Economic Opportunity Act Amendments of 1967

The committee met at 10 a.m., pursuant to call, in room 2175, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Carl D. Perkins (chairman of the committee) presiding.

Present: Representatives Perkins, Green, Dent, Pucinski, Daniels, Hawkins, Gibbons, Ford, Hathaway, Scheuer, Quie, Goodell, Bell, Reid, Erlenborn, Scherle, Dellenback, Esch, Gardner, and Steiger.

Also present: H. D. Reed, Jr., general counsel; Robert E. McCord, senior specialist; Louise Maxienne Dargans, research assistant; Benjamin Reeves, editor of committee publications; Austin Sullivan, investigator; Marian Wyman, special assistant; Charles W. Radcliffe, minority counsel for education; and John Buckley, minority investigator; Dixie Barger, minority research assistant; and W. Phillips Rockefeller, minority research specialist.

(Text of bills H.R. 8311 and H.R. 10682 follows:)

[H.R. 8311, 90th Cong., first sess.]

A BILL To provide an improved charter for Economic Opportunity Act programs, to authorize funds for their continued operation, to expand summer camp opportunities for disadvantaged children, and for other purposes

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may be cited as the "Economic Opportunity Amendments of 1967".

AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS

SEC. 2. For the purpose of carrying out programs under the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 (other than part C of title I of such Act), there is hereby authorized to be appropriated for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1968, the sum of $2,060,000,000, of which subject to the provisions of section 616 of such Act, the amounts appropriated or made available by appropriation Act shall not exceed $874,000 000 for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of title I of such Act, $1,022,000,000 for the purpose of carrying out title II, $47,000,000 for the purpose of carrying out title II, $70,000,000 for the purpose of carrying out title V, $16,000,000 for the purpose of carrying out title VI, and $31,000,000 for the purpose of carrying out title VIII.

TITLE I-AMENDMENTS TO THE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY ACT

JOB CORPS AMENDMENTS

SEC. 101. Part A of title I of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 is amended to read as follows:

"PART A-JOB CORPS

"STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

"SEC. 101. This part establishes a Job Corps for low-income, disadvantaged young men and women, sets forth standards and procedures for selecting individuals as enrollees in the Job Corps, authorizes the establishment of residential centers in which enrollees will participate in intensive programs of education, Vocational training, work experience, counseling, and other activities, and prescribes various other powers, duties, and responsibilities incident to the operation and continuing development of the Job Corps. Its purpose is to assist young persons who need and can benefit from an unusually intensive program, operated in a group setting distinct from their current environment, to become more responsible, employable, and productive citizens; and to do so in a way that contributes, where feasible, to the development of National, State, and community resources, and to the development and dissemination of techniques for working with the disadvantaged that can be widely utilized by public and private institutions and agencies.

"ESTABLISHMENT OF THE JOB CORPS

"SEC. 102. There is hereby established within the Office of Economic Opportunity a 'Job Corps.'

"INDIVIDUALS ELIGIBLE FOR THE JOB CORPS

"SEC. 103. To become an enrollee in the Job Corps, a young man or woman must be a person who

"(1) is a permanent resident of the United States who has attained age sixteen but not attained age twenty-two at the time of enrollment;

"(2) is a low-income individual or member of a low-income family who requires additional education, training, or intensive counseling and related assistance in order to secure and hold meaningful employment, participate successfully in regular schoolwork, qualify for training programs suitable to his needs or satisfy Armed Forces requirements;

"(3) is currently living in an environment so characterized by cultural deprivation, a disruptive homelife or other disorienting conditions as to substantially impair his prospects for successful participation in any other program providing needed training, education, or assistance;

"(4) is determined, after careful screening as provided for in sections 104 and 105, to have the present capabilities and aspirations needed to complete and secure the full benefit of the program authorized in this part, and to be free of medical and behavorial problems so serious that he could not or would not be able to adjust to the standards of conduct and discipline or pattern of work and training which that program involves;

"(5) meets such other standards for enrollment as the Director may prescribe and agrees to comply with all applicable Job Corps rules and regulations.

"SCREENING AND SELECTION OF APPLICANTS GENERAL PROVISIONS

"SEC. 104. (a) The Director shall prescribe necessary rules for the screening and selection of applicants for enrollment in the Job Corps. To the extent practicable, these rules shall be implemented through arrangements which make use of public or private nonprofit agencies and organizations such as community action agencies, public employment offices, professional groups, and labor organizations. The rules shall establish specific standards and procedures for conducting screening and selection activities; shall encourage recruitment through agencies and individuals having contact with youths over substantial periods of time and able, accordingly, to offer the reliable information as to their needs and problems; and shall provide for necessary consultation with other individuals and organizations, including courts, probation and parole offices, law enforcement authorities, schools, welfare agencies, and medical agencies, and advisers. They shall also provide for

"(1) an interview with each applicant for the purpose of

"(A) determining whether his educational and vocational needs can best be met through the Job Corps or any alternative program in his home community;

"(B) obtaining from the applicant pertinent data relating to his background, needs, and interests for evaluation in determining his eligibility and potential assignment; and

"(C) giving the applicant a full understanding of the Job Corps program and making clear what will be expected of him as an enrollee in the event of his acceptance.

"(2) the conduct of a careful and systematic inquiry concerning the applicant's background for the effective development and, as appropriate. clarification of information concerning his age, citizenship, school and draft status, health, employability, past behavior, family income, environment, and other matters related to a determination of his eligibility.

"(b) The Director shall make no payments to any individual or organization solely as compensation for the service of referring the names of candidates for enrollment in the Job Corps.

