Disability Innovation Fund (DIF) Program Monitoring

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Effective program monitoring actively safeguards taxpayer investments, ensures fiscal integrity, drives continuous improvement, and sparks innovation. AIR’s monitoring approach goes beyond compliance with statutes, regulations, grant agreements, and policies, helping programs stay on track to meet their goals, deliver high-quality services to those in need, and identify successful practices that can be adapted and scaled. We also work to resolve challenges effectively, ensuring these programs achieve meaningful and lasting impact.
 

Strategic Collaboration and the DIF Program Monitoring Services Contract

AIR, in partnership with the George Washington University Center for Rehabilitation Counseling Research and Social Policy Research Associates, provides monitoring services to support the work of the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) under the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.

As part of their mission to assist individuals with disabilities with employment opportunities, independence, and full integration into the competitive workforce, RSA oversees a series of Disability Innovation Fund (DIF) grants that develop systemic strategies for delivering transition services to youth with disabilities and expanding access to competitive integrated employment.
 

AIR’s Monitoring Services and Impact 

AIR’s team provides monitoring services that help demonstrate program effectiveness, identify improvements, and ensure accountability of DIF programs, using strategic efforts such as:

• Developing monitoring indicators, a monitoring framework and a monitoring schedule that includes quarterly virtual monitoring and annual on-site monitoring (with 15 site visits per year);
• Identifying and training monitoring consultants;
• Conducting program monitoring, and collecting and analyzing information and data collected during the site visits; and
• Preparing comprehensive monitoring reports to assist RSA and grantees to understand challenges and find effective solutions.

Key monitoring drivers, project activities, and projected outcomes of the DIF Program Monitoring Contract can be seen in the AIR DIF Program Monitoring Logic Model.