[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 1 (Wednesday, January 2, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16-19]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-28357]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employment and Training Administration
Job Corps Centers Proposed for Consolidation and Deactivation of
Non-Operational Job Corps Centers: Comments Requested
AGENCY: Office of Job Corps, Employment and Training Administration
(ETA), Labor.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) of the U.S.
Department of Labor (the Department or DOL) is issuing this notice
proposing the deactivation of the Gainesville Job Corps Center
(Gainesville) in Gainesville, Florida and the consolidation of the
Barranquitas Job Corps Center (Barranquitas) in Barranquitas, Puerto
Rico with two other Job Corps Centers located in Puerto Rico. This
proposed consolidation would maintain the same overall number of
students served in Puerto Rico. The Gainesville center has been
inactive since Hurricane Irma in September 2017. This facility incurred
considerable hurricane damage and
[[Page 17]]
hazardous environmental conditions exist. The Barranquitas center has
been inactive since Hurricane Maria significantly damaged it in
September 2017. Under these proposals, at-risk youth in Florida and
Puerto Rico will continue to have options for service by the Job Corps
program. This notice seeks public comment on these proposals.
DATES: To be ensured consideration, comments must be submitted in
writing on or before February 1, 2019.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket Number ETA-
2018-0006, by only one of the following methods:
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
website instructions for submitting comments.
Mail and hand delivery/courier: Submit comments to Lenita Jacobs-
Simmons, National Director, Office of Job Corps (OJC), U.S. Department
of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, 200 Constitution
Avenue NW, Room N-4459, Washington, DC 20210. Due to security-related
concerns, there may be a significant delay in the receipt of
submissions by United States Mail. You must consider this when
preparing to meet the deadline for submitting comments. The Department
will post all comments received on http://www.regulations.gov without
making any changes to the comments or redacting any information,
including any personal information provided. The http://www.regulations.gov website is the Federal e-rulemaking portal and all
comments posted there are available and accessible to the public. The
Department recommends that commenters not include personal information
such as Social Security Numbers, personal addresses, telephone numbers,
and email addresses in their comments that they do not wish to be made
public, as such submitted information will be available to the public
via the http://www.regulations.gov website. Comments submitted through
http://www.regulations.gov will not include the email address of the
commenter unless the commenter chooses to include that information as
part of his or her comment. It is the responsibility of the commenter
to safeguard personal information.
Instructions: All submissions received should include the Docket
Number for the notice: Docket Number ETA-2018-0006. Please submit your
comments by only one method. Again, please note that due to security
concerns, postal mail delivery in Washington, DC may be delayed.
Therefore, the Department encourages the public to submit comments on
http://www.regulations.gov.
Docket: All comments on the selected Job Corps Center will be
available on the http://www.regulations.gov website. The Department
also will make all of the comments it receives available for public
inspection by appointment during normal business hours at the above
address. If you need assistance to review the comments, the Department
will provide appropriate aids such as readers or print magnifiers. The
Department will make copies of this methodology and the selected Job
Corps center materials available, upon request, in large print and
electronic file on computer disk. To schedule an appointment to review
the comments and/or obtain the notice in an alternative format, contact
the Office of Job Corps at (202) 693-3000 (this is not a toll-free
number). You may also contact this office at the address listed below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lenita Jacobs-Simmons, National
Director, Office of Job Corps, ETA, U.S. Department of Labor, 200
Constitution Avenue NW, Room N-4463, Washington, DC 20210; Telephone
(202) 693-3000 (this is not a toll-free number). Individuals with
hearing or speech impairments may access the telephone number above via
TTY by calling the toll-free Federal Information Relay Service at 1-
(877) 889-5627 (TTY/TDD).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background on the Job Corps Program
Established in 1964, Job Corps is a national program administered
by ETA in the Department. It is the nation's largest federally-funded,
primarily residential skills instruction program for at-risk youth,
ages 16 to 24. Through 123 centers in 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the
District of Columbia, Job Corps seeks to change lives through education
and skills instruction for in-demand careers. Job Corps serves at-risk
young people who seek to overcome barriers to employment, which can
include poverty, homelessness, or aging out of the foster care system,
by providing them with the academic, career technical, and
employability skills to enter the workforce, enroll in post-secondary
education, pursue apprenticeship opportunities, or enlist in the
military.
