The U.S. Department of Education's Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA), operating under the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), oversees a variety of programs that assist individuals with disabilities in obtaining employment and living more independently. BPA and ORC Macro have been charged by RSA to generate and implement a Plan for Enhancing Program Measurement (PEPM) that would address program weaknesses related to data collection and data use that were identified in RSA program reviews by the Office of Management and Budget, under a Federal initiative to increase program accountability and efficiency, using the Program Assessment and Rating Tool (PART). BPA and ORC Macro have developed a workplan for implementing an approach to achieving the following project objectives: Assess the current RSA data collection formats to determine the degree to which grantee data are collected and formatted that allows them to be transferred to user-friendly databases; Develop and implement methods for transferring grantee-reported data to user-friendly databases; Provide protocols, technical assistance and other guidance tools to enhance the ability of staff and supervisors to conduct data analysis; Provide guidance materials and technical assistance to support the interpretation and use of data as well as the development of reports; Analyze findings and recommendations resulting from recently conducted PART reviews; Provide technical assistance in implementing program-specific PART findings as identified by RSA.

Six RSA programs will be the focus of activities in the base year: Basic Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) State Grants, Projects With Industry; Independent Living programs, the American Indian Vocational Rehabilitation Service Program, the Client Assistance Program, and Protection and Advocacy of Individual Rights. For each program, BPA and ORC Macro will focus on developing a comprehensive model that documents data items and performance measures as they are collected, maintained, and reported; developing a PART tracking system that allows RSA to describe activities related to a program's PART review; developing a data analysis or desk audit capability that will allow RSA staff to understand data relationships relative to increasing grantee performance; and developing new reports, modifying current reports, and generating guidance documents.