a subgrant to or enter into a contract with an agency that provides services under this Act either to carry out the CAP or to provide services under the CAP.

(f) An agency designated by the Governor of a State to conduct the State's CAP under this part may enter into a contract with a center for independent living (center) that provides services under the Act if—

(1) On February 22, 1984, the designated agency was contracting with one or more centers to provide CAP services; and

(2) The designated agency meets the requirements of paragraph (g) of this section.

(g) A designated agency that contracts to provide CAP services with a center (pursuant to paragraph (f) of this section) or with an entity or individual that does not provide services under the Act remains responsible for—

(1) The conduct of a CAP that meets all of the requirements of this part;

(2) Ensuring that the center, entity, or individual expends CAP funds in accordance with—

(i) The regulations in this part; and

(ii) The cost principles applicable to the designated agency; and

(3) The direct day-to-day supervision of the CAP services being carried out by the contractor. This day-to-day supervision must include the direct supervision of the individuals who are employed or used by the contractor to provide CAP services.

(Authority: 29 U.S.C. 711(c) and 732(a) and (c)(1)(A))

§ 370.3   Who is eligible for services and information under the CAP?

(a) Any client or client applicant is eligible for the services described in §370.4.

(b) Any individual with a disability is eligible to receive information on the services and benefits available to individuals with disabilities under the Act and title I of the ADA.

(Authority: 29 U.S.C. 732(a))

§ 370.4   What kinds of activities may the Secretary fund?

(a) Funds made available under this part must be used for activities consistent with the purposes of this program, including—

(1) Advising and informing clients, client applicants, and individuals with disabilities in the State, especially individuals with disabilities who have traditionally been unserved or underserved by vocational rehabilitation programs, of—

(i) All services and benefits available to them through programs authorized under the Act; and

(ii) Their rights in connection with those services and benefits;

(2) Informing individuals with disabilities in the State, especially individuals with disabilities who have traditionally been unserved or underserved by vocational rehabilitation programs, of the services and benefits available to them under title I of the ADA;

(3) Upon the request of a client or client applicant, assisting and advocating on behalf of a client and client applicant in his or her relationship with projects, programs, and community rehabilitation programs that provide services under the Act by engaging in individual or systemic advocacy and pursuing, or assisting and advocating on behalf of a client and client applicant to pursue, legal, administrative, and other available remedies, if necessary—

(i) To ensure the protection of the rights of a client or client applicant under the Act; and

(ii) To facilitate access by individuals with disabilities and individuals with disabilities who are making the transition from public school programs to services funded under the Act; and

(4) Providing information to the public concerning the CAP.

(b) In providing assistance and advocacy services under this part with respect to services under title I of the Act, a designated agency may provide assistance and advocacy services to a client or client applicant to facilitate the individual's employment, including assistance and advocacy services with respect to the individual's claims under title I of the ADA, if those claims under title I of the ADA are directly related to services under the Act that the individual is receiving or seeking.

(Authority: 29 U.S.C. 732(a))

§ 370.5   What regulations apply?

The following regulations apply to the expenditure of funds under the CAP:

(a) The Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) as follows:

(1) 34 CFR part 74 (Administration of Grants to Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals and Nonprofit Organizations) applies to the designated agency if the designated agency is not a State agency, local government agency, or Indian tribal organization. As the entity that eventually, if not directly, receives the CAP grant funds, the designated agency is considered a recipient for purposes of part 74.

(2) 34 CFR part 76 (State-Administered Programs) applies to the State and, if the designated agency is a State or local government agency, to the designated agency, except for—

(i) §76.103;

(ii) §§76.125 through 76.137;

(iii) §§76.300 through 76.401;

(iv) §76.708;

(v) §76.734; and

(vi) §76.740.

(3) 34 CFR part 77 (Definitions That Apply to Department Regulations).

(4) 34 CFR part 79 (Intergovernmental Review of Department of Education Programs and Activities).

(5) 34 CFR part 80 (Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Cooperative Agreements to State and Local Governments) applies to the State and, if the designated agency is a State or local government agency, to the designated agency.