Large and small businesses, nonprofit organizations, and Native
American tribes manage and operate 98 of the Job Corps centers through
contractual agreements with the Department of Labor, which are awarded
pursuant to Federal procurement rules. Twenty-five Civilian
Conservation Centers (CCCs) are operated through an interagency
agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Job Corps
receives annual funding to operate centers, administer the program, and
build, maintain, expand, or upgrade a limited number of new and
existing facilities.
II. Established Criteria
As part of the Department's ongoing efforts to ensure that Job
Corps' resources are used to deliver the best possible results for
students, it may determine that a different approach will allow Job
Corps to more effectively serve its students.
A. The Criteria for Proposing a Different Approach
The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), which became
effective on July 1, 2015, directs DOL to ``establish written criteria
that the Secretary shall use to determine when a Job Corps center
supported under this part is to be closed and how to carry out such
closure[.]'' 29 U.S.C. 3211(c)(1). Consequently, the Department
published three criteria for making this determination.
1. A methodology for selecting a center based on its chronic low
performance, first described in an August 2014 Federal Register Notice
(FRN) (79 FR 51198), and updated in a March 2016 FRN (81 FR 12529);
2. An agreement between the Secretaries of Labor and Agriculture to
close a CCC, as described in the March 2016 FRN; and
3. An evaluation of the effort required to provide a high-quality
education and training program at the center, as described in the March
2016 FRN.
DOL may make this determination based on any one of the three
criteria, and a single criterion may be applied independently of the
others. Thus, while a center may qualify under more than one criterion,
DOL may choose to rely on only one criterion when making its
determination. These criteria have been previously established;
therefore, the Department does not seek comments on these criteria in
response to this Notice.
Prior to making a decision, the Department also applies the
Additional Considerations first discussed in the August 2014 notice and
amended in a September 2017 FRN (82 FR 44842), and described below.
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B. Additional Considerations
As described in the March 2016 FRN, after applying any of the three
criterion identified above the Department will consider the following
factors, as appropriate, when deciding a different course of action:
1. Job Corps Services for Residents in All Geographic Areas
The Department is committed to providing services in a broad
geographic area. When deciding to propose a center for deactivation or
consolidation, DOL will continue to ensure adequate training
opportunities for eligible individuals in or near the area where they
reside. The Job Corps program will also continue to maintain a
nationwide outreach strategy. Additionally, DOL will take into account
whether proposing a different direction for a center would have a
disproportionate impact on the training and post-enrollment
opportunities for students in any one geographic area and ensure that
it does not too rapidly reduce Job Corps' presence in any geographic
area.
2. Sufficiency of Data Available To Evaluate Center Performance
When proposing a different direction for chronic low performance,
the Department will not consider any center for which it does not have
sufficient data to evaluate that center's performance. Because this
Notice is not based on center performance, this consideration does not
apply to the proposed actions discussed below.
3. Indication of Significant Recent Performance Improvement
When applying the performance-based methodology, the Department
will consider evidence of recent performance improvement. Therefore, a
center will be removed from consideration based on performance-based
criteria if it is performing in the top half of centers in the most
recent full year of performance data. Again, because this notice does
not propose an action based on performance, this consideration does not
apply to the proposals discussed below.
4. Job Corps' Commitment to Diversity
Job Corps currently serves a diverse student population and remains
committed to serving at-risk youth from all backgrounds. In making
final decisions under any of the three criteria identified in Section A
above, the Department will consider whether an action would result in a
significant reduction in student diversity within the overall Job Corps
system.
III. Proposal To Take a Different Approach
For the reasons discussed below, Job Corps proposes to deactivate
the Gainesville center, and consolidate the Barranquitas center into
two other centers under the third criterion--an evaluation of the
effort required to provide a high-quality education and training
program at the center, as described in the March 2016 FRN.
Some centers, for a variety of reasons, face more difficult
challenges than others in providing a safe, secure environment where
participants can receive high-quality skills instruction. Addressing
these challenges may require sustained efforts that involve significant
programmatic, staff, capital, organizational, and/or other investments
and resources, and sometimes these challenges continue regardless of
the contractor or entity operating the center. Even with such a
commitment, it may be difficult to achieve positive outcomes for
students.
In such a situation, Job Corps will carefully assess the following:
1. The ongoing needs of the center against those of the program
overall.
2. The effort required to provide and maintain a high-quality,
safe, and productive living and learning environment.
3. Whether that effort is likely to ultimately produce an outcome
that contributes to the program's overall strength and integrity.
After reviewing all relevant information, the Department may decide
to propose a different approach to serving at-risk youth.
Following an evaluation of continuing center operations using the
framework outlined above, the Department proposes deactivation of the
Gainesville Job Corps Center and the consolidation of the Barranquitas
Job Corps Center.
A. Gainesville Job Corps Center
The Gainesville center has been inactive since September 2017, when
it suffered considerable damage by Hurricane Irma. The center has 12
buildings and is located on 47 acres of land. The original building was
built around 1955. Due to the age of the facility, it faced numerous
significant issues prior to the hurricane. Improvements are needed to
the fire prevention system, including fire separation walls and the
fire sprinkler system. Sanitary sewer lines in two separate buildings
are collapsing and require extensive repairs. There are also numerous
other deficiencies in multiple buildings, including heating,
ventilation, and air conditioning problems.
The aging facility is located in an industrial area. As a result of
previous use, there is significant soil and groundwater contamination
on the property. Under an agreement with the Florida Department of
Environmental Protection, the property is subject to a Remedial Action
Plan, which restricts the ability to perform work in the contaminated
areas. A plume of groundwater contaminated by chlorinated solvents is
also present on the southern property border and has migrated towards
neighboring properties owned by the City of Gainesville. The plume is
under remediation by Unisys, the successor company to Sperry Rand, the
original owner, under a settlement agreement between the Department,
the City of Gainesville, and the Florida Department of the
Environmental Protection.
As a result of Hurricane Irma in September 2017, the facilities
sustained serious flooding that raised concerns that chemically
contaminated water entered into the center's buildings, including the
dormitory and other buildings frequented by students. Extensive mold
was found in multiple buildings, remediation of which will require a
major asbestos abatement project due to the large quantity of asbestos
floor tile and adhesive in the buildings. Sewage contamination was also
present. Pre-existing soil contamination must also be addressed to
perform needed facility repairs.
The total estimated costs to address the existing facility issues
and repair the damage caused by Hurricane Irma and the related
environmental issues is $10.3 million. This is a level of dedicated
resources that will tax the Job Corps program's ability to create safe
environments for skills instruction. More than 25 percent of Job Corps'
more than 4,000 buildings are over 50 years old and their repair costs
contribute to a total repair and construction cost estimated at more
than $700 million.\1\ Spending such a significant part of the program's
construction budget to make the needed repairs at this center would
significantly impact Job Corps' ability to make needed repairs and
improvements, including important safety improvements, at other
centers. This is not a prudent use of the Department's resources,
particularly given the successful maintenance of opportunities in
Florida and the Southeast generally.
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In addition, Gainesville rehabilitation would take years to complete.
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\1\ This information is based on data reported to the General
Services Administration's Federal Real Property Profile Management
System. The data reported is from Job Corps' Engineering Support
Contractor Information System (ESCIS) as of September 30, 2018.
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The Job Corps program retains robust capacity in Florida, a state
where there are three other centers, including the Jacksonville Job
Corps Center approximately 70 miles from the Gainesville campus. None
of the three Job Corps centers in Florida are operating at capacity;
all have the ability to accept additional students. Collectively these
centers have the capacity to absorb the area's demand. By consolidating
the operation of the Job Corps program at the three remaining Florida
centers, the state will retain the ability to adequately serve at-risk
youth with greater operational and administrative efficiencies. In
addition, through demonstration project authority in section 156(a) of
WIOA, DOL plans to expand opportunities to serve Job Corps eligible
youth through a partnership with the Florida Department of Military
Affairs (Florida National Guard).
In order to provide functional, safe, and secure campuses for as
many students as possible given the limited resources available, DOL
has determined students in Florida and across the country will be
better served if Job Corps' construction and repair budget--and the
time, personnel, and effort required to administer the use of these
funds--is allotted across the entire system to improve the conditions
of as many centers and as many students as possible as opposed to
investing the necessary resources in Gainesville.
