20 C.F.R. Subpart D—Local Service Delivery System
Title 20 - Employees' Benefits
This subpart sets forth requirements for the selection of service delivery areas, the establishment and responsibilities of the private industry council, and the selection of the SDA grant recipient and administrative entity. This subpart also contains the requirements for the local job training plan as well as the procedures for its review and approval by the State. (a)(1) The Governor, after receiving recommendations from the SJTCC, shall designate SDA's within the State in accordance with the provisions of section 101 of the Act. (2) SDA's may not be designated by the Governor more frequently than once every two years, and such designations shall be made to coincide with the two-year plan cycle for the GCSSP and local job training plans (i.e., the designation cannot be made for an off-year in this cycle). (3) Each request for designation as an SDA shall be submitted in a form and by a date established by the Governor. The procedures established by the Governor shall provide for the treatment of existing SDA's for the purposes of submitting SDA designation requests. (b)(1) The Governor shall approve SDA designation requests from entities with a population of 200,000 or more that satisfy the criteria specified in section 101(a)(4)(A) of the Act. (2) When there are competing applications under paragraph (b)(1) of this section for the same geographic area, the Governor shall designate the entity with the population closest to 200,000, if the remaining reduced area also continues to satisfy the criteria specified in section 101(a)(4)(A) of the Act. The Governor shall offer to designate the remaining reduced area as an SDA as well. (3) When there are competing applications under paragraph (b)(1) of this section for the same geographic area and the designation of the entity with the population closest to 200,000 would have the effect of reducing the population of the competing entity to below a population of 200,000, the Governor has the discretion to determine which request to honor. (d) The Governor may, in accordance with section 101(a)(4)(B) of the Act, approve a request to be a SDA from any unit, or contiguous units, of general local government, without regard to population, which serves a substantial portion of a labor market area. In making such designations, the Governor shall evaluate the degree to which a proposed service delivery area meets criteria established by the Governor which, at a minimum, shall include: (1) The capability to effectively deliver job training services; (2) The capacity to administer the job training program in accordance with the Act, applicable rules and regulations and State standards; and (3) The portion of a labor market to be served. (e) For the purposes of SDA designations under section 101(a)(4)(A) and (B) of the Act, the term “substantial part” and “substantial portion” of a labor market area shall be defined by the Governor, but shall not be less than 10% of the population of a labor market area. (f) All areas within the State shall be covered by designated SDA's. After honoring all requests for designation from eligible entities under section 101(a)(4)(A) of the Act, and making any qualified discretionary designations under section 101(a)(4)(B) of the Act, the Governor shall include uncovered areas in the State within other designated SDA's willing to accept them or within a State administered SDA. (g) Appeals. (1) Only an entity which meets the requirements of section 101(a)(4)(A) of the Act for designation as a service delivery area, but which has had its request to be an SDA denied, may appeal the Governor's denial of service delivery area designation to the Secretary of Labor. (2) Appeals made pursuant to paragraph (g)(1) of this section shall be submitted by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the Secretary, U.S. Department of Labor, Washington, DC 20210, Attention: ASET. A copy of the appeal shall simultaneously be provided to the Governor. (3) The Secretary shall not accept an appeal dated later than 30 days after receipt of written notification of the denial from the Governor. (4) The appealing party shall explain why it believes the denial is contrary to the provisions of section 101 of the Act. (5) The Secretary shall accept the appeal and make a decision only with regard to whether or not the denial is inconsistent with section 101 of the Act. The Secretary may consider any comments submitted by the Governor. The Secretary shall make a final decision within 30 days after receipt of the appeal (section 101(a)(4)(C)). (6) The Secretary shall notify the Governor and the appellant in writing of the Secretary's decision. (a) Certification of the PