3616 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 10 / Tuesday, January 16, 2001 / Notices

(5) If a benefit provider offers a

number of services, only some of which

are exempt from verification as a result

of this Order, the benefit provider may

conduct verification of the non-exempt

programs or services as specified in the

applicable portions of the ‘‘Interim

Guidance on Verification of Citizenship,

Qualified Alien Status and Eligibility

Under Title IV of the Personal

Responsibility and Work Opportunity

Reconciliation Act of 1996,’’ 62 FR

61,344 (1997) or may be required to

conduct verification as specified by any

subsequent or superseding regulations.

(6) To the extent that it can be

accomplished without undue

administrative hardship, benefit

providers should make every effort to

provide information to all prospective

benefit seekers about which benefits

they qualify for and which benefits

involve citizenship or immigration

verification requirements.

Specification

Therefore, by virtue of the authority

vested in me as Attorney General by

law, including Title IV of the Personal

Responsibility and Work Opportunity

Reconciliation Act of 1996, I hereby

specify that:

1. I do not construe the Act to

preclude aliens from receiving police,

fire, ambulance, transportation

(including paratransit), sanitation, and

other regular, widely available services

and, for that reason, I am not making

specifications of such programs,

services, or assistance. It is not the

purpose of this Order, however, to

define more specifically the scope of the

public benefits that Congress intended

to deny certain aliens either altogether

or absent my specification, and nothing

herein should be so construed.

2. The government-funded programs,

services, or assistance specified in this

Order are those that: deliver in-kind

(non-cash) services at the community

level, including through public or

private non-profit agencies or

organizations; do not condition the

provision, amount, or cost of the

assistance on the individual recipient’s

income or resources, as discussed in

paragraph 3, below; and serve purposes

of the type described in paragraph 4,

below, for the protection of life or

safety. Specified programs must satisfy

all three prongs of this test.

3. The community-based programs,

services, or assistance specified in

paragraphs 2 and 4 of this Order are

limited to those that provide in-kind

(non-cash) benefits and are open to

individuals needing or desiring to

participate without regard to income or

resources. Programs, services, or

assistance delivered at the community

level, even if they serve purposes of the

type described in paragraph 4 below, are

not within this specification if they

condition on the individual recipient’s

income or resources:

(a) the provision of assistance;

(b) the amount of assistance provided;

or

(c) the cost of the assistance provided

on the individual recipient’s income or

resources.

4. Included within the specified

programs, services, or assistance

determined to be necessary for the

protection of life or safety are:

(a) Crisis counseling and intervention

programs; services and assistance

relating to child protection, adult

protective services, violence and abuse

prevention, victims of domestic

violence or other criminal activity; or

treatment of mental illness or substance

abuse;

(b) Short-term shelter or housing

assistance for the homeless, for victims

of domestic violence, or for runaway,

abused, or abandoned children;

(c) Programs, services, or assistance to

help individuals during periods of heat,

cold, or other adverse weather

conditions;

(d) Soup kitchens, community food

banks, senior nutrition programs such as

meals on wheels, and other such

community nutritional services for

persons requiring special assistance;

(e) Medical and public health services

(including treatment and prevention of

diseases and injuries) and mental

health, disability, or substance abuse

assistance necessary to protect life or

safety;

(f) Activities designed to protect the

life or safety of workers, children and

youths, or community residents; and

(g) Any other programs, services, or

assistance necessary for the protection

of life or safety.

Dated: January 5, 2001.

Janet Reno,

Attorney General.

[FR Doc. 01–1158 Filed 1–12–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4410–19–P

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Immigration and Naturalization Service

[INS No. 2093–00]

Establishing an Immigration and

Naturalization Service Data

Management Improvement Act Task

Force

AGENCY: Immigration and Naturalization

Service, Justice.

ACTION: Notice establishing a Task

Force.

SUMMARY: In accordance with the

provisions of the Federal Advisory

Committee Act, and Public Law 106–

215, the Attorney General is establishing

an Immigration and Naturalization

Service Data Management Improvement

Act Task Force. This notice advises

Federal, State, and local agencies, and

private sector representatives that the

Immigration and Naturalization Service

(Service) is soliciting members from

interested groups, associations, or

individuals who may wish to serve on

the Task Force.

Purpose of Task Force

The Task Force will evaluate and

make recommendations on:

(1) How the Attorney General, in

consultation with the Secretaries of

State, Treasury, and Commerce can

efficiently and effectively implement an

integrated entry and exit data system;

(2) How the United States can

improve the flow of traffic at airports,

seaports, and land border ports-of-entry

through—

(a) Enhancing systems for data

collection and data sharing, including

the integrated entry and exit data

system, by better use of technology,

resources, and personnel;

(b) Increasing cooperation between

the public and private sectors;

(c) Increasing cooperation among

Federal agencies and among Federal and

State agencies; and

(d) Modifying information technology

systems while taking into account the

different data systems, infrastructure,

and processing procedures at airports,

seaports, and land border ports-of-entry;

and

(3) The cost of implementing each of

the Task Force’s recommendations.

Further, no later than December 31,

2002 and no later than December 31 of

each subsequent year the Task Force is

in existence, the Attorney General shall

submit a report to Congress containing

the findings, conclusions, and

recommendations of the Task Force.

Composition of Task Force

The Task Force shall be composed of

17 members, including the Attorney

General, private sector representatives

of affected industries and groups, and

representatives from Federal, State, and

local agencies, who have an interest in:

immigration and naturalization; travel

and tourism; transportation; trade; law

enforcement; national security; or the

environment. Participation on the Task

Force will not be remunerated, however,

travel and associated expenses may be

reimbursed or borne by the Government.

