| Congressman Faleomavaega announced today that the American
Samoa Government has been awarded a $589,812 grant from the U.S. Department
of Education under Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act (IDEA).
The funds, authorized by Congress under the IDEA and through the
Education Department Appropriations Act, are intended for use to implement
a comprehensive, coordinated, multidisciplinary, interagency statewide
system to provide early intervention services for infants and toddlers
with disabilities and their families.
“This grant comes from a $375 million entitlement appropriation
authorized by Congress for Fiscal Year 2000 on behalf of infants and toddlers
with disabilities,” Faleomavaega said. “The funds are distributed
to each state based on a predetermined formula while each of the territories
gets a set-aside of up to 1-percent.”
The types of activities that may be supported under Part C funds
include the provision of direct services for eligible children that are
not provided from public or private sources and the expansion and improvement
of existing services. In addition, these funds may support other
activities, including child identification, training and employment of
early intervention personnel, and other requirements of Part C.
“I want to acknowledge and thank the management team of LBJ Hospital
which has been the ‘lead agency’ and recipient of this grant and especially
Dr. Julia Lyons and her staff for the tremendous work they have done on
behalf of our disabled children,” added Faleomavaega. |
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