JOB CORPS Mr. FLOOD. Something else we are not clear about on the Job Corps figures. Take a look at page 60. You show a figure there of $141 million for 1976. We thought we provided $175 million for 1976. Mr. WALKER. Mr. Chairman, this goes back to the end of fiscal year 1975. As we approach the end of fiscal year 1975, there were several title III programs, migrant programs and some others Mr. FLOOD. How do you reconcile those figures? Mr. WALKER. We advance-funded temporarily from title III programs, migrants, and Indians, into the Job Corps projects, which makes the Job Corps total for fiscal 1975 something in the neighborhood of $210 million. The purpose of that was to avoid carrying over this $35 million from one fiscal year into the next. What we did then was make compensating adjustments for the Job Corps funding during the first quarter of this year to the extent that we in effect reduced that $35 million from their 1976 budget. Mr. FLOOD. Did you do some reprograming? Mr. WALKER. Not in the operation sense, no. The program operating levels really don't change and we stayed within the same budget activity. Mr. FLOOD. Did you do any reprograming on your own? Mr. Zuck. No, sir, I don't think it is reprograming. It maintained the Job Corps program at $175 million for the 3 years. It did not divert money away from the Job Corps program. Mr. FLOOD. How long has the Job Corps operated at the current program level? Mr. STETSON. For the past 2 years we have been at this level. We have 60 centers right now and have been operating at this level for the past couple of years. We have 31 contract centers, 27 civilian conservation centers, and two we call extension centers, in which the cooks and stewards union is training some kids out of Job Corps to take jobs aboard ships. Also we have the Brotherhood of Railway and Airline Clerks running a program in Minneapolis for us, where they train some of the kids out of the camp for jobs with the airlines and the railway industry. Mr. FLOOD. There is considerable interest in this and has been since it was born. What effect has this severe inflation in the past few years had upon the Job Corps? Mr. STETSON. We have come pretty lean but we have managed to stay afloat. This year we have gotten, for instance, several million dollars under title X, to take care of some of our capital requirements. The Job Corps has been around for 10 years. We took advantage of the public works program to get the money from them to take care of some of our capital requirements. We have cut out some programs. For instance, not too long ago we cut out the Job Corps YWCA extension program which was sort of like a finishing school for some of the females that finished Job Corps. This program gave them work experience when they left Job Corps and came into the community. Most of our centers now have work experience programs so we didn't need this duplicate program any more. We have stopped buying clothing from the Defense Supply Agency inventories because we found it was more expensive than letting the centers buy their clothing from the local communities. The quality of the Defense Supply Agency is much higher than required for a kid who is only going to stay 4 or 5 months in the Job Corps. Mr. FLOOD. What is the difference between a contract center and a conservation center? Mr. STETSON. Contract centers are operated by profit organizations, by not-for-profit organizations, and in some cases by States. The Civilian Conservation Centers are located on Federal land and are operated for us by the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture. Mr. FLOOD. What kind of contractors are you using to run these contract centers? Mr. STETSON. There are profit contractors like RCA and Singer Co. Mr. FLOOD. I know about RCA. They are a good outfit. Mr. STETSON. Very good. Keystone is a very good center. One of the best. We have the center in New Jersey operated by the State Department of Education. TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE Mr. FLOOD. Now you want $15 million for-here is the phrase-technical assistance and training. That is the phrase. Is that contract money for the most part? Mr. BURDETSKY. No; technical assistance and training is probably one of the most important things that we do and get involved in, especially with this new highly decentralized system in which we are working very, very closely not only in training our own staff Mr. FLOOD. Is it contract for the most part? Mr. BURDETSKY. Some. Mr. FLOOD. Not for the most part? Mr. BURDETSKY. No. We have training centers. Mr. FLOOD. What activities are you carrying out with the money? Mr. BURDETSKY. There is a whole range of training activities. We train them in financial management, and data processing, the whole range of things that a prime sponsor will need to know in order to run effective programs, the whole range of activity that our own staff needs to be able to do to operate effectively in providing the assistance and support that is necessary to this very highly and widely dispersed system. Mr. FLOOD. Where did you get the figure $15 million? Off the left field wall? Mr. HEWITT. Like a lot of figures, it got placed in the budget sometime back. Mr. FLOOD. I know. Why not 14.5 or 15.7? Mr. JONES. This is related, I think, pretty much to the general technical assistance program that we have going on across the country right now and it is based on how much of it is delivered through contract support versus how much we are delivering ourselves, which is now a good deal. Mr. BURDETSKY. Let me give you some notion. The $15 million is a combined figure. It wasn't just hatched altogether. Some part of it is to run these regional training centers that we have set up to help work with the local prime sponsors and their staffs and the subcontractor staffs and others in really trying to get this decentralized system to operate. We have equal employment opportunity training, which is essential. We find one of the big fears that people had in going to this new system was when you got down to the local system a lot of the gains made in the EEO area were lost and you got right back to the problem. We have a very strong, affirmative action training program. This covers. all the reporting systems that are involved, the financial systems, the workload reporting, and the performance reporting that continually come along that we need to provide information on. We have a whole range of kind of training that is considered technical assistance and training. Mr. FLOOD. That is a good comment, but you have no set answer on what is sacred about $15 million? It is a round, fat number or what? Mr. BURDETSKY. No; it is a figure that involves a whole lot of subcategories that come to that total. We could provide you a list and any figures there. Mr. FLOOD. I don't want a dollar-for-dollar list, but there must be some reasonable answer for $15 million. Mr. BURDETSKY. We will do that, sir. [The information follows:] TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE The $15,010,000 requested for this activity is the amount which is necessary to provide an effective program of preservice and inservice training for