HRSA News - HHS Awards $1.5 M for TBI

	U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration HRSA NEWS ROOM http://newsroom.hrsa.gov

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, September 26, 2002

CONTACT: HRSA PRESS OFFICE
301-443-3376

HHS Awards $1.5 Million to Aid Individuals With Traumatic Brain Injury

HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced $1.5 million in grants to strengthen protection and advocacy (P & A) services for individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and their families. These grants support the goals of President Bush’s New Freedom Initiative, an effort by the federal government to ensure that individuals with disabilities are given opportunities for integration into their communities.

The new three-year grants, awarded for the first time in FY 2002 as part of the reauthorization of the TBI Grant Program, will go to P & A systems in 28 states, four U.S. territories and one tribal agency. States will receive $50,000 per year. American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Native American Consortium in New Mexico will receive $20,000 yearly.

“These grants support advocacy programs that help individuals with traumatic brain injuries access needed services so that they can live and work in their communities and retain control over their futures," Secretary Thompson said. “Through President Bush's New Freedom Initiative, we are working to eliminate the barriers that keep Americans with disabilities from enjoying the freedoms that so many of us take for granted.”

The grants support P & A agencies, which provide information and referral services to people with disabilities and help them find solutions to problems involving discrimination and employment, education, health care and transportation, personal decision-making, and overall quality of life. The agencies also help clients seeking vocational rehabilitation and Social Security disability benefits and provide individual and family advocacy as well as advocacy training.

At least 5.3 million Americans are living with TBI-related disabilities, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Motor vehicle crashes, falls, violence and sports injuries are the major causes of TBI and a leading cause of death and disability among young people in the U.S.

“Helping individuals with disabilities advocate for themselves in a complex health and social service system is critical to the presidential initiative,” said HRSA Administrator Elizabeth M. Duke. “It’s also at the heart of HRSA’s mission to increase access to health care for all Americans.”

The grant program is administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) through its Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB). In FY 1996, Congress authorized HRSA’s MCHB to establish a state grant program to improve access to health care and other services for individuals with TBI.

A list of grant awards follows:

HRSA Traumatic Brain Injury Protection and Advocacy Grant Awardees in 2002
Organization	City	State	Award
Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Programs, University of Alabama	Tuscaloosa	Ala.	$50,000
Disability Law Center of Alaska	Anchorage	Alaska	50,000
Arizona Center for Disability Law	Tucson	Ariz.	50,000
Center for Legal Advocacy	Denver	Colo.	50,000
Community Legal Aid Society, Inc.	Wilmington	Del.	50,000
Idaho Comprehensive Advocacy, Inc.	Boise	Idaho	50,000
Equip for Equality, Inc.	Chicago	Ill.	50,000
Department of Public Advocacy, Protection and Advocacy Division	Frankfort	Ky.	50,000
Advocacy Center	New Orleans	La.	50,000
Disability Rights Center of Maine	Augusta	Maine	50,000
Michigan Protection and Advocacy Services, Inc.	Lansing	Mich.	50,000
Legal Aid Society of Minneapolis	Minneapolis	Minn.	50,000
Missouri Protection and Advocacy Services	Jefferson City	Mo.	50,000
Nebraska Advocacy Services, Inc.	Lincoln	Neb.	50,000
Disability Rights Center, Inc.	Concord	N.H.	50,000
New Jersey Protection and Advocacy, Inc.	Trenton	N.J.	50,000
Protection and Advocacy System	Albuquerque	N.M.	50,000
Protection and Advocacy Project	Bismarck	N.D.	50,000
Ohio Legal Rights Service	Columbus	Ohio	50,000
Pennsylvania Protection and Advocacy, Inc.	Harrisburg	Pa.	50,000
Disability Law Center, Inc.	Providence	R.I.	50,000
Protection and Advocacy for People with Disabilities, Inc.	Columbia	S.C.	50,000
South Dakota Advocacy Services	Pierre	S.D.	50,000
Tennessee Protection and Advocacy, Inc.	Nashville	Tenn.	50,000
Disability Law Center	Salt Lake City	Utah	50,000
Vermont Protection and Advocacy, Inc.	Montpelier	Vt.	50,000
Washington Protection and Advocacy System	Edmonds	Wash.	50,000
Wisconsin Coalition for Advocacy	Madison	Wis.	50,000
Subtotal: $1,400,000
Territories
Organization	City	Territory	Award
Office of Protection and Advocacy	Pago Pago	Am. Samoa	$20,000
Guam Legal Services Corporation	Hagatna	Guam	20,000
DNA-People's Legal Services, Inc.	Shiprock, N.M.	Native American Consortium(N.M.)	20,000
Northern Mariana Protection and Advocacy Systems	Saipan, MP	N. Mariana	20,000
Virgin Islands Advocacy Incorporated	Frederiksted, St. Croix	U.S.V.I.	20,000
Subtotal: $100,000
TOTAL: $1,500,000

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