This section outlines the center file review process from Admissions Services notification of an applicant file "pending center review" until there is a final disposition of the application, including expedited application procedures and appeals of applicant file dispositions. In cases of medical separations for students, see Chapter 6, Section 6.2, R5, Form 2-04, and Form 2-05.
R1. Center Applicant File Review Policy Requirements
a. Eligibility Review
A center's File Review Team (FRT) is not permitted to revisit an Admissions Services' determination that an applicant meets the eligibility requirements and is eligible for Job Corps, even if the center disagrees with the Admissions Services determination of the applicant’s eligibility qualification(s), unless the center receives new information that:
1. Was not reasonably available to Admissions Services at the time the applicant’s eligibility qualifications were established.
2. Indicates that the applicant offered enrollment may no longer meet one of the eligibility requirements as outlined in Exhibit 1-1, Job Corps Eligibility Requirements and/or Appendix 102, Guide for Evaluating Group Participation and the Maintenance of Sound Discipline (Exhibit 1-1, Criterion 8).
b. Health and Disability Review
The center may review the information in the applicant’s file, such as on the Job Corps Health Questionnaire (ETA 653), the accompanying documentation that is medically related to the information on the questionnaire, or that the applicant has otherwise voluntarily disclosed, to determine the health needs of the applicant and/or to determine whether the applicant has a disability, mental health, or medical condition that likely poses a significant risk of substantial harm to the health or safety of others that cannot be eliminated or sufficiently reduced by Reasonable Accommodation, Reasonable Modification in Policies, Practices or Procedures and Auxiliary Aids and Services (RA/RM/AAS).
The Health and Wellness Director (HWD) must complete the Center Applicant File Review Form in Form 1-06 for each application reviewed unless they have a reasonable belief, based on objective evidence, that an individual applicant or student has a medical condition or disability that may pose a significant risk of substantial harm to the health or safety of others. In such cases, the HWD must complete the Center Applicant/Student File Review Form - Health and Wellness Director's Initial Review of Applicant Files or Review of Student Documentation for Assignment of Possible Direct Threat Assessment in Form 2-04.
Only the categories of persons identified in Appendix 202, Transmission, Storage and Confidentiality of Medical, Health and Disability-Related Information, may be permitted to review, or have access to the applicant’s medical, health, or disability-related information.
R2. Standard Operating Procedure
To ensure equal opportunity for all applicants, including those with disabilities, all centers are required to follow the same applicant file review (AFR) process in accordance with the PRH and as described in Applicant File Review SOP and/or the Expedited Applicant File Review SOP, as applicable (see Exhibit 5-1). This procedure must describe in detail how an applicant file is processed, from the time it arrives electronically from the OA provider until there is a final disposition (see Chapter 1, Section 1.5, R4). Centers must comply with the SOP and at a minimum, include the following requirements:
a. Procedures for uploading required documents into E-Folder and notifying the Regional Office and the Regional File Review Coordinator (RFRC) that an applicant file is being recommended for denial.
b. Procedure for logging and tracking center file reviews upon notification that an applicant file is pending review, including identification of expedited applicant reviews (see Chapter 1, Section 1.5 R3). This should include an explanation of the center's final disposition of the file (see Chapter 1, Section 1.5, R3). The center Records Department, led by the Records Manager, is responsible for maintaining the center File Review Tracking Log, which includes logging all applicant files pending review, or pending submission based on self-aattestation for expedited enrollment, and all file status changes. Reviews of the applicant file (i.e., HWD, Non-health Disability Coordinator for education related disability information and in rare instances, the Center Standards Officer (or their position equivalent)) must be recorded in the center File Review Tracking Log. Specific qualified health professionals (i.e., the Center Physician, Center Mental Health Consultant (CMHC), Trainee Employment Assistance Program (TEAP) Specialist, or other qualified health proefessionals) must not be listed on the center File Review Tracking Log by title for confidentiality reasons. Wellness must maintain its own internal tracking log.
