Pin 21-04

U.S. Department of Labor

DIRECTIVES:

Employment and Training Administration
200 Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20210

JOB CORPS PROGRAM INSTRUCTION NOTICE NO. 21-04

TO:

ALL JOB CORPS NATIONAL OFFICE STAFF
ALL JOB CORPS REGIONAL OFFICE STAFF
ALL USDA FOREST SERVICE CENTER DIRECTORS
ALL JOB CORPS CENTER DIRECTORS
ALL JOB CORPS CENTER OPERATORS
ALL JOB CORPS CENTER STAFF
ALL NATIONAL TRAINING AND SUPPORT CONTRACTORS
ALL OUTREACH AND ADMISSIONS CONTRACTORS
ALL CAREER TRANSITION SERVICES CONTRACTORS

FROM:

RACHEL TORRES
Digitally signed by Rachel
National Director
Rachel Torres Torres
Date: 2021.10.15 07:51:47
-04'00'
Office of Job Corps

SUBJECT:

Resumption of Enrollment of New Students for Full-Time
Participation at Centers with Resumed Physical Operations

1. Purpose. Resuming New Enrollments Following COVID-19 Pause
2. Background. Job Corps’ goal is to return to full, in-person center operations as quickly
and safely as possible. While the current pandemic continues to evolve, on-center
learning, especially with the supports that come with it, is the best way for Job Corps’
students, and its future students, to take advantage of the opportunities provided by the
program. Job Corps temporarily paused in-person learning in March 2020 due to the
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. As a result, it also paused
enrollments to focus on transitioning to virtual operations and distance learning. In
September 2020, Job Corps issued PIN 20-08, Job Corps Center Resumption of Physical
Center Operations Checklist for COVID-19, requiring centers to submit plans for
resuming physical center operations in preparation for returning Job Corps students to
their respective centers. Since then, approximately 94 percent of Job Corps centers have
been selected to resume physical operations, and nearly 5,400 students have returned to
on-campus participation. As a result, several centers that resumed on-campus operations
have returned the majority of their enrolled students to campus.
After steadily resuming in-person operations with careful safety protocols since
November 2020, Job Corps is confident that its operators can safely enroll new students
and give more young people the opportunity Job Corps provides. Consequently, this PIN
provides criteria and procedures to restore new on-center enrollments (residential and

non-residential) at centers that have resumed physical operations and returned a number
of students equivalent to 80 percent of their current active students. Centers must carry
out new enrollments in compliance with PIN 21-01, Requirements for Assessing and
Offering COVID-19 Vaccination to Students; PIN 21-02, Change to Entrance
Quarantine, Testing, and COVID-19 Mitigation Requirements for Vaccinated, Partially
Vaccinated, and Unvaccinated Students; and PIN 21-03, Protocol for Returning NonResidential Students to On-Center Learning.
3. Action.
a. Job Corps regional offices will monitor centers that have resumed physical
operations and have returned a number of students equivalent to 80 percent of their
current active students (both residential and non-residential, as applicable) and,
using the factors outlined in Part 3b and the information provided by the centers in
Part 3c, below, consider those centers for approval to resume enrolling new
students for full-time participation. Centers that have not yet reached the 80percent threshold may request to be considered to resume enrollment for full-time
students if they identify (and substantiate) any barriers to returning students,
explain how they have attempted to address them, and provide a justification of
why reopening below this threshold is in the best interest of the center and students
who will learn there. Once approved to resume enrollment, the Contracting
Officer will notify the center operator.
b. Approval of a center’s resumption of enrollment is at the National Director’s
discretion and is dependent on Job Corps’ analysis of the center’s previous
resumption activities and compliance with its approved resumption plan and other
requirements. Factors that will be considered include:
• The results of the center’s efforts to successfully return students to the
center.
• The center’s progress in securing full vaccination of students and
implementing enhanced quarantine, masking, and testing requirements for
unvaccinated students.
• The center’s implementation of a corrective action plan to address
deficiencies identified in any Regional Office Center Assessments (ROCA)
or Regional Office Targeted Assessments (ROTA) conducted of the center
after it resumed physical operations.
• The center’s implementation of mitigating measures to address incidents of
on-campus COVID-19 exposures and protocols for COVID-19
vaccinations.
• The center’s current Community Threat Level (CTL) score, based on risk
factors described by the CDC, including cases and hospitalizations.
c. Within three days of the issuance of this PIN, all centers must provide the below
listed information, in writing, to their respective Contracting Officer’s
Representative (COR) and Contracting Officer (CO).
• The center’s estimated COVID-safe on-board strength (OBS) capacity
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(residential and non-residential, as applicable) in light of continued
implementation of COVID-19 medical and safety protocols, and how the
estimate was determined,
The center’s identification of the specific physical space and/or occupancy
issues informing the OBS estimate, and
The center’s procedures and timelines for onboarding new students
consistent with the OBS estimate and the continued implementation of
COVID-19 medical and safety protocols.

d. Admissions Counselors (AC) and centers must prioritize for enrollment those
applicants who have completed applications already in OASIS, Job Corps’
admissions processing system. Completed applications are those that were found
to be eligible and were recommended for enrollment by the AC. The order of
processing of completed applications for enrollment must be based on the date the
application was completed in OASIS. This seeks to ensure that the applicants
pending the longest are the first to be processed, enrolled, and assigned to and
arrived at Job Corps centers.
e. There may be student applications that have been completed more than 120 days
ago but have not been fully processed, and, therefore, are still pending. The AC
must review these applications again to verify that the applicants still meet Job
Corps’ eligibility requirements as described in the Policy and Requirements
Handbook (PRH), Chapter 1, Exhibit 1-1. If an applicant has a completed
background check that is more than 120 days old, the AC must request a new
background check and ensure that the results do not impact the applicant’s
eligibility for enrollment.
f. Once a center has been approved to resume enrollment for full-time students
participating on-campus, it may designate cohorts consisting of both currently
enrolled students, virtually-enrolled students who have completed the required
Career Preparation Period (CPP) via distance learning and are ready to come oncenter, and newly enrolled students who are coming directly on-center. Currently
enrolled students are to be prioritized for returning to campus. Centers must
continue to follow procedures for onboarding student cohorts, as outlined in PIN
20-08 and the centers’ approved resumption of physical operations plans.
g. Centers must facilitate all CPP activities for new full-time students participating
on-campus as required by the PRH, while ensuring that safety protocols, as
outlined in PIN 20-08 and the centers’ approved resumption plans, are followed.
h. Centers must provide all required student health (PRH Chapter 2.3) and counseling
(PRH Chapter 2.1) services for new full-time students participating on-campus,
while ensuring that safety protocols, as outlined in PIN 20-08 and the centers’
approved resumption plans, are followed.
i. CORs will review center information described above (in paragraph 3c) to ensure
that it meets program requirements and objectives. COs will review this center
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information from the contracting perspective to identify where modifications to the
contract or other contractual orders are required. If modifications or other
contractual orders are required, they will be promptly issued by the CO as the DOL
official authorized to revise contract requirements and no change to the work will
be authorized prior to such modification.
4. Effective Date. Immediately until rescinded or superseded. The Office of the Senior
Procurement Executive will issue a Change Order simultaneously with this Job Corps
PIN.
5. Inquiries. Questions about the implementation of this policy guidance should be
addressed to the appropriate Contracting Officers’ Representative.

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