Program Activities and Center Operations

20 C.F.R. Part ..., Subpart E
in effectEffective: 2024-07-01

20 C.F.R. § 686.500 What services must Job Corps centers provide?

(a) Job Corps centers must provide an intensive, well-organized, and fully supervised program including: (1) Educational activities, including: (i) Career technical training; (ii) Academic instruction; (iii) Employability and skills training; and (iv) Independent learning and living skills development. (2) Work-based learning and experience; (3) Residential support services; and (4) Other services as required by the Secretary. (b) In addition, centers must provide students with access to the career services described in secs. 134(c)(2)(A)(i)-(xi) of WIOA.

20 C.F.R. § 686.505 What types of training must Job Corps centers provide?

(a) Job Corps centers must provide students with a career technical training program that is: (1) Aligned with industry-recognized standards and credentials and with program guidance; and (2) Linked to employment opportunities in in-demand industry sectors and occupations both in the area in which the center is located and, if practicable, in the area the student plans to reside after graduation. (b) Each center must provide education programs, including: An English language acquisition program, high school diploma or high school equivalency certification program, and academic skills training necessary for students to master skills in their chosen career technical training programs. (c) Each center must provide programs for students to learn and practice employability and independent learning and living skills including: job search and career development, interpersonal relations, driver's education, study and critical thinking skills, financial literacy and other skills specified in program guidance. (d) All Job Corps training programs must be based on industry and academic skills standards leading to recognized industry and academic credentials, applying evidence-based instructional approaches, and resulting in: (1) Students' employment in unsubsidized, in-demand jobs with the potential for advancement opportunities; (2) Enrollment in advanced education and training programs or apprenticeships, including registered apprenticeship; or (3) Enlistment in the Armed Services. (e) Specific career technical training programs offered by individual centers must be approved by the Regional Director according to policies issued by the Secretary. (f) Center workforce councils described in § 686.810 must review appropriate labor market information, identify in-demand industry sectors and 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 career technical training program to the Secretary. (g) Each center must implement a system to evaluate and track the progress and achievements of each student at regular intervals. (h) Each center must develop a training plan that must be available for review and approval by the appropriate Regional Director.

20 C.F.R. § 686.510 Are entities other than Job Corps center operators permitted to provide academic and career technical training?

(a) The Secretary may arrange for the career technical and academic education of Job Corps students through local public or private educational agencies, career and technical educational institutions or technical institutes, or other providers such as business, union or union-affiliated organizations with demonstrated effectiveness, as long as the entity can provide education and training substantially equivalent in cost and quality to that which the Secretary could provide through other means. (b) Entities providing these services will be selected in accordance with the requirements of § 686.310.

20 C.F.R. § 686.515 What are advanced career training programs?

(a) The Secretary may arrange for programs of advanced career training (ACT) for selected students, which may be provided through the eligible training providers identified in WIOA sec. 122 in which the students continue to participate in the Job Corps program for a period not to exceed 1 year in addition to the period of participation to which these students would otherwise be limited. (b) Students participating in an ACT program are eligible to receive: (1) All of the benefits provided to a residential Job Corps student; or (2) A monthly stipend equal to the average value of the benefits described in paragraph (b)(1) of this section. (c) Any operator may enroll more students than otherwise authorized by the Secretary in an ACT program if, in accordance with standards developed by the Secretary, the operator demonstrates: (1) Participants in such a program have achieved a satisfactory rate of completion and placement in training-related jobs; and (2) For the most recently preceding 2 program years, the operator has, on average, met or exceeded the expected levels of performance under WIOA sec. 159(c)(1) for each of the primary indicators described in WIOA sec. 116(b)(2)(A)(ii), listed in § 686.1010.

20 C.F.R. § 686.520 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 career and technical 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' career technical training. (b) The center operator must ensure that students are assigned only to workplaces that meet the safety standards described in § 686.920.

20 C.F.R. § 686.525 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.

20 C.F.R. § 686.530 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 center-wide quality living and learning environment that supports the overall training program and includes a safe, secure, clean and attractive physical and social environment, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day; (b) An ongoing, structured personal counseling program for students provided by qualified staff; (c) A quality, safe and clean food service, to provide 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 that meets the needs of all students; (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 that come from sources such as snack bars, vending machines, disciplinary fines, donations, and other fundraising activities, and is run by an elected student government, with the help of a staff advisor.

20 C.F.R. § 686.535 Are Job Corps centers required to maintain a student accountability system?

Yes, each Job Corps center must establish and implement an effective system to account for and document the daily 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.

20 C.F.R. § 686.540 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, based on a behavior management plan, according to standards of conduct and procedures established by the Secretary. The behavior management plan must be approved by the Job Corps regional office and reviewed annually. The behavior management system must include a zero tolerance policy for violence and drugs as described in § 686.545. All criminal incidents will be promptly reported to local law enforcement.

20 C.F.R. § 686.545 What is Job Corps' zero tolerance policy?

(a) All center operators must comply with Job Corps' zero tolerance policy as established by the Secretary. Job Corps has a zero tolerance policy for infractions including but not limited to: (1) Acts of violence, as defined 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 participation. (c) The zero tolerance policy specifies the offenses that result in the separation of students from the Job Corps. The center director is expressly responsible for determining when there is a violation of this policy.

20 C.F.R. § 686.550 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 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 submit an appeal to a Job Corps regional appeal board following a center's decision to discharge involuntarily the student from Job Corps.

20 C.F.R. § 686.555 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 applicants, whenever feasible, with making arrangements for child care. Prior to enrollment, a program applicant with dependent children who provides primary or custodial care must certify that suitable arrangements for child care have been established for the proposed period of enrollment. (b) Child development programs may be located at Job Corps centers with the approval of the Secretary.

20 C.F.R. § 686.560 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 38. (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 §§ 683.255 and 683.285 of this chapter; 29 CFR part 38.

20 C.F.R. § 686.565 Is Job Corps authorized to conduct pilot and demonstration projects?

Yes, the Secretary may undertake experimental, research and demonstration projects related to the Job Corps program according to WIOA sec. 156(a), provided that such projects are developed, approved, and conducted in accordance with policies and procedures developed by the Secretary.

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