c. Responsibilities and roles of the center FRT members to include the HWD, the qualified health professionals, and the center's Disability Coordinator(s) (DCs), which usually will include the center's HWD. The HWD serves as the center File Review Coordinator and completes an initial review of the Job Corps Health Questionnaire (ETA 653) and supporting documentation to determine which qualified health professionals are needed to conduct a review of each applicant's file. Staff selected to review applicant files as part of the FRT must have a need to know as outlined in Appendix 202, Transmission, Storage, and Confidentiality of Medical, Health, and Disability-Related Information. The center FRT must include the HWD, the DC if the applicant is a person with a disability, and may include qualified health professionals (i.e., the center physician/nurse practitioner/physician assistant for medically-related conditions, the CMHC if the applicant has mental health-related conditions, the TEAP specialist for substance-related conditions, other qualified Health professionals as needed), and the Academic Manager and/or DC for educationally-related disability information. Other staff may be invited to attend by the HWD on a limited "need to know" case-by-case basis.
d. Procedures for reviewing an applicant file contained within this section (Chapter 1, Section 1.5) including ineligibility reviews based upon new information (Chapter 1, Section 1.5 R1.a and R7) and acceptable reasons for recommending denial of an enrollment or eligibility reviews that occur during the first 90 days of enrollment for students whose applications were expedited. See R10, Expedited Enrollment.
e. Procedures for reviewing and making determinations on requests for RA/RM/AAS.
f. Procedures for processing application withdrawals and incomplete application process files both before and after submitting a file for regional review, including the specific circumstances delineated in Chapter 1, Section 1.5, R5.
g. Detailed procedures for AFR completion within the following timelines: 30 calendar days for non-expedited enrollments, 21 calendar days for expedited enrollments, 15 calendar days for recommendations of denial (including referrals to other centers), and 30 days for any resulting AFR-related appeals.
Centers may request extensions of these timelines for non-expedited enrollments or denial recommendations but must do so at least 5 days prior to the initial AFR due date (i.e. within 25 or 10 days of receipt of the applicant file, respectively).
Extensions may not be requested for expedited enrollments. See Table 1.5-R2(g): Applicant File Review (AFR) Timeframe Details below for additional details.
| Table 1.5-R2(g): Applicant File Review (AFR) Timeframe Details | | |
| Category | Time allowed from receipt to disposition | Request for extension permissible? |
| AFR– Non-expedited | 30 calendar days | Yes |
- Recommendation of Denial with a Referral to an Alternate Center – Non-expedited
| 15 calendar days per referring center and 15 calendar days per the potential alternate center (see R6) | Yes |
| AFR – Expedited | 21 calendar days (maximum) | No |
- Recommendation of Denial with a Referral to an Alternate Center – Expedited
| 11 calendar days per referring center and 10 calendar days per the potential alternate center (see R6) | No |
| Appeal of Denial of Enrollment – Non-expedited | 30 calendar days | Yes |
| Appeal of Denial of Enrollment – Expedited | 30 calendar days | No
|
h. Storage, transmission, and maintenance of the applicant file information(see Appendix 202, Transmission, Storage and Confidentiality of Medical, Health and Disability-Related Information).
i. Procedures for Processing applicant appeals of denial recommendations.
R3. Center File Review Tracking Log
The center's Records Department must maintain a single ongoing center file review tracking log which documents all applicant files received for review. Log entries should not be deleted; instead, a new log should be started each Program Year. The log must track at least the following information:
a. File receipt date - the calendar date that Admissions Services placed file into "pending center review" status.
b. File review due date (i.e., 30 days after file placed into "pending center review")
c. Applicant ID#
d. Applicant last and first name
e. Application urgency identification - standard, priority, expedited
f. Health and Wellness Director Reviewer/review completed
g. Other Reviewer/Department/review completed
h. Extension Requested, as allowed (See R2(f), Standard Operating Procedure)
i. Final Disposition (Approved, Returned to Admissions Services, Recommendation for Denial)
j. Disposition Date
k. Days File in Review (File Receipt Date to Disposition Date)
l. Date of Assignment
m. Date of Enrollment
n. Comments (e.g., detailed explanations of any vactions taken related to the applicant file)
Centers are encouraged to use the Sample Applicant File Review Tracking Log, available at https://supportservices.jobcorps.gov/DISABILITY.
