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6344 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 28 / Tuesday, February 11, 1997 / Rules and Regulationsentities responsible for servingindividuals with disabilities; and(ii) The vocational rehabilitationservices provided by State agencies andother public and private entitiesresponsible for providing vocationalrehabilitation services to individualswith disabilities from funds madeavailable under the Act or through otherpublic or private sources;(4) Prepare and submit to theGovernor, or appropriate State entity,and to the Secretary no later than 90days after the end of the Federal fiscalyear an annual report on the status ofvocational rehabilitation programsoperated within the State and make thereport available to the public throughappropriate modes of communication;(5) Coordinate with other councilswithin the State, including theStatewide Independent Living Councilestablished under 34 CFR part 364, theadvisory panel established undersection 613(a)(12) of IDEA, the StatePlanning Council described in section124 of the Developmental DisabilitiesAssistance and Bill of Rights Act, andthe State mental health planningcouncil established under section1916(e) of the Public Health Service Act;(6) Advise the designated State agencyand provide for coordination and theestablishment of working relationshipsbetween the designated State agencyand the Statewide Independent LivingCouncil and centers for independentliving within the State; and(7) Perform other comparablefunctions, consistent with the purposeof this part, that the Council determinesto be appropriate.(i) Resources. (1) The Council, inconjunction with the designated Stateunit, shall prepare a plan for theprovision of resources, including staffand other personnel, that may benecessary for the Council to carry out itsfunctions under this part.(2) In implementing the resourcesplan, the Council shall rely on existingresources to the maximum extentpossible.(3) Any disagreements between thedesignated State unit and the Councilregarding the amount of resourcesnecessary must be resolved by theGovernor or other appointing entity,consistent with paragraphs (i)(1) and (2)of this section.(4) The Council shall, consistent withState law, supervise and evaluate thestaff and personnel that are necessary tocarry out its functions.(5) Those staff and personnel that areassisting the Council in carrying out itsfunctions may not be assigned duties bythe designated State unit or any otheragency or office of the State that wouldcreate a conflict of interest.(j) Meetings. The Council shall—(1) Convene at least four meetings ayear to conduct Council business thatare publicly announced, open andaccessible to the public, includingindividuals with disabilities, unlessthere is a valid reason for an executivesession; and(2) Conduct forums or hearings, asappropriate, that are publiclyannounced, open and accessible to thepublic, including individuals withdisabilities.(k) Compensation. Fundsappropriated under Title I of the Act,except funds to carry out sections 112and 130 of the Act, may be used tocompensate and reimburse the expensesof Council members in accordance withsection 105(g) of the Act.(Approved by the Office of Management andBudget under control number 1820–0500.)(Authority: Sec. 105 of the Act; 29 U.S.C.725)§ 361.18 Comprehensive system ofpersonnel development.The State plan must describe theprocedures and activities the Stateagency will undertake to establish andmaintain a comprehensive system ofpersonnel development designed toensure an adequate supply of qualifiedrehabilitation personnel, includingprofessionals and paraprofessionals, forthe designated State unit. If the Stateagency has a State RehabilitationAdvisory Council, this descriptionmust, at a minimum, specify that theCouncil has an opportunity to reviewand comment on the development ofplans, policies, and proceduresnecessary to meet the requirements ofparagraphs (b) through (d) andparagraph (f) of this section. Thisdescription must also conform with thefollowing requirements:(a) Data system on personnel andpersonnel development. The State planmust describe the development andmaintenance of a system by the Stateagency for collecting and analyzing onan annual basis data on qualifiedpersonnel needs and personneldevelopment, in accordance with thefollowing requirements:(1) Data on qualified personnel needsmust include—(i) The number of personnel who areemployed by the State agency in theprovision of vocational rehabilitationservices in relation to the number ofindividuals served, broken down bypersonnel category;(ii) The number of personnelcurrently needed by the State agency toprovide vocational rehabilitationservices, broken down by personnelcategory; and(iii) Projections of the number ofpersonnel, broken down by personnelcategory, who will be needed by theState agency to provide vocationalrehabilitation services in the State infive years based on projections of thenumber of individuals to be served,including individuals with severedisabilities, the number of personnelexpected to retire or leave the field, andother relevant factors.(2) Data on personnel developmentmust include—(i) A list of the institutions of highereducation in the State that are preparingvocational rehabilitation professionals,by type of program;(ii) The number of students enrolledat each of those institutions, brokendown by type of program; and(iii) The number of students whograduated during the prior year fromeach of those institutions withcertification or licensure, or with thecredentials for certification or licensure,broken down by the personnel categoryfor which they have received, or havethe credentials to receive, certificationor licensure.(b) Plan for recruitment, preparation,and retention of qualified personnel.The State plan must describe thedevelopment, updating, andimplementation of a plan to address thecurrent and projected needs forpersonnel who are qualified inaccordance with paragraph (c) of thissection. The plan must identify thepersonnel needs based on the datacollection and analysis systemdescribed in paragraph (a) of thissection and must provide for thecoordination and facilitation of effortsbetween the designated State unit andinstitutions of higher education andprofessional associations to recruit,prepare, and retain personnel who arequalified in accordance with paragraph(c) of this section, including personnelfrom minority backgrounds andpersonnel who are individuals withdisabilities.(c) Personnel standards. (1) The Stateplan must include the State agency’spolicies and describe the procedures theState agency will undertake to establishand maintain standards to ensure thatprofessional and paraprofessionalpersonnel needed within the State unitto carry out this part are appropriatelyand adequately prepared and trained,including—(i) Standards that are consistent withany national or State-approved or-recognized certification, licensing, orregistration requirements, or, in theabsence of these requirements, other