specialized, supportive, and supervisory or other personnel and technical assistance which is needed in connection with the programs established under the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act. The following table reflects the types of activities to be provided within the amount requested. Financial and management information systems_ Regional training centers.... Career development training activities Employment service performance standards and improvement projects related to comprehensive employment and training act activities Program review and assessment_ Equal employment opportunities affirmative action program support__ Total $5, 398, 000 2, 626, 000 2, 225, 000 2,208, 000 2, 172, 000 381,000 15, 010, 000 MIGRANT AND SEASONAL WORKERS Mr. FLOOD. By the way, this was getting a lot of attention last year, you remember. What kind of activities are you carrying out now in your migrant and seasonal farmworker program? How does that operate? Mr. HEWITT. Those are earmarked programs in title III, as you know. Mr. FLOOD. You have stated the question. Mr. HEWITT. About $63 million in title III goes to migrant and seasonal farmworker operations in all the States that have projects. Mr. FLOOD. What kind of activities? Mr. HEWITT. They provide a full range of activities comparable to what was provided under the Economic Opportunity Act from whence that activity came, except economic development activities, which is the only thing that is not included. There is training. There is assistance. Mr. FLOOD. How does it operate? Mr. HEWITT. A local sponsor, a migrant council in a State or a region, or a different kind of a sponsor in a particular State-it might be a State agency, manpower council in some States-prepare a proposal to provide services, including family services, job placement, and a whole range of activities. Mr. FLOOD. What kind of health services do you provide in the migrant program? Mr. BURDETSKY. HEW and Labor each has some aspect of this program. Mr. FLOOD. I know. Mr. BURDETSKY. I will give you an example of one I am very familiar within the New England area. A program sponsor there works directly with and has for many years worked directly with the Puerto Rican community, both those that have migrated and those working there and intending to go back. HEALTH PROGRAM FOR MIGRANTS Mr. FLOOD. But the health program. Mr. BURDETSKY. These are two types of health programs. One is a hospital that is set up there under a grant from HEW that serves as a place for the migrants, the seasonal farmworkers, to come when they need service, when they are ill. Mr. FLOOD. That is that one. What about the program nationwide on migrant workers? What is your health program for migrant workers across the board? Mr. BURDETSKY. It varies from sponsor to sponsor with the largest part of it being a HEW kind of supplement to our program. We are working with them to see to it that they are able with our assistance to adjust to the area, that they have English language training that is important to the work that they do-that the children of migrants receive attention and the whole range of services. Mr. FLOOD. What about health programs now? Mr. BURDETSKY. I want to get back to the point that my expert is the guy who didn't show up today and I would be glad to get you a better account of it exactly. Mr. FLOOD. This was a very important element in giving birth to the migrant program, great criticism, great interest, great concern. What is your health operation in the migrant workers program? Mr. BURDETSKY. We can get that for you. I was there onsite, though. [The information follows:] HEALTH OPERATIONS IN MIGRANT/FARM WORKER PROGRAM Health and medical services are allowable services and are generally included in program grants as an essential part of the support umbrella necessary to meet the needs of farmworker clients. In general, CETA section 303, sponsors restrict their health and medical services to emergency situations and as part of a general health screering process. Through linkages and coordination, most section 303 sponsors can provide direct and referral health services to program clients. Working with, in many cases, local, State and Federal health services and programs, 303 sponsors have in many areas been able to link available health resources and operators with farmworker clients by use of 303 sponsor staff and program supportive services, thereby covering most of clients' health needs by ties with available health resources. Further, in many areas, section 303 sponsors are umbrella agencies which also administer health and/or emergency medical services from other Federal agencies, such as CSA and HEW; in such cases, section 303 supportive activities are part of a larger comprehensive health program delivery system which strives to meet the overall needs of the farmworker clients. OFFENDERS AND EX-OFFENDERS PROGRAMS Mr. FLOOD. Now, here is one, your programs for offenders and ex-offenders. How much are you spending on that program this year? How much are you spending on it this year and what are you asking for in 1977? Mr. JONES. We have been spending at a $5 million level on the offender programs. By and large what we are doing is operating demonstration programs for different ways to bring the offender into the community, the most important part being a job obviously with counseling and other supportive service provided. Mr. FLOOD. What actual tangible benefits are being derived from this offender program? Mr. JONES. There are two tangible benefits. One is that the demonstration models that we run around the country obviously are serving offenders directly. Second, we have taken the successful models and exported them to other prime sponsors and gotten them into the game of serving offenders with effective model programs, so we are developing an expertise in the prime sponsor area. Mr. FLOOD. Just big city operations again now? Mr. JONES. No, sir. This is going into the county, city, and State levels. Mr. FLOOD. This is the kind of thing we worry about here. These programs are not duplicated in any way by those that are being funded by the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration over in the Department of Justice? Mr. JONES. NO. We serve on a council of joint departments, to insure that there isn't duplication. In several cases we are jointly funding projects at the State level to test out the ability of the departments to work together on the offender program. SCHOOL-TO-WORK PROGRAM Mr. FLOOD. You want $6 million under title III for what you call the "school-to-work program." In plain English what in the world is that? Mr. BURDETSKY. Probably there is no more serious problem, at least. in my thinking, than this whole problem of transitioning young people from school to either further education or to work. Kids are continuously dumped out into the labor market unprepared, unknowledgeable about what is out there. They are trained for occupations that don't exist. They are trained in improper ways. What we are trying to do, and we have an interagency activity just getting under way with HEW, Commerce and Labor, we are trying to figure out as many 67-529 - 76-2 |