B. Barranquitas Job Corps Center
The Barranquitas Job Corps Center has 14 buildings on 12 acres of
land in a rural area approximately 40 miles south of San Juan, Puerto
Rico. The center has been inactive since Hurricane Maria damaged it in
September 2017. All three centers in Puerto Rico were damaged by the
hurricane; Barranquitas sustained the greatest amount of damage.
Barranquitas has numerous physical deficiencies that existed prior
to the hurricane and many caused by Hurricane Maria. Prior to the
hurricane, multiple center deficiencies were under contract for repair,
including roof leaks in eight of the 14 buildings, and replacement of
all of the windows in the gymnasium, many of which were no longer
keeping the elements out. The hurricane exacerbated these roof issues
and caused significant interior water damage. Further, the hurricane
caused significant erosion along the north boundary of the property,
leading to a destabilized slope that resulted in foundation damage to
the emergency generator facility. If the slope is not repaired and
stabilized, future storms could cause additional erosion under the
foundation of the facilities used for academic and vocational training.
The total estimated cost to address the pre-existing facility issues
and repair the hurricane damage at Barranquitas is $19 million.
Job Corps can continue to serve at-risk youth in Puerto Rico by
consolidating operations at two of Puerto Rico's three centers. Puerto
Rico's Ramey Job Corps Center sustained the least damage from Hurricane
Maria. Job Corps re-opened the center in May 2018. All of the trades
formerly offered by both the Arecibo Job Corps Center, also in Puerto
Rico, and the Barranquitas Job Corps Center are now offered at Ramey.
There were 249 students at the Ramey Job Corps Center at the time of
the hurricane; however, after assessing available space, the planned
number of students was increased to 470 to accommodate as many students
as possible. Further, Job Corps initiated the rehabilitation of the
Arecibo Job Corps Center in June 2018. The center is scheduled to
reopen by February 2020, with an increased capacity of 201 students.
When Arecibo reopens, Job Corps will have the capacity to serve the
same number of students on the island as it had prior to Hurricane
Maria. Merging the operations of three centers into two centers will
increase the efficiency of the administration and operation of the Job
Corps program in Puerto Rico, leading to reduced costs and better
service for the students on the island.
Given the other two Job Corps centers in Puerto Rico can
successfully serve the same number of students previously served by all
three centers, it is a more prudent long-term approach to invest
available construction and rehabilitation resources in two Job Corps
centers rather than divide the resources among three centers.
IV. Request for Public Comments
After studying (1) the needs of the centers against those of the
program overall; (2) the effort needed to provide and maintain a high-
quality, safe, and productive living and learning environment; and (3)
whether that effort is likely to ultimately produce an outcome that
contributes to the program's overall strength and integrity, the
Department has concluded that restarting operations at the Gainesville
and Barranquitas Job Corps Centers is not in the best interest serving
at-risk youth as well as the program as a whole.
After completing this evaluation, the Department then applied the
relevant additional considerations as amended in the September 2017 FRN
and discussed above in Section II.B and determined that these
considerations did not preclude actions proposed as to the Gainesville
or Barranquitas Job Corps Centers.
The Department now requests public comments on its proposals
associated with the Gainesville and Barranquitas Job Corps centers.
V. The Process Under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
(WIOA)
The Department's process will follow the requirements of section
159(j) of the WIOA, which include the following:
Announcing the proposed decision concerning a particular
center in advance to the general public through publication in the
Federal Register or other appropriate means;
Establishing a reasonable comment period, not to exceed 30
days, for interested individuals to submit written comments to the
Secretary; and
Notifying the Member of Congress who represents the
district in which the center is located within a reasonable period in
advance of any final decision concerning the status of the center.
This Notice serves as the public announcement of the proposals
associated with the Gainesville Job Corps Center and the Barranquitas
Job Corps Center. The Department is providing a 30-day period--the
maximum amount of time allowed for comment under WIOA sec. 159(j)--for
interested individuals to submit written comments on the proposed
decision. The Department will announce its final decision following the
conclusion of the comment period.
Molly E. Conway,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training.
[FR Doc. 2018-28357 Filed 12-31-18; 8:45 am]
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