R4. Application Outcomes
Review of Health Information
Center File Review Teams may only review applicant files to determine the following application outcomes:
b. If the applicant’s health care needs could potentially be met (with or without a RA/RM/AAS) if the applicant were enrolled in a center closer to needed and available healthcare needs resources.
c. If the applicant with a disability poses a direct threat to others (see Form 2-04).
d. If there is new information only under the specific circumstances described in Chapter 1, Section 1.5, R1.a, Eligibility Review (see R7, Eligibility Review Due to New Information and R8, Determination of Ineligibility or Failure to Meet Other Eligibility Requirements After Enrollment).
e. If the applicant withdraws their application (see R5.a, Withdrawal of Application) or the center File Review Team is unable to complete the application review because the applicant cannot be reached to complete either the clinical interview or the disability accommodation interactive process even with the assistance of Admissions Services (see R5.b, Incomplete Application Process).
f. If there is a potential error in the initial eligibility determination (i.e., there is a determination that there was an error in the original eligibility certification process (see R5.c, Error in Initial Eligibility Process).
g. If the applicant is cleared for enrollment.
R5. Movement of Application Files
Once Admissions Services places the application into “center pending review status” and the center has received the completed applicant file (i.e., contains all the required documents related to eligibility in Exhibit 1-1, Job Corps Eligibility Requirements and any secured information related to the affirmative responses on the ETA Form 653, Health Questionnaire), the center may only return an applicant file back to Admissions Services as outlined below.
Admissions Services and Center File Review Teams are encouraged to work collaboratively to ensure completion of all pending applications.
a. Withdrawal of Application
If an applicant is no longer interested in attending Job Corps and withdraws their application, the application should be electronically returned to Admissions Services. If the withdrawal request was made in writing, hard copy or electronically, copies of the withdrawal request must be maintained.
b. Incomplete Application Process
If the center FRT, with the assistance of Admissions Services staff, is unable to reach the applicant to complete the clinical review interview or the interactive RA/RM/AAS process when the applicant has previously disclosed medical and/or disability-related information, the center must:
1. Have attempted to contact the applicant at least twice and verified that Admissions Services staff also cannot reach the applicant;
2. Have attempted, in the case of an expedited applicant, to contact the applicant at least twice, attempted to contact at least twice any applicable case managers or community agency partners, and verified that Admissions Services staff also cannot reach the expedited applicant;
3. Document each attempted contact in an applicant contact log, including the date of the contact, the medium used, and the outcome of the contact;
4. Maintain a copy of the applicant contact log; and
5. Provide the log information to the center Records Department to include in the center File Review Tracking Log.
If the center is unable to contact the applicant, the applicant file is returned electronically to Admissions Services. If the application is in regional review, the center must notify the Regional File Review Coordinator (RFRC) via email and upload any supporting documentation including the applicant contact log into the Wellness and Accommodation E-Folder labeled “Other.” The Regional Office will review the documentation of the withdrawal and make the final determination. Files must be maintained for a minimum of 3 years from the end of the applicable program year. See Chapter 1, Section 1.5.R5.a, Withdrawal of Application.
c. Error in Initial Eligibility Process
If the center FRT identifies a potential eligibility concern (i.e., acceptable legal status, for example) that occurred as a potential error in the initial eligibility review process, then the center should contact the Program Manager for guidance. If the initial eligibility determination was made in error as determined by the respective Regional Office, then the file may be returned to Admissions Services.
d. Applicants in Residential Settings or Currently Hospitalized
If an applicant is in a treatment facility, residential program, or is currently hospitalized, the center File Review Team and/or Disability Accommodation Committee must make at least two attempts to contact the applicant using contact information provided in the applicant file in order to complete the applicant file review process and either make a determination of enrollment or recommend denial (see R4, Application Outcomes). If the center is unable to reach the applicant at the contact number provided after at least two attempts, then the center must document the attempts to contact and then may electronically return the file to Admissions Services due to the inability to complete the application process (see R5.b, Incomplete Application Process). If the center is able to reach the applicant, the center may not return the applicant file to Admissions Services but must process the recommendation of enrollment or denial unless the applicant states that they wish to withdraw their application (see R5, Movement of Application files).
