350.5—What definitions apply?

(a) The following definitions in 34 CFR part 77 apply to this part—

Applicant

Application

Award

Budget

Department

EDGAR

Equipment

Facilities

Grant

Grantee

Nonprofit

Private

Project

Project period

Public

Recipient

Secretary

Supplies

State

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

Act means the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701, et seq.), as amended.

Assistive technology device means any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially or off the shelf, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities.

Assistive technology service means any service that directly assists an individual with a disability in the selection, acquisition, or use of an assistive technology device, including—

(1) The evaluation of the needs of an individual with a disability, including a functional evaluation of the individual in the individual's customary environment;

(2) Purchasing, leasing, or otherwise providing for the acquisition of assistive technology devices by individuals with disabilities;

(3) Selecting, designing, fitting, customizing, adapting, applying, maintaining, repairing, or replacing assistive technology devices;

(4) Coordinating and using other therapies, interventions, or services with assistive technology devices, such as those associated with existing education and rehabilitation plans and programs;

(5) Training or technical assistance for individuals with disabilities, or, if appropriate, their family members, guardians, advocates, or authorized representatives; and

(6) Training or technical assistance for professionals (including individuals providing education and rehabilitation services), employers, or other individuals who provide services to employ, or are otherwise substantially involved in the major life functions of, individuals with disabilities.

Disability means a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.

Individual with a disability means any individual who:

(1) Has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the individual's major life activities;

(2) Has a record of this impairment; or

(3) Is regarded as having this impairment.

Individual with a severe disability means—

(1) (i) An individual with a disability who has a severe physical or mental impairment that seriously limits one or more functional capacities (such as mobility, communication, self-care, self-direction, interpersonal skills, work tolerance, or work skills) in terms of an employment outcome;

(ii) Whose vocational rehabilitation can be expected to require multiple vocational rehabilitation services over an extended period of time; and

(iii) Who has one or more physical or mental disabilities resulting from amputation, arthritis, autism, blindness, burn injury, cancer, cerebral palsy, cystic fibrosis, deafness, head injury, heart disease, hemiplegia, hemophilia, respiratory or pulmonary dysfunction, mental retardation, mental illness, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, musculoskeletal disorders, neurological disorders (including stroke and epilepsy), paraplegia, quadriplegia, other spinal cord impairments, sickle cell anemia, specific learning disability, end-stage renal disease, or another disability or combination of disabilities determined on the basis of an assessment of rehabilitation needs to cause comparable substantial functional limitation; or

(2) An individual with a severe mental or physical impairment whose ability to function independently in the family or community or whose ability to obtain, maintain, or advance in employment is substantially limited and for whom the delivery of independent living services will improve the ability to function, continue functioning, or move towards functioning independently in the family or community or to continue in employment, respectively.

Personal assistance services means a range of services, provided by one or more persons, designed to assist an individual with a disability to perform daily living activities, on and off the job, that the individual would typically perform if the individual did not have a disability. These services must be designed to increase the individual's control in life and ability to perform everyday activities on and off the job.

Rehabilitation technology means the systematic application of technologies, engineering methodologies, or scientific principles to meet the needs of and address the barriers confronted by individuals with disabilities in such areas as education, rehabilitation, employment, transportation, independent living, and recreation, and includes rehabilitation engineering, assistive technology devices, and assistive technology services.

Research is classified on a continuum from basic to applied:

(1) Basic research is research in which the investigator is concerned primarily with gaining new knowledge or understanding of a subject without reference to any immediate application or utility.

(2) Applied research is research in which the investigator is primarily interested in developing new knowledge, information or understanding which can be applied to a predetermined rehabilitation problem or need. Applied research builds on selected findings from basic research.

State rehabilitation agency means the sole State agency designated to administer (or supervise local administration of) the State plan for vocational rehabilitation services. The term includes the State agency for the blind, if designated as the State agency with respect to that part of the plan relating to the vocational rehabilitation of blind individuals.

Target population means the group of individuals, organizations, or other entities expected to be affected by the project. More than one group may be involved since a project may affect those who receive services, provide services, or administer services.

Code of Federal Regulations

(Authority: Sec. 202(i)(1); 29 U.S.C. 761a(i)(1) )