FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – A new $4 million federal grant allows a rehabilitation technical assistance and training center based in the University of Arkansas to continue its support of professionals working with people with disabilities.

The Rehabilitation Services Administration awarded the grant of $832,000 per year for five years. The federal agency has funded the Center for the Utilization of Rehabilitation Resources for Education, Networking, Training and Service in Hot Springs before, but it has changed the grant’s primary emphasis from continuing education to technical assistance, explained director Jeanne Miller.

“Through the organizational development model we use, we were already providing significant technical assistance so the restructured grant won’t have a large effect on us,” she said.

The new grant, which went into effect Oct. 1, will fund the center to assist state vocational rehabilitation agencies and their partners in improving employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

Miller has directed the center since 1996. It is based in the university’s College of Education and Health Professions, which also offers academic degrees in rehabilitation counseling.

“The college is proud to support the center because of the benefit it provides both to professionals who work in the rehabilitation field and directly to people with disabilities,” said Reed Greenwood, dean of the college. “The center has been a leader in the five-state region it covers, evidenced by its development of a leadership program designed specifically for the Texas Department of Rehabilitative Services. That’s just one item on a long list of accomplishments by the dedicated staff to make sure everyone can make a contribution to society.”

The Center for the Utilization of Rehabilitation Resources for Education, Networking, Training and Service focuses primarily on professionals who provide services to people with disabilities. However, Miller said, a program called Arkansas People First affords center personnel direct contact with people with disabilities and is also a top priority.

“Our federal grant is like the anchor store at the mall,” she said. “But we also have other funding sources including a state level grant through the Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities. It supports Arkansas People First, a grass roots self-advocacy organization that provides support for people with disabilities. It helps people learn to advocate for their needs.

“Arkansas People First allows us to stay in touch with the end-users, the people who benefit the most from our services,” she continued.

Miller earned a master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling from Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., a liberal arts university for the deaf and hard of hearing where she immersed herself in deaf culture and American Sign Language. She served as both a counselor and administrator of independent living programs in deafness during a previous tenure with Arkansas Rehabilitation Services.

The Center for the Utilization of Rehabilitation Resources for Education, Networking, Training and Service provides customized training and consulting for organizations ranging from large state agencies to small not-for-profits. It serves the five-state region of Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma. Its acronym, CURRENTS, represents the energy and forward momentum brought to “powering your potential.” Miller leads a staff of about 15 people.

“Our mission is to help individuals recognize and develop their potential and to help organizations foster the type of culture and environment where individuals can make their unique contributions,” according to the CURRENTS Web site at http://www.rcep6.org/.

• Leadership development through its Community Leadership Institute for Change Knowledge and other programs developed specifically for clients.

• Training that includes the Bridgeworks Learning Series, which are interactive teleclasses covering topics of interest to vocational rehabilitation counselors and licensed professional counselors.

• Group process facilitation that includes long-range planning and strategic needs analysis.

• Web site development.

• Survey design and data analysis.

The center also offers online courses for certified rehabilitation counselor continuing education credit through the Institute on Rehabilitation Issues and leadership curriculum for which graduate credit through the University of Arkansas may be earned.