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 5.3 Safety and Security

 Requirements

R1. Center Safety and Security Standard Operating Procedures

a. Center operators must establish and comply with agreements with law enforcement, in accordance with the requirements of Sections R3 and R4 below. Center operators must submit these law enforcement agreements to the National Office of Job Corps (NOJC) and the Regional Offices (ROs) as required by Exhibit 5-2.  

b. Center operators must establish and comply with their Center Safety and Security Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). This SOP will supplement a local law enforcement agreement, or when necessary, govern how the center operator will respond to center security issues that are not addressed in a local law enforcement agreement.  Center operators must submit these SOPs to the NOJC and the ROs as required by Exhibit 5-2​.

c. A Center Safety and Security SOP must address the following requirements:

1. How it will regulate the entry, exit, and conduct of any person who seeks access to the campus, including students, staff, family, and visitors.  The SOPs must include language indicating that a map of the campus will be displayed in a prominent location and will also be made readily available to law enforcement and medical personnel in emergency situations.

2. How the center will handle, secure, and timely dispose of any illegal drugs and all weapons (as defined in Section R5 below) confiscated or otherwise found on center or in a center-sponsored activity that the local law enforcement agency will not retrieve.  Disposal must be done in accordance with state and local law.  Disposal of illegal drugs must be consistent with the center SOP on Medication Management. 

3. How the center operator will address the confiscation and return of weapons and items that are barred from Job Corps centers under R5 below, but that students may legally possess off-center, such as licensed or registered firearms.  This procedure must align with R6 (d) below. 

(a) Such weapons and items must always be confiscated and must not be returned to the student while the student is still on center.  

(b) The Center Safety and Security SOP also must include what steps the center operator, in conjunction with local law enforcement where possible, will take to verify if the student complied with any registration and licensing requirements to possess the confiscated weapons or items.

(c) Even if the student can legally possess a weapon or other prohibited item off center, the center still must sanction any student determined to have brought a weapon or other unauthorized good on center, according to Exhibit 2-1​​.  

4. How the center operator will handle, secure, and, if necessary, timely dispose of other unauthorized goods prohibited from being on center in Section R5 below.

5. How the center will record and track all illegal drugs and all weapons confiscated or otherwise found on center.  The SOP must include the date the illegal drugs or weapons were found, the date(s) they were secured and where they were secured, and the date on which they were disposed or returned and how they were disposed or returned.  If illegal drugs or weapons are found or confiscated from a student or staff member, this record must include the student’s or staff member’s name and identification number, how the illegal drugs or weapons were located, and what disciplinary actions the student or staff member faced following the discovery.

6. The circumstances and process under which law enforcement will be contacted, consistent with Section R2 and any law enforcement agreement.

7. How the center operator will return stolen property to its rightful owner. 

R2.  Requirement to Contact Local Authorities

a. Center operators must report criminal incidents according to the terms of the law enforcement agreements described in R3 and R4.

b. Regardless of the terms of the law enforcement agreements described in R3 and R4, center operators must contact local law enforcement if a serious crime or emergency occurs on center or in a center-sponsored activity.  A serious crime includes, but is not limited to: 

1. A homicide

2. A theft of a vehicle or other significant government-owned property

3. An assault or battery 

4. A riot or similarly violent incident involving five or more students or persons

5. A sexual assault or rape as defined under state law. Center operators also must comply with the requirements of Chapter 5, Section 5.1, R39 in dealing with sexual assaults and rapes.

6. Unauthorized distribution of a controlled substance 

c. Center operators may not prohibit any center personnel or student from calling 911 or any law enforcement agency, and may not limit the personnel or students who may call 911 or law enforcement. 

R3.  Agreements with Local Law Enforcement Agencies

a. Pursuant to Job Corps’ regulations at 20 C.F.R. § 686.925(b), center operators must develop and maintain written cooperative agreements with its nearest local law enforcement agency.  An up-to-date, unexpired agreement must be submitted to the NOJC and ROs on July 1 of each program year. The submitted agreement must reflect that the agreement will be in effect for that upcoming program year.  

These agreements must contain, at a minimum:

1. The names of each center and of the local law enforcement agency

2. The roles and responsibilities of the center operator and the local law enforcement agency, including at a minimum:

(a) The circumstances and process under which the center’s operator will contact the local law enforcement agency consistent with the requirements of Sections R1 and R2 above.

(b) How the center operator will handle, secure, and timely dispose of illegal drugs and all weapons confiscated or otherwise found on center or in a center-sponsored activity, as well as the handling, securing, and, if necessary, disposal of any other unauthorized good prohibited from being on center in Section R5 below.