"SCREENING AND SELECTION—SPECIAL LIMITATIONS

"SEC. 105. (a) No individual shall be selected as an enrollee unless it is determined that he can participate successfully in group situations and activities with other enrollees, that he is not likely to engage in actions or behavior that would prevent other enrollees from receiving the benefit of the program or be incompatible with the maintenance of sound discipline and satisfactory relationships between any center to which he might be assigned and surrounding communities, and that he manifests a basic understanding of both the rules to which he will be subject and of the consequences of failure to observe those rules. An individual shall be considered not to meet these requirements if he has a history of serious and violent behavior against persons or property, repetitive delinquent acts, narcotics addition or other major behavioral aberrations. The rules or regulations issued by the Director under this section shall specify, in detail, the actions or attributes which shall preclude selection, and those rules or regulations shall be binding upon all agencies authorized to screen or select persons for enrollment. The Director may authorize screening and selection agencies to refer to him cases where notwithstanding the fact that the individual is not subject to specific disqualification set forth in those rules or regulations, they believe that there may be doubt as to whether he should be accepted; and cases where, notwithstanding a specific disqualification, they believe there may be unusual circumstances warranting an exception to permit selection. Excep tions, however, shall be granted by the Director only where he determines that selection would be fully consistent with the standards relating to the interests of other enrollees, the maintenance of discipline and satisfactory community relations, as set forth in this section.

“(b) An individual who otherwise qualifies for enrollment may be selected even though he is on probation or parole, but only if his release from the immediate supervision of the cognizant probation or parole officials is mutually satisfactory to those officials and the Director and does not violate applicable laws or regulations, and if the Director has arranged to provide all supervision of the individual and all reports to State or other authorities that may be necessary to comply with applicable probation or parole requirements.

"(c) The Director shall maintain a continuing review of the criteria and procedures established under this part for the screening and selection of Job Corps applicants both with respect to their adequacy and the effectiveness with which they are applied, and he shall take such actions as may be necessary to assure that all agencies which are assigned screening and selection functions comply fully with those criteria and procedures.

"ENROLLMENT AND ASSIGNMENT

"SEC. 106. (a) No individual may be enrolled in the Job Corps for more than two years, except as the Director may authorize in special cases.

"(b) Enrollment in the Job Corps shall not relieve any individual of obligations under the University Military Training and Service Act (50 U.S.C. App. 451 et seq.).

"(c) Each enrollee (other than a native and citizen of Cuba described in section 609 (3) of this Act) must take and subscribe to an oath or affirmation in the following form: 'I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I bear true faith and allegiance

to the United States of America and will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States against all its enemies foreign and domestic.' The provisions of section 1001 of title 18, United States Code, shall be applicable to this oath or affirmation.

"(d) Each enrollee shall be assigned to a center appropriate to his needs, as determined by the Director, which (taking into account current vacancies and requirements for the efficient program operation) is closest to the residence of such enrollee.

"(e) Assignments of male enrollees shall be made so that, at any one time, at least 40 per centum of those enrollees are assigned to conservation centers, as described in section 107, or to other centers or projects where their work activity is primarily directed to the conservation, development, or management of public national resources or recreational areas and is performed under the direction of personnel of agencies regularly responsible for those functions.

"JOB CORPS CENTERS

"SEC. 107. The Director may make agreements with Federal, State, or local agencies, or private organizations for the establishment and operation of Job Corps centers. These centers shall be primarily residential in character and shall be designated and operated so as to provide enrollees, in a well-supervised setting, with education, vocational training, work experience (either in direct program activities or through arrangements with employers), counseling and other services appropriate to their needs. The centers shall include conservation centers to be located primarily in rural areas and to provide, in addition to other training and assistance, programs of work experience focused upon activities to conserve, develop, or manage public natural resources or public recreational areas or to assist in developing community projects in the public interest. They shall also include men's training centers to be located in either urban or rural areas and to provide activities which shall include training and other services appropriate for enrollees who can be expected to participate successfully in training for specific types of skilled or semiskilled employment; and women's training centers, to be located in either urban or rural areas, and which shall provide education, training, and other activities appropriate to the special needs and potentialities of young women.

"PROGRAM ACTIVITIES

"SEC. 108. (a) Each Job Corps center shall be operated so as to provide enrollees with an intensive, well-organized and fully supervised program of education, vocational training, work experience, planned avocational and recreational activities, physical rehabilitation and development, and counseling. To the fullest extent feasible, the required program for each enrollee shall include activities designed to assist him in choosing realistic career goals, coping with problems he may encounter in his home community or in adjusting to a new community, and planning and managing his daily affairs in a manner that will best contribute to long-term upward mobility, and shall aggregate at least sixty hours a week. Center programs shall include required participation in center maintenance support and related work activity as appropriate to assist enrollees in increasing their sense of contribution, responsibility, and discipline.

"(b) To the extent practicable, the Director may arrange for enrollee education and vocational training through local public or private educational agencies, Vocational educational institutions, or technical institutes where these institutions or institutes can provide training comparable in cost and substantially equivalent in quality to that which he could provide through other means.

"(c) Arrangements for education shall, to the extent feasible, provide opportunities for qualified enrollees to obtain the equivalent of a certificate of graduation from high school; and the Director, with the concurrence of the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, shall develop certificates to be issued to enrollees who have satisfactory completed their services in the Job Corps and which will reflect the enrollee's level of educational attainment.

"(d) The Director shall prescribe regulations to assure that Job Corps workexperience programs or activities do not displace presently employed workers or impair existing contracts for service and will be coordinated with other workexperience programs in the community.

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