An applicant in a treatment facility or hospitalized at the time of application or during the application process has no bearing on the application process itself, and the applicant may not be treated any differently than any other applicant to the Job Corps program unless the applicant has requested a RA/RM/AAS.
e. Other
Centers may not arbitrarily return a file to Admissions Services if outside the scope of or in conflict with Job Corps policy. Reasons for returning an application to Admissions Services must be clearly documented in the center’s applicant file review tracking log.
All documents disclosed by the applicant, other file documentation, assessments, or contact logs during the applicant file review process must be uploaded to Wellness and Accommodation E-Folders (e.g., Health and Disability) if any type of withdrawal of application occurs.
R6. Center Completion of Health Care Needs and Direct Threat Assessments
A Health Care Needs Assessment is conducted for an applicant if the qualified health professional on the FRT determines that:
2. Applicants (including expedited): The health care needs may be manageable but may require community support services that are not available near the center of assignment, in which case the applicant should be considered for assignment to a center where those needs can be met.
(a) Referral to an Alternate Center
A center FRT has 15 calendar days (11 calendar days for expedited) to determine if an applicant should be recommended for denial at the present center due to health care needs that exceed basic care; however, the applicant’s health care needs may be met at an alternate center. Where a center FRT has recommended that an alternate center can meet the applicant’s health care needs, the applicant’s file must be routed through the regional review process with the following additional steps:
(1) If the original center’s recommendation is supported by the Regional Health Specialist (RHS) and approved by the Regional Director or their designee, then the Regional Office returns the file (including the completed Health Care Needs Assessment from the initial center and Referral for Alternate Center Recommendations; see Form 1-06, Center File Review Forms) so that Admissions Services can contact the applicant and assist in identifying an alternate center. (2) If the RHS and the Regional Office do not concur with the initial center’s recommendation of denial, the center will either be directed to enroll the applicant or redo the Health Care Needs Assessment to reflect a recommendation of denial without a referral to an alternate location, as appropriate.
b. Alternate Center Review
The alternate center FRT must complete a full application review (i.e., clinical interview and RA/RM/AAS interactive process if an applicant with a disability) within 15 calendar days (10 calendar days for expedited) of receipt of the applicant file. Possible outcomes of the alternate center FRT review process are:
1. If the alternate center’s recommendation is to accept the applicant, the center notifies Admissions Services and the Regional Office and schedules the individual for arrival.
2. If the center determines that the applicant’s health care needs continue to exceed those of basic care, then the center must complete a new Health Care Needs Assessment, upload the new Health Care Needs Assessment and any other medical documentation to the respective Health and Disability E-Folder within Wellness and Accommodation E-Folder and notify the Regional Office via CIS (i.e., Flag for Regional Review) of the recommendation of denial.
The applicant file will be processed through the standard regional review process to include both an administrative and a health review by the same Regional Health Specialist (RHS) who completed the original recommendation of denial. If the RHS recommends overturning the alternate center’s recommendation of denial and the Regional Director or their designee concurs, then the alternate center is notified that the applicant must be scheduled for enrollment. If the RHS concurs with the center’s recommendation and the Regional Director or designee concurs, then the applicant is notified of the disposition of their application, the file is electronically returned to Admissions Services, and the center is notified of the Region’s decision.
See Form 2-05, Health Care Needs Assessment, for specific guidance on conducting a health care needs assessment.
c. Direct Threat Assessment
The process for conductin a direct threat assessment (including for expedited enrollment) is outlined in Form 2-04, Individualized Assessment of Possible Direct Threat.
