UA receives largest-ever federal research grant

FAYETTEVILLE — The University of Arkansas and the Arkansas Department of Education have received a $32 million federal grant aimed at improving educational opportunities and future careers for low-income teenagers with disabilities.

The five-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education is the largest federal research grant the university has ever received, UA officials said Thursday.

"This grant will give us a significant boost in our goal of becoming a top 50 public research institution," Chancellor G. David Gearhart said. "This is a wonderful example of a land-grant institution working with other groups to serve the people of Arkansas."

Researchers will recruit 2,000 children between the ages of 14 and 16 who receive Supplemental Security Income because of their disabilities. Half of the youths will receive job coaching and benefits counseling, while the other half will serve as a control group and not receive the intervention.

The federal program is known as PROMISE, which stands for "Promoting Readiness of Minors in Supplemental Security Income."

Arkansas was one of five individual states that received funding along with California, Maryland, New York and Wisconsin. A consortium of six states also received funding.

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