This portion of the agreement also should address how the center operator will work with local law enforcement to ensure that students have met the licensing and registration of items, such as firearms, that are barred from Job Corps centers under R5 below, but that students may otherwise legally possess. 

(c) A statement that the local law enforcement agency will be contacted for ​​searches as required at Section R9 below.

3. The expiration date for the agreement; 

4. The process for renewing, altering, or terminating the agreement;

5. The signatures of the operator’s center director and an authorized signatory from the local law enforcement agency;

6. The date the operator and the local law enforcement agency signed the agreement

b. If the center operator is unable to reach an agreement with the local law enforcement agency, or the local law enforcement agency will not agree to address all of the topics described in subsection R3 (a) in its agreement, no later than the last day of each program year, the center must provide to the NOJC and ROs:

1. Written evidence of the operator’s good faith effort to reach an agreement with the local law enforcement agency on all of these terms.  For the purposes of this requirement, a good faith effort is one in which the center operator makes a diligent and honest effort to obtain a local law enforcement agreement annually; and

2. What, if any, agreement the center operator was able to reach with the local law enforcement agency.

3. The portions of the SOP established as a supplement to or in place of a law enforcement agreement in accordance with R1.  

R4.  Agreements with Federal and State Law Enforcement Agencies

a. Pursuant to Job Corps’ regulations at 20 C.F.R. § 686.925(b), center operators must establish agreements with federal and state law enforcement agencies for criminal enforcement purposes by reaching out to the local offices of state law enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (for contract centers) or Forest Service Law Enforcement for Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers (CCCs).  An up-to-date, unexpired agreement must be submitted to the NOJC and ROs on July 1 of each program year.  The submitted agreement must reflect that the agreement will be in effect for that program year.  Such agreements must contain the same terms described in Section R3 (a)(1)-(6) above; 

b. If the center operator is unable to reach an agreement with the local office of the federal or state law enforcement agency, or the local office of the federal or state law enforcement agency will not agree to address all of the topics described in subsection R3 (a)(1)–(6) in its agreement, no later than the last day of each program year, the center must provide to the NOJC and ROs:

1. Written evidence of the operator’s good faith effort to reach an agreement with the local office of the federal or state law enforcement agency on all of these terms.  For the purposes of this requirement, a good faith effort is one in which the center operator makes a diligent and honest effort to obtain a local law enforcement agreement annually; and

2. What, if any, agreement the center operator was able to reach with the local office of the federal or state law enforcement agency.

R5.  Unauthorized Goods

Center operators must ensure that the following unauthorized goods are not permitted on center: 

a. Firearms and ammunition

b. Explosives and incendiaries

c. Knives 

d. Homemade weapons

e. All other weapons and instruments for which the primary use is to inflict injury

f. Drugs, defined as any substance listed on any schedule of the Controlled Substances Act, including seeds and residue, except when the drug is possessed and used in accordance with a valid prescription; and drug paraphernalia  

Note: Under the Controlled Substances Act, no valid prescription can be provided for Schedule I drugs, including marijuana.

g. Stolen property

h. Alcohol

i. Tobacco for minors

j. Any other items that are illegal under state law or that could pose a danger to safety and security

R6.  Disposal of Unauthorized Goods

Center operators must dispose of unauthorized goods as follows:

a. Stolen property must be returned to its rightful owner.

b. Illegal drugs (as defined in R5.f, above) must be secured and disposed of according to agreements described in R3 and R4.  Disposal of any substance not covered by an agreement described in R3 and R4 must be disposed of in accordance with state and local law, consistent with center SOPs on Medication Management and Center Safety and Security.

c. Confiscated weapons (including firearms) must be secured and reported to law enforcement and disposed of according to agreements described in R3 and R4 and in accordance with the center operator’s Center Safety and Security SOPs.  The center must track and record all weapons and illegal drugs, including: the individual’s name and his or her staff or student identification number, the date the illegal drugs or weapons were found, how they were located, disciplinary actions faced following the discovery, disposition of the illegal drugs or weapons and the date of disposition.

d. When a student brings a weapon or potentially dangerous item that the student may legally own but is not permitted to possess on center, the item must be returned to the student according the student’s choice of either: 

1. Returning the item after the student is sent home in accordance with the student disciplinary process, by arranging a date on which the student may safely pick up the item; or 

2. Mailing or shipping the item to an address where the student may later safely pick it up. 

If a student does not want the item returned or does not provide an address for return, the item shall be considered abandoned property and the center operator must dispose of it according to the requirements of its local law enforcement agreement and Center Safety and Security SOP.  Center operators must comply with all PRH recording and reporting requirements for these items before making arrangements for their return.  