R7. Eligibility Review Due to New Information
a. Revisiting Eligibility
Admissions Services determines an applicant's initial eligibility (i.e., meets the eligibility requirements) to enroll in the Job Corps program. The files of eligible applicants are uploaded into the respective Health and/or Disability E-Folders within Wellness
and Accommodation E-Folder for the center in which the applicants have been conditionally assigned so that the center may complete the required file review process. The center FRT or its individual members only may revisit the determination that an applicant is
qualified for admission (i.e., an applicant's eligibility status) if:
1. There is new information presented that Admissions Services staff could not have reasonabably known at the time the applicant's qualification for admission was established; and
Group Participation and Maintenance of Sound Discipline, as previously certified by Admissions Services staff.
b. New Information
If the new information described above indicates that an applicant may no longer be eligible to enroll in Job Corps, the center FRT must complete the following steps:
1. Identify the specific eligibility requirements that the applicant no longer is believed to meet as per the criteria listed in Exhibit 1-1, Job Corps Eligibility Requirements.
2. Re-apply the listed criteria for each of the specific eligibility requirements in question. Ask the applicant any questions outlined within the guidance information in Exhibit 1-1, Job Corps Eligibility Requirements, for the specific eligibility requirement.
The questions must be stated in the same way they are written in Exhibit 1-1, Job Corps Eligibility Requirements and as they were originally asked by Admissions Services.
3. If the applicant provides a negative (e.g., “no”) response to the specific questions previously asked by Admissions Services staff from Exhibit 1-1, Job Corps Eligibility Requirements, then the applicant is no longer eligible, and the application
process is stopped. If the applicant responds with a "yes" response, then the application process continues.
4. If the applicant is determined to no longer be eligible, then the center must complete the Center Recommendation of Denial Form – Eligibility Review/New Information in Chapter 1, Form 1-06, and upload it to the Wellness and Accommodation E-Folder
container along with any health and disability-related documentation and notify the Regional Office via CIS (i.e., Flag for Regional Review) of the recommendation of denial.
R8. Eligibility Due to Disability Status - Age (Eligibility Requirement or Criterion 2) and Income (Eligibility Requirement or Criterion 3)
Admissions Services staff must notify the center File Review Coordinator (e.g., Health and Wellness Director) that a specific applicant requires a disability determination review to assess eligibility under the age or income criteria.
a. Determining Disability
Once the center is alerted that a disability status determination is needed, the center reviews the documentation of disability or verifies that the applicant is a person with a disability if the disability is obvious.
1. If the documentation supports that the applicant is a person with a disability or the disability is obvious, the center applicant file review process continues.
2. If the center determines that the applicant or the expedited student within the first 90 days of enrollment (Refer to Exhibit 1-3) is not a person with a disability based on Exhibit 1-1, Criterion 2 (waiver of the upper age limit due to disability), then the center completes and uploads Attachment B, Center Recommendation of Denial Form for Age or Low Income Due to Disability Status in Form 1-06, Center File Review Forms
, along with the applicant's file documentation to the Wellness and Accommodation E-Folders and notifies the Regional Office via CIS (i.e., Flag for Regional Review) of the recommendation of denial.
R9. Determination of Ineligibility or Failure to Meet Other Eligibility Requirements after Enrollment
If, after an individual is enrolled in Job Corps, new information is received that is credible and reliable and that indicates that the individual does not meet the eligibility criteria for the program as outlined in Exhibit 1-1, Job Corps Eligibility Requirements, appropriate members of the File Review Team will review the new information and determine, based solely on that information, whether the individual remains eligible for the program. If the team determines that the individual has become ineligible and recommends that the
individual be removed, the file, Center Recommendation of Denial Form – Eligibility Review/New Information in Form 1-06, Center File Review Forms, and supporting documentation must be uploaded to the Wellness and Accommodation E-Folder in CIS and the Regional Office notified via CIS (i.e., Flag for Regional Review). The individual should remain on center until the Regional Office notifies the center of the need to separate the student unless they pose a risk to others or would interfere with the delivery of services to
other students.
