Sen. Reed, who helped pass the Higher Education Opportunity Act, says new RIC program will help students with intellectual disabilities have an integrated campus experience that gives them the skills & training for self-sufficiency & successful careers

PROVIDENCE, RI – Today, U.S. Senator Jack Reed and Rhode Island College President Nancy Carriuolo joined staff and students at the Paul V. Sherlock Center on Disabilities to announce a new federal grant that is anticipated to provide up to $1.93 million over five years to expand higher-education options for Rhode Islanders with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Rhode Island College is being awarded $386,780 for the first budget period by the U.S. Department of Education through a Transition and Postsecondary Programs for Students with Intellectual Disabilities (TPSID) grant.  The TPSID program was originally authorized in 2008 by the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-315), which Senator Reed helped co-author and pass.  The program provides federal grants to two- and four-year postsecondary education institutions to create or expand high-quality, inclusive transition postsecondary programs for students with intellectual disabilities.  The goal is to establish a “Comprehensive Transition Program” (CTP) that helps students with intellectual disabilities attend college, successfully transition to the workforce, and reach their full potential.

This federal grant will help Rhode Island address the U.S. Department of Justice’s findings that the state was violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) because it did not have adequate transition programs for youth with intellectual disabilities that would enable them to work and live in integrated settings.

“Rhode Island College is – at its core—a college of opportunity.  This institution has been the gateway to higher education for generations of Rhode Islanders who have come to campus from all corners of the state and all walks of life.  This federal grant is completely aligned with Rhode Island College’s mission and tradition, and it will help a new generation of students with intellectual disabilities to further their education, get mentoring and other support, and develop the skills they need to thrive as independent adults,” said Senator Jack Reed, who serves on the Appropriations subcommittee that funds the program.  “I commend Tony Antosh and his colleagues for their outstanding work.  They’ve made the Sherlock Center a national leader in supporting students with intellectual disabilities through advocacy, research, and professional development for educators.  With this new grant, students with intellectual disabilities will be able to experience campus life here at RIC as they hone their academic skills, discover career pathways, and prepare themselves for independent living and self-determination.  In developing a model program, the Sherlock Center will be able to expand best practices to other institutions and other communities in the state.  In this way, we will come closer to realizing the true promise of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act that individuals with disabilities enjoy the same rights, opportunities and freedoms as all Americans.” 

“Rhode Island will benefit greatly from a comprehensive transition program that provides new opportunities and skills for adults and adolescents with intellectual disabilities,” said Rhode Island College President Nancy Carriuolo. “With the college’s Sherlock Center on Disabilities as a primary resource in this effort, Rhode Island College is poised to make this valuable concept a reality in our state.”

Paul V. Sherlock Center on Disabilities Director Anthony Antosh said, “This project will provide experiences for individuals with intellectual disabilities that will expand their interests through fully integrated academic coursework,  help develop relationships and increased social and community competence through participation in campus life and will develop a career path for each student to increase their participation in the economic aspects of society.  It was not that long ago that most people thought that college was not possible for people with intellectual disabilities.  Now it is.”

In Rhode Island, there are approximately 21,000 school-aged students receiving special education services.

Rhode Island College Director of Disability Services Keri Rossi-D’entremont stated, “Rhode Island College has a tradition of providing quality services and support for students with disabilities. This new project will help us to reach students with intellectual and developmental disabilities, a Rhode Island population who, for the first time, will have access to an option for a fully inclusive college program.”

Currently, there are approximately 960 Rhode Islanders with intellectual disabilities who are eligible to participate in a “Comprehensive Transition Program,” yet no colleges or universities in the state offer such a program.  Rhode Island College, in collaboration with the Paul V. Sherlock Center on Disabilities at RIC and the RIC Disability Services Center, will work with project partners at several state agencies to refine and expand the existing programs at RIC to meet the U.S. Department of Education’s CTP approval.   The program will support 50-60 adolescents and young adults in obtaining a “Certificate of Community Studies” at RIC and increase programs participants’ breadth of knowledge, interest and competence across a variety of domains including academics, independent living and community participation, career discovery and development, social competence, and self-determination.  The program will provide each participant with a structured set of experiences that will facilitate a career path of the student’s choice, and establish the supports needed to sustain the RIC program beyond grant funding.

The Paul V. Sherlock Center on Disabilities is part of the network of University Centers of Excellence in Developmental Disabilities that are funded through the Administration for Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities at the Department of Health and Human Services.  The Sherlock Center was established in 1993 at Rhode Island College.

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