R7.  Prohibition of Firearms

Center operators must not allow anyone to bring a firearm onto a Job Corps Center except for:

a. Licensed security personnel contracted by the center operator to provide security during distribution of student payroll; and

b. Law enforcement personnel when:

1. Providing security services to a Job Corps Center pursuant to a written agreement between the center operator and the relevant law enforcement agency outlining the terms and condition of the arrangement, which addresses licensure, firearms certification, type of firearm, and additional weapons requirements and verification requirements, including the law enforcement personnel’s duties at the center; or

2. Employed by a center operator as center security personnel and acting within the scope of their duty, provided that such employment, including the use of their official firearm or other licensed firearm, is permitted by the relevant law enforcement agency.

NOTE: Nothing in this policy prohibits law enforcement personnel from conducting official law enforcement activities, including the use of firearms in accordance with the established policy of that agency, in the line of duty, including when law enforcement personnel are in the line of duty and armed on a Job Corps center campus.

R8.  Active Shooter Response

An active shooter is defined as an individual actively engaged in killing/injuring or attempting to kill/injure people in a confined and populated area; in most cases, active shooters use firearm(s), and there is no pattern or method to their selection of victims.

Upon discovery of an Active Shooter event, as soon as it is safe to do so, law enforcement (911) must be called, and communicate, “There is an Active Shooter event in progress.”

The 911 call (from a safely concealed area) should provide the following information:

a. Description and possible location of suspect(s) if known

b. Number and types of weapons

c. Suspect’s direction of travel

d. Location and condition of any victim(s)

Safety and Security Officers and/or the person in charge must be prepared to meet and guide law enforcement officers if possible.  The goal of law enforcement is to locate, isolate, and neutralize the shooter as quickly as possible to prevent any deaths or injuries.

In response to an Active Shooter event, the guidelines listed below should be followed.

1.Evacuate.  If there is an accessible escape path, attempt to leave the premises

(a) Have an escape route and plan in mind

(b) Evacuate regardless of whether others agree to follow

(c) Leave belongings behind

(d) Help others escape, if possible

(e) Prevent individuals from entering an area where the active shooter may be

(f) Do not attempt to move wounded people

(g) Call 911 when you are safe 

(h) Follow the instructions of any law enforcement officials/authorities 

(i) Keep your hands visible in the presence of law enforcement officials/authorities

2. Hide Out.  If evacuation is not an option, find a place to hide where the active shooter is less likely to go.  Direct others into resident rooms or adjacent rooms, close the door and attempt to barricade the door.  The hiding place should:

(a) Be out of the active shooter’s view

(b) Provide protection if shots are fired 

(c) Not entrap or restrict options for movement 

If the active shooter is nearby:

Lock the door

Silence your cell phone and/or other electronic devices

Turn off any source of noise (i.e., radios, televisions)

Hide behind large items (i.e., cabinets, desks)

Blockade the door with heavy furniture

Stay as low to the floor as possible and remain quiet 

If evacuation and hiding out are not options:

Remain calm

Call 911, if possible, to alert police to the active shooter’s location

If you cannot speak, leave the line open and allow the dispatcher to listen

3.Take Action.  If your life is in imminent danger, as a last resort, attempt to disrupt and/or incapacitate the active shooter by:

(a) Acting as aggressively as possible against the active shooter

(b) Throwing items and improvising weapons

(c) Yelling

(d) Committing to your actions

Announce an “All Clear” when the scene is declared safe by law enforcement officials/authorities.

R9.  Search and Seizure

Center operators shall conduct searches and seizures only in the following circumstances:

a. General inspections of dorm rooms, lockers, and other center facilities may be conducted periodically.

b. Searches for unauthorized goods may be conducted only when the Center Director believes such goods are being hidden on center.  The reasons for the search must be documented.

c. The scope of search may be no wider than what is necessary to accomplish the specific purpose of the search.  Unauthorized goods found as a result of a search must be confiscated.

d. A search of a person of an entire group of Job Corps students is prohibited when the information in the possession of Job Corps officials indicates that only some members, or less than all members, of the group are in possession of contraband that is prohibited on center property.

e. Job Corps shall not conduct strip searches of students. If the Center Director believes a strip search of a student is necessary, local law enforcement authorities must be contacted and requested to perform the search.

f. Searches for evidence of crime may be conducted for evidence in criminal prosecution. These must always be done by a law enforcement officer with a search warrant, except when delay would endanger the physical well-being of students.

R10. Student Notification

Center operators must notify all students of the center’s policies and procedures regarding unauthorized goods, and search and seizures.

R11. Use of Physical Restraint and Isolation

Center operators must:

a. Limit use of physical restraint to only those situations that seriously threaten persons or property.  Ensure that no student is restrained for more than one hour without at least verbal consultation and approval from a physician.  Staff cannot use handcuffs, mace, pepper spray (or any derivatives) on students.  Staff must be aware of and abide by any state laws regarding restraint and isolation.

b. Use on-center isolation facilities for temporary segregation of students from their peers only when behavior constitutes an immediate threat to themselves, other persons, or property.