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 10 / Tuesday, January 16, 2001 / Notices 3617

Qualification of Task Force members

Groups, associations, or individuals

who wish to be considered for inclusion

on this Task Force should have a

background that reflects a good working

knowledge of entry and exit procedures

and business practices. Ideally, this

knowledge should include all of the

environments where inspections take

place (i.e., airports, northern and

southern land borders ports, and

seaports).

Additionally, it would be helpful for

interested groups, associations, or

individuals to understand modern data

collection and matching processes in an

automated environment and how the

requirements of Public Law 106–215

can be best met given the business

practices of ports-of-entry, and the

competing goals of enforcing the

Immigration and Nationality Act and

facilitating the movement of travelers.

For more information concerning the

Task Force, see Public Law 106–215 on

the Service’s website at http://

www.ins.usdoj.gov.

In considering what groups,

associations, or individuals should

serve on the Task Force, the Service will

make every effort to balance both

geographical interests to ensure the

unique characteristics of each type of

port-of-entry are considered and the

needs of various industries that depend

on the efficient operation of ports-ofentry.

Federal Advisory Committee Act

The Task Force will function solely as

an advisory body in compliance with

the provisions of the Federal Advisory

Committee Act (FACA). Its charter will

be filed in accordance with the

provisions of that FACA.

Solicitation of Public Opinion

Regarding Task Force Membership

The Department of Justice is seeking

input from groups, associations or

individuals to determine the optimal

Task Force composition. Please send

suggestions and a brief background or

justification to the Immigration and

Naturalization Service, Office of

Inspections, 425 I Street, NW, Room

4064, Washington, DC 20536, Attn:

Jennifer Sava. Please include a daytime

phone number where a point of contact

can be reached as well as an e-mail

address, if available. Please submit

information by February 16, 2001.

Once a group, association, or

individual has been selected to serve on

the Task Force, the Service will notify

the point of contact and will provide

further instruction.

Who Can Be Contacted If There Are

Questions Concerning This Task Force?

For questions concerning this Task

Force, please contact Jennifer Sava,

Office of Inspections, Immigration and

Naturalization Service, 425 I Street, NW,

Room 4064, Washington, DC 20536;

telephone (202) 514–3019.

Dated: January 3, 2001.

Mary Ann Wyrsch,

Acting Commissioner, Immigration and

Naturalization Service.

[FR Doc. 01–1202 Filed 1–12–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4410–10–M

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

National Institute of Corrections

Solicitation for a Cooperative

Agreement—Policy-Driven Responses

to Parole Violations

AGENCY: National Institute of

Corrections, Department of Justice.

ACTION: Solicitation for a cooperative

agreement.

SUMMARY: The Department of Justice

(DOJ), National Institute of Corrections

(NIC) announces the availability of

funds in FY 01 for a cooperative

agreement to assist up to six paroling

authorities through the ‘‘Policy-Driven

Responses to Parole Violations’’ project.

State releasing authorities have the legal

responsibility for paroled, conditional

released and some mandatory released

offenders. Often times the actions taken

by releasing authorities in their

response to violations leads to

revocation proceeding, which

contributes to prison crowding. It is

intended that through this solicitation

paroling authorities will have an

opportunity to develop policy guided

responses in confronting violations.

This is not an announcement for

applicants to receive technical

assistance. The purpose of this

announcement is to select an awardee

who will, in conjunction with the

National Institute of Corrections, select

the six paroling authorities, and plan

and coordinate the work.

Background

The response to violations by

offenders who are serving the remaining

portion of their sentence in the

community and under the control of a

releasing authority has become a major

correctional issue. Over all,

commitment rates to prison for new

offenses has leveled off or are declining,

while at the same time prison

populations continue to increase. Much

of this increase has been the results of

parole and probations violators coming

to prison as the results of having their

supervision period revoke by either a

judge or a parole board. There appears

to be a high reliance on incarceration or

re-incarceration by decision makers in

responding to the behaviors of the

offender. There have been a variety of

studies which seem to indicate that the

appropriateness in responding to

violations committed by the offender

have a greater likelihood of success if

the response is directly related the risk/

need of that offender and incarceration

in many instances may be the least

effective response. Although, a complete

analysis has not been done, the idea of

equity, fairness and consistency in the

revocation process should be explored

to determine how and why and under

what conditions certain decisions are

made.

Project Objectives

This project will provide technical

assistance to up to six paroling

authorities that are committed to

improving the effectiveness and

efficiency of the way they respond to

offenders who violate rules and/or

conditions of parole, this includes both

discretionary and mandatory release

supervision. The project may also

include enhancing policies governing

rescission practices. (the cancellation of

a presumptive release date) The intent

of this project is to take into

consideration the following:

1. The thorough analysis of current

practice to determine the quantity and

quality of data required/available for

decision making information and the

level of commitment of decision makers

to use it.

2. Insure key decision makers are

aware/knowledgeable of research

evidence based on criminogenic need.

3. Provide key decision makers with

information regarding program level/

options for sanctioning/intervening in

violation behavior based on assessed

risk and responding to criminogenic

need.

4. Forge/initiate working relationship

with other criminal justice practitioners

involved in the revocation process to

attain common policy.

5. Articulate written policy on

violation and revocation practices that

the Board will consistently enforce/

carry out with the assistance of other

key community justice practitioners.

6. Implement data gathering regarding

policy decisions.

Scope of Work

The response to violations involves

the exercise of discretion by individuals

from several organizations, and seldom