(6) 34 CFR part 81 (General Education Provisions Act-Enforcement) applies to both the State and the designated agency, whether or not the designated agency is the actual recipient of the CAP grant. As the entity that eventually, if not directly, receives the CAP grant funds, the designated agency is considered a recipient for purposes of Part 81.

(7) 34 CFR part 82 (New Restrictions on Lobbying).

(8) 34 CFR part 85 (Governmentwide Debarment and Suspension (Nonprocurement) and Governmentwide Requirements for Drug-Free Workplace (Grants)).

(b) The regulations in this part 370.

(c) The regulations in 34 CFR 369.43, 369.46 and 369.48, relating to various conditions to be met by grantees.

Note: Any funds made available to a State under this program that are transferred by a State to a designated agency do not comprise a subgrant as that term is defined in 34 CFR 77.1. The designated agency is not, therefore, in these circumstances a subgrantee, as that term is defined in that section or in 34 CFR part 74, 76, or 80.)

(Authority: 29 U.S.C. 711(c) and 732)

§ 370.6   What definitions apply?

(a) Definitions in EDGAR. The following terms used in this part are defined in 34 CFR 77.1:

Award

EDGAR

Fiscal year

Nonprofit

Private

Public

Secretary

(b) Other definitions. The following definitions also apply to this part:

Act means the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended.

Advocacy means pleading an individual's cause or speaking or writing in support of an individual. Advocacy may be formal, as in the case of a lawyer representing an individual in a court of law or in formal administrative proceedings before government agencies (whether State, local or Federal). Advocacy also may be informal, as in the case of a lawyer or non-lawyer representing an individual in negotiations, mediation, or informal administrative proceedings before government agencies (whether State, local or Federal), or as in the case of a lawyer or non-lawyer representing an individual's cause before private entities or organizations, or government agencies (whether State, local or Federal). Advocacy may be on behalf of—

(1) A single individual, in which case it is individual advocacy;

(2) More than one individual or a group or class of individuals, in which case it is systems (or systemic) advocacy; or

(3) Oneself, in which case it is self advocacy.

Class action means a formal legal suit on behalf of a group or class of individuals filed in a Federal or State court that meets the requirements for a “class action” under Federal or State law. “Systems (or systemic) advocacy” that does not include filing a formal class action in a Federal or State court is not considered a class action for purposes of this part.

Client or client applicant means an individual receiving or seeking services under the Act, respectively.

Designated agency means the agency designated by the Governor under §370.2 to conduct a client assistance program under this part.

Mediation means the act or process of using an independent third party to act as a mediator, intermediary, or conciliator to settle differences or disputes between persons or parties. The third party who acts as a mediator, intermediary, or conciliator may not be any entity or individual who is connected in any way with the eligible system or the agency, entity, or individual with whom the individual with a disability has a dispute. Mediation may involve the use of professional mediators or any other independent third party mutually agreed to by the parties to the dispute.

Services under the Act means vocational rehabilitation, independent living, supported employment, and other similar rehabilitation services provided under the Act. For purposes of the CAP, the term “services under the Act” does not include activities carried out under the protection and advocacy program authorized by section 509 of the Act (i.e., the Protection and Advocacy of Individual Rights (PAIR) program, 34 CFR part 381).

State means, in addition to each of the several States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, The United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Republic of Palau (but only until September 30, 1998), except for purposes of the allotments under section 112 of the Act, in which case “State” does not mean or include Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Republic of Palau.

(Authority: 29 U.S.C. 711(c) and 732; Pub. L. 101–219 (Dec. 12, 1989); Pub. L. 99–658 (Nov. 14, 1986); and Pub. L. 99–239 (Jan. 14, 1986))

§ 370.7   What shall the designated agency do to make its services accessible?

The designated agency shall provide, as appropriate, the CAP services described in §370.4 in formats that are accessible to clients or client applicants who seek or receive CAP services.

(Authority: 29 U.S.C. 711(c))

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