A student placed in an isolation facility must be observed every 15 minutes and this observation must be documented on a signed log giving the exact time of observation and the signature of the staff member conducting the observation.  Isolation cannot exceed 12 hours unless accompanied by a statement from the center physician that the isolation is not medically prohibited.

R12. Student Vehicles

Centers must not permit residential students to keep personal vehicles at Job Corps centers.

R13. Safety Hotline Education

Use of the Job Corps' national, toll-free Safety Hotline is the right of all students, staff, and visitors on the Job Corps Center premises.  To support hotline usage among all center stakeholders, centers must ensure: 

a. All staff are adequately trained, understanding how to support and respond to questions by students regarding the Safety Hotline.

b. Response team members are trained to triage tips, perform follow-up actions, and provide updates in the web-based Safety Hotline portal.

c. All students are introduced to the Safety Hotline during the Career Preparation Period through the Safety Hotline orientation video.

d. All students receive a monthly reminder on the purpose and use of the hotline. 

e. Adequately promote the Safety Hotline by:

1. Providing the wallet cards containing Safety Hotline information to each student during CPP.

2. Promoting the use of the Safety Hotline App during CPP.

3. Provide wallet cards containing Safety Hotline information to each staf member upon hire. 

4. Post Safety Hotline information in dormitory community areas and other high traffic areas and gathering spaces at the center. 

 R14. Response Team Composition and Functions

a. Response Team members have a unique username and password (i.e., no shared accounts) within the hotline system provided by Job Corps.   

b. Each center must have a minimum of four (4) staff on the Response Team with system access who Safety Hotline operators can contact, as needed, to respond to tips. The Response Team must include the following key personnel:

1. Center Director

2. Health and Wellness Director or other Registered Nurse

c. Contact information for Response Team members must be reviewed monthly and updated as changes occur.

d. Centers must investigate each Safety Hotline tip and use the hotline system provided by Job Corps to:

1. Acknowledge the tip by placing the incident into "Confirmed Status" within 24 hours.

2. Initiate appropriate action to resolve the tip within 7 days.

3. Place the tip into "Resolved" Status within 7 days. 

4. Respond within 24 hours to Regional or National Office requests for information related to tips or investigations. ​

R15. Protection Against Retaliation

Centers must ensure that students, operator staff, and authorized on-center visitors have access to the safety hotline and can use it without fear of retribution, isolation, or retaliation by peers or operator staff.  Center operators are charged with protecting the integrity of the Safety Hotline and must ensure: 

a. Students, operator staff, and authorized visitors are to be protected from retaliation for using the hotline.  Such stakeholders are to be protected from retaliation for using the hotline regardless of the ultimate outcome or result of the underlying complaint or tip reported to the hotline, so long as the hotline was used in good faith.

b. Retaliation by center staff against students, other staff, or authorized visitors based on actual or suspected use of the hotline is prohibited.  Retaliation includes any conduct intended to dissuade a reasonable person from using the hotline, including but not limited to, confronting the individual outside of the Center's investigation (discussed below), name calling, removing privileges, or imposing punishments.

c. Suspected retaliation must be reported to the hotline.  Center staff that receive a complaint of retaliation must report the retaliation through the hotline.  The operator of the hotline will route complaints and tips to the Office of Job Corps and/or the center operator in question, as determined by contract or agreement between DOL and hotline operator. 

d. If Center staff receive notice either through operator of the hotline or through Job Corps that a complaint of alleged retaliation was received, center operators are required to conduct an investigation.  The investigation must:  

1. Commence within three days and be conducted promptly after the center operator receives notice of the complaint as described above.

2. Be conducted exclusively by Center staff that are not supervised by or otherwise within the responsibility of the subject of the complaint, if the subject of the complaint is a supervisor.  In the event that the subject of the complaint is the Center Director, Deputy Center Director, or Health and Wellness staff, the investigation shall proceed as directed by the Job Corps Regional Office.

3. The results of the investigation must be provided to the Job Corps Regional Office. 

​4. Appropriate disciplinary steps must be taken by the center operator according to the operator's policies if the investigation concludes that retaliation occurred.

​e. Job Corps' Protection Against Retaliation Policy in no way alters or limits rights that students, operator staff, or visitors would otherwise have under federal or state law, Department of Labor regulations, or Department of Labor policies, including the PRH.

  
Exhibit 2-1 Infraction Levels Definitions and Appropriate Center Actions
Exhibit 5-2 Plan and Report Submission Requirements
 20 CFR 686.925