GAO-01-182R Job Corps Training Centers

United States General Accounting Office

Washington, DC 20548

December 12, 2000

The Honorable Alexis M. Herman

Secretary of Labor

Subject: Job Corps Training Centers: Concerns About Admission Procedures and

Agreements With State and Local Prison Authorities to Enroll Prisoners

Dear Madam Secretary:

GAO’s Office of Special Investigations received a complaint concerning alleged

improper activities at the Keystone Job Corps Training Center at Drums,

Pennsylvania. Specifically, the complainant alleged that (1) the center was enrolling

individuals then incarcerated at a state prison facility, the Youth Services Agency of

Pennsylvania (YSP), and (2) these prisoners posed a threat to the safety and wellbeing of the regular student population at the Keystone Training Center.

We conducted our investigation between September and November 2000. We

interviewed officials of the Job Corps, Department of Labor (DOL), and Bucks

County Juvenile Facility. We also conducted a physical examination of the Keystone

Job Corps Training Center and reviewed pertinent DOL documents. We performed

our work in accordance with investigative standards established by the President’s

Council on Integrity and Efficiency.

In brief, we determined that YSP is an Adventure Challenge Treatment program

whose attendees are remanded by the juvenile court for delinquency-related offenses.

Contrary to the allegations, YSP is not a state prison facility; and the attendees are

not considered prison inmates but detainees under the juvenile court system. Thus,

the initial allegation lacked merit. Secondly, these enrollees were screened before

acceptance into the program to ascertain that they were neither disruptive nor

dangerous.

However, in conducting this work, we identified two related issues that we believe

warrant your attention. These issues concern (1) the background screening of Job

Corps applicants and attendees and (2) the potential for abuse of the Job Corps

program by state and local prison authorities.

Applicant Screening Procedures

The current statute governing the Job Corps program requires entities responsible for

selecting Job Corps participants to determine that applicants are eligible to
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participate in the training offered.1A factor in the eligibility determination is the

“reasonable expectation” that the applicant is

“not likely to engage in behavior that would prevent other enrollees

from receiving the benefit of the Job Corps program or be incompatible

with the maintenance of sound discipline and satisfactory relationships

between the Job Corps center to which the individual might be assigned

and communities surrounding the Job Corps center ....”2

The statute permits consultation with various law enforcement, health, and

educational authorities to determine that applicants are able to benefit from training

opportunities3

and further requires that applicants have “passed a background check

conducted in accordance with procedures established by the Secretary.”4

According

to the Job Corps program manual, the background screening requires a check of the

past 3 years of local judicial system records based upon the listing of prior residences

on the prospective trainee’s application. However, if an applicant misrepresents

previous addresses, the background check may not reveal pertinent information that

would affect eligibility.

Currently, according to the Director of the Keystone Training Center, Job Corps

applicants self-certify their eligibility to participate in the program to admissions

recruiters and may withhold negative information from the recruiters. The Director

told us that, as a result, he frequently receives calls from law enforcement agencies

looking for fugitives who are enrolled in the Keystone Job Corps Program. When a

fugitive is determined to be enrolled, the individual is removed from class and

returned to the requesting jurisdiction. These situations result in class disruptions at

the Keystone Training Center and place an additional burden on staff who assist in

returning the fugitives.

In contrast to self-certification, the Juvenile Court certifies the backgrounds of YSP

enrollees in the Keystone Job Corps. This enhanced screening prevents unnecessary

disruptions and aids in the selection of appropriate YSP applicants and enrollees.

DOL’s Region II District Director and the former Job Corps Program Manager both

concurred with us that the background information provided through DOL Job Corps

recruiters is not as reliable as the information provided by YSP applicants.

While the statute provides that “[n]o individual shall be denied a position in the Job

Corps solely on the basis of individual contact with the criminal justice system,”5 Job

Corps recruiters do not independently search for information concerning criminal

records to supplement or confirm the information provided in the self-certified

applications. Confirmation is obtainable through such measures as requesting a

National Crime Information Center (NCIC) check of the applicant’s criminal record, if

any, or performing an outstanding warrant check on program applicants prior to

admission into the program.

1

29 U.S.C. § 2885(a)(3) (1998).

2

29 U.S.C. § 2885(b)(1)(A) (1998).

3

29 U.S.C. § 2885(a)(4) (1998).

4

29 U.S.C. § 2885(b)(1)(C) (1998).

5

29 U.S.C. § 2885(b)(2) (1998).
Page 3 GAO-01-182R Job Corps Training Centers

Indeed, background screening of program applicants is required by the statute.

Reliable information is needed to make the required eligibility determination that an

applicant is not likely to be disruptive or dangerous to other enrollees or the

community. According to the Director of the Job Corps, there is currently no system

in place to regularly audit or review the work of program recruiters to ensure that

background screening is conducted in accordance with statute and agency policy.

Such reviews are conducted only in reaction to contract performance problems of the

recruiter. The Director added that determining whether a criminal record exists by

checking for outstanding warrants would assist recruiters in determining the

eligibility and suitability of applicants to the program and increase the recruiter’s

reliability.

Potential Abuse of the Job Corps Program by Prison Authorities

During our investigation, we learned that the Keystone Training Center and YSP had

entered into an agreement to enroll YSP clients who were referred by the Juvenile

Court for delinquency-related offenses. Enrollment of YSP participants appears to be

consistent with the statute. This agreement was made at the local level with the

concurrence of the DOL Region II District Director, but the national office was not

informed. There is currently no agency policy concerning agreements that Job Corps

officials enter into with local jurisdictions to enroll offenders remanded by the courts.

According to the Director of the Job Corps, the program itself discourages centers

from entering into such agreements because their contracts are performance based

and too high a concentration of more troubled enrollees could negatively effect

performance outcomes. However, the Director did state that based upon our

investigation of this one instance, he would consider examining the issue and, based

upon the results of such a review, it would be determined whether policies and

procedures need to be established.

Recommendations for Executive Action

On the basis of these findings, we recommend that you direct the Director of the Job

Corps to require that the individuals implementing Job Corps eligibility standards

• conduct criminal background checks on program applicants by using NCIC

operated by the Department of Justice rather than rely on information from the

applicant’s self-certified application and

• review their position on agreements between Job Corps and state and local

authorities regarding enrollment of individuals while under the supervision of the

courts or prisons in Job Corps programs to determine whether it would be

appropriate to establish a written policy to address this issue.

Agency Comments

We met with and discussed the findings of our work with the Director of the Job

Corps. He agreed that NCIC checks would be beneficial to the program in that they

would assist recruiters and counselors in assessing whether an applicant was eligible

for the program and to address other applicant issues prior to enrollment. He also
Page 4 GAO-01-182R Job Corps Training Centers

concurred with us that, based upon the results of our investigation of this one

instance, program officials should examine the program’s position on agreements

between Job Corps centers and local judicial or corrections authorities to determine

whether a policy should be established.

-----

As you know, the head of a federal agency is required by 31 U.S.C. 720 to submit a

written statement on actions take on the recommendations in this letter to the Senate

Committee on Governmental Affairs and the House Committee on Government

Reform not later than 60 days after the date of this letter. A written statement must

also sent to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations with the agency’s

first request for appropriations made more than 60 days after the date of this letter.

We are sending copies of this letter to interested congressional committees. The

letter will also be available on GAO’s home page, www.gao.gov. If you have

questions about this matter, please call me at (202) 512-6455 or Assistant Director

William Hamel at (202) 512-7433. Senior Special Agent Kevin Craddock was a key

contributor.

Sincerely yours,

Robert H. Hast

Managing Director

Office of Special Investigations

(600765)