R10. Expedited Enrollment
a. Applicants meeting the criteria set forth in PRH Exhibit 1-3 are eligible for expedited enrollment and must be processed within the identified timelines in Chapter 1, Section 1.5, R2(f); expedited applicants should be prioritized for review and once cleared for enrollment, scheduled for arrival with the next scheduled student input.
b. Expedited applicants who initially self-attest to eligibility within Exhibit 1-3 and/or Appendix 102, Guide for Evaluating Group Participation and the Maintenance of Sound Discipline (Exhibit 1-1, Criterion 8) may be found ineligible by Admissions Services staff either during the center applicant file review process or within the first 90 days of enrollment if information is received that the individual was ineligible at the time of enrollment. See also PRH Chapter 1, 1.4, R1(c)(1).
c. If health records received during the first 90 days of enrollment indicate that the expedited individual’s health care needs may exceed those of basic health care or that the individual poses a direct threat to others, the center must follow the medical separation procedures as outlined in Chapter 6, Section 6.2, R5.
R11. Appeals Process within Center Applicant File Review
Applicants, including expedited enrollment applicants, may submit an appeal of a denial of enrollment decision in writing to the Regional Office. The appeal request must include updated and/or new medical or health documentation to be considered.
a. Center Review of Applicant Appeal
Upon receipt of the applicant's appeal of their enrollment decision and corresponding documentation, a second review of the applicant's application will commence as follows:
1. The center must review the updated or new medical or health information provided by the applicant and then conduct a new clinical interview and contact the treating provider if they provided the updated or new supporting documentation, if possible.
2. For applicants with disabilities, the center must review and consider RA/RM/AAS.
b. Appeal Outcomes
1. If the center decides to accept the applicant, the center must notify the Regional Office via email of the decision to enroll so that the Regional Office may issue a formal notice of the outcome of the appeal. The center should expedite the applicant's
arrival, concluding the appeal process.
2. If the center continues to find that the applicant’s health care needs exceed those of basic care or that the applicant with a disability continues to pose a direct threat, even with RA/RM/AAS, then the center will upload the new assessment and all
supporting documentation to the Wellness and Accommodation E-Folder (e.g., respective Health and Disability E-Folders) and notify the Regional Office and the Regional File Review Coordinator via CIS (i.e., Flag for Regional Review) that an appeal review
is needed.
R12. Reapplication Requirements
After Regional Office Denial of Application
Applicants who have been denied admission by a Regional Office due to health care needs exceeding those of basic health care (see Exhibit 2-4) or because the individual poses a direct threat may reapply if they provide new or updated health- and/or behavior-related documentation.
After Medical Separation
Applicants that were medically separated may apply for readmission if they provide new or updated health- and/or behavior-related documentation.
All new or updated health- and/or behavior-related information must be uploaded to Wellness and Accommodation E-Folder (i.e., respective Health and/or Disability E-Folders) and reviewed as part of the center's applicant file review process. If new or updated information
has not been provided, center Wellness staff must inform the applicant of the need for the new or updated documentation and afford them an opportunity to provide it. If the individual is not able to provide the documentation in 14 calendar days, the center may return the
file to Admissions Services as an incomplete application. If the center is going to exceed the 30-day timeframe for reviewing an applicant file and making a decision on enrollment, the center must request an extension of time from the respective Regional Office.
R13. Accessibility
Under 29 CFR 38.13, no qualified individual with a disability may be excluded from participation in or be denied the benefits of Job Corps because facilities are inaccessible or unusable by individuals with disabilities (i.e., decisions on enrollment must not be based upon accessibility needs). If the center File Review Team or Disability Accommodation Committee identify potential accessibility concerns during the completion of the applicant file review process for a person with a disability, the team must contact the Regional Disability
Coordinator for assistance.
R14. Disability Accommodation Process when Enrolling
If an applicant who has been approved for enrollment has either requested RA/RM/AAS or disclosed disability status via documentation of the disability, then the center must engage the applicant in an interactive disability accommodation process to determine
RA/RM/AAS needs prior to assigning the applicant a start date.
