The Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) of the U.S. Department of
Education has awarded a $4.7 million, five-year grant to the Burton Blatt Institute
(BBI) of Syracuse University to manage the Region IV Technical Assistance and
Continuing Education (TACE) Learning Consortium in eight southeastern states:
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina
and Tennessee.
The consortium is a collaboration of the Disability Business and Technical Assistance
Center's (DBTAC) regional Southeast ADA Center, managed by BBI, and nationally
recognized state vocational rehabilitation (VR) administrators, educators,
rehabilitation providers, researchers, self-advocates and employers. The consortium
will implement new ways of meeting the employment objectives of VR customers
across the full spectrum of disabilities.
Building on years of experience and lessons learned from the Southeast DBTAC, the
TACE features a technology-enhanced learning platform anchored by a user-friendly
website with a vast library of resources, interactive learning tools and distance
learning options. The TACE will engage and support the target audience of 2,000
learners annually in all eight states and leverage significant nonprofit resources from
the Southeast DBTAC and other public-private sector partnerships to reach more than
one million relevant stakeholders in the region.
The consortium brings the leading subject matter experts in the nation and the region
to classroom, distance and experiential learning to accelerate knowledge for VR
customers with significant disabilities, including members of traditionally
underrepresented populations.
"The TACE project enhances the premier role of BBI as a problem solver and
innovator in the advancement of employment goals for individuals with significant
disabilities," says BBI Chair Peter Blanck, University Professor at Syracuse
University.
"The Consortium will coordinate and leverage public and private resources to develop
the next generation of leaders in the VR system at state and local levels," says Michael
Morris, BBI CEO and a member of the TACE senior management team.
Co-directing the TACE project will be Shelley Kaplan, director of the Southeast
DBTAC, and Lucy Wong-Hernandez, who is a nationally recognized expert on
consumer choice and multicultural competency.
BBI fosters public-private dialogue to advance the civic, economic and social
participation of persons with disabilities in a global society. The institute takes its
name from Burton Blatt (1927-85), a pioneer in humanizing services for people with
disabilities. BBI currently has offices in Syracuse, New York City, Washington, D.C.,
Atlanta and Tel Aviv. For more information, visit http://bbi.syr.edu, or contact Kaplan
(sakaplan@law.syr.edu) or Wong-Hernandez (luwong@law.syr.edu).
