Collapse to view only § 670.530 - Are Job Corps centers required to maintain a student accountability system?

§ 670.500 - What services must Job Corps centers provide?

(a) Job Corps centers must provide:

(1) Academic, vocational, employability and social skills training;

(2) Work-based learning; and

(3) Recreation, counseling and other residential support services.

(b) In addition, centers must provide students with access to the core services described in WIA section 134(d)(2) and the intensive services described in WIA section 134(d)(3).

§ 670.505 - What types of training must Job Corps centers provide?

(a) Job Corps centers must provide basic education, vocational and social skills training. The Secretary provides curriculum standards and guidelines.

(b) Each center must provide students with competency-based or individualized training in an occupational area that will best contribute to the students' opportunities for permanent long-term employment.

(1) Specific vocational training programs offered by individual centers must be approved by the Regional Director according to policies issued by the Secretary.

(2) Center industry councils described in § 670.800 must review appropriate labor market information, identify employment opportunities in local areas where students will look for employment, determine the skills and education necessary for those jobs, and as appropriate, recommend changes in the center's vocational training program to the Secretary.

(c) Each center must implement a system to evaluate and track the progress and achievements of each student at regular intervals.

(d) Each center must develop a training plan that must be available for review and approval by the appropriate Regional Director.

§ 670.510 - Are Job Corps center operators responsible for providing all vocational training?

No, in order to facilitate students' entry into the workforce, the Secretary may contract with national business, union, or union-affiliated organizations for vocational training programs at specific centers. Contractors providing such vocational training will be selected in accordance with the requirements of § 670.310.

§ 670.515 - What responsibilities do the center operators have in managing work-based learning?

(a) The center operator must emphasize and implement work-based learning programs for students through center program activities, including vocational skills training, and through arrangements with employers. Work-based learning must be under actual working conditions and must be designed to enhance the employability, responsibility, and confidence of the students. Work-based learning usually occurs in tandem with students' vocational training.

(b) The center operator must ensure that students are assigned only to workplaces that meet the safety standards described in § 670.935.

§ 670.520 - Are students permitted to hold jobs other than work-based learning opportunities?

Yes, a center operator may authorize a student to participate in gainful leisure time employment, as long as the employment does not interfere with required scheduled activities.

§ 670.525 - What residential support services must Job Corps center operators provide?

Job Corps center operators must provide the following services according to procedures issued by the Secretary:

(a) A quality living and learning environment that supports the overall training program and includes a safe, secure, clean and attractive physical and social environment, seven days a week, 24 hours a day;

(b) An ongoing, structured counseling program for students;

(c) Food service, which includes provision of nutritious meals for students;

(d) Medical services, through provision or coordination of a wellness program which includes access to basic medical, dental and mental health services, as described in the Policy and Requirements Handbook, for all students from the date of enrollment until separation from the Job Corps program;

(e) A recreation/avocational program;

(f) A student leadership program and an elected student government; and

(g) A student welfare association for the benefit of all students that is funded by non-appropriated funds which come from sources such as snack bars, vending machines, disciplinary fines, and donations, and is run by an elected student government, with the help of a staff advisor.

§ 670.530 - Are Job Corps centers required to maintain a student accountability system?

Yes, each Job Corps center must establish and operate an effective system to account for and document the whereabouts, participation, and status of students during their Job Corps enrollment. The system must enable center staff to detect and respond to instances of unauthorized or unexplained student absence. Each center must operate its student accountability system according to requirements and procedures issued by the Secretary.

§ 670.535 - Are Job Corps centers required to establish behavior management systems?

(a) Yes, each Job Corps center must establish and maintain its own student incentives system to encourage and reward students' accomplishments.

(b) The Job Corps center must establish and maintain a behavior management system, according to procedures established by the Secretary. The behavior management system must include a zero tolerance policy for violence and drugs policy as described in § 670.540.

§ 670.540 - What is Job Corps' zero tolerance policy?

(a) Each Job Corps center must have a zero tolerance policy for:

(1) An act of violence, as defined in procedures issued by the Secretary;

(2) Use, sale, or possession of a controlled substance, as defined at 21 U.S.C. 802;

(3) Abuse of alcohol;

(4) Possession of unauthorized goods; or

(5) Other illegal or disruptive activity.

(b) As part of this policy, all students must be tested for drugs as a condition of enrollment. (WIA sec. 145(a)(1) and 152(b)(2).)

(c) According to procedures issued by the Secretary, the policy must specify the offenses that result in the automatic separation of a student from the Job Corps. The center director is responsible for determining when there is a violation of a specified offense.

§ 670.545 - How does Job Corps ensure that students receive due process in disciplinary actions?

The center operator must ensure that all students receive due process in disciplinary proceedings according to procedures developed by the Secretary. These procedures must include, at a minimum, center fact-finding and behavior review boards, a code of sanctions under which the penalty of separation from Job Corps might be imposed, and procedures for students to appeal a center's decision to discharge them involuntarily from Job Corps to a regional appeal board.

§ 670.550 - What responsibilities do Job Corps centers have in assisting students with child care needs?

(a) Job Corps centers are responsible for coordinating with outreach and admissions agencies to assist students with making arrangements for child care for their dependent children.

(b) Job Corps centers may operate on center child development programs with the approval of the Secretary.

§ 670.555 - What are the center's responsibilities in ensuring that students' religious rights are respected?

(a) Centers must ensure that a student has the right to worship or not worship as he or she chooses.

(b) Students who believe their religious rights have been violated may file complaints under the procedures set forth in 29 CFR part 37.

(c) Requirements related to equal treatment of religious organizations in Department of Labor programs, and to protection of religious liberty of Department of Labor social service providers and beneficiaries, are found at subpart D of 29 CFR part 2. See also §§ 667.266 and 667.275 of 20 CFR; 29 CFR part 37.

[65 FR 49450, Aug. 11, 2000, as amended at 69 FR 41891, July 12, 2004]

§ 670.560 - Is Job Corps authorized to conduct pilot and demonstration projects?

(a) Yes, the Secretary may undertake experimental, research and demonstration projects related to the Job Corps program according to WIA section 156.

(b) The Secretary establishes policies and procedures for conducting such projects.

(c) All studies and evaluations produced or developed with Federal funds become the property of the United States.