§3195 Recruitment, Screening, Selection, and Assignment of Enrollees

Summary

The Secretary must set clear rules for how people are recruited, screened, and chosen for Job Corps. The Secretary must listen to Governors, local boards, and others when making those rules. At a minimum the rules must tell applicants about drug testing and that results will be available within 45 days of enrollment, set recruitment standards, decide whether Job Corps or a local program best meets each applicant’s education and training needs, collect basic background and interest information, help improve the skills of people doing the screening, and make sure enrollees come from both urban and rural areas. The rules must be carried out with one-stop centers, groups that help at-risk youth get jobs, and child welfare agencies under section 677 of title 42. The Secretary must consult courts, probation and parole officials, law enforcement, schools, welfare, and medical advisers. The Secretary can pay organizations to cover recruitment and screening costs but cannot pay someone only for referring names. No one can be picked unless screeners reasonably expect the person can work in groups, follow rules, and pass a background check done under the Secretary’s procedures and state and local law. People on probation, parole, or supervised release may join only if their release from supervision is acceptable to the supervising official and the Secretary and is lawful. Applicants with a felony murder conviction (as described in section 1111 of title 18), child abuse, or a rape or sexual assault conviction cannot be selected. Every 2 years the Secretary must make a plan that sets targets for how many enrollees at each center should come from the State and surrounding regions, based on population, demand, center capacity, and performance. After selection, enrollees go to the center nearest home that offers the training they want unless the nearest center is full and would cause delay or a parent or guardian asks for a different center because local conditions would harm the enrollee’s chances. If the enrollee is under 18, a parent or guardian can block assignment away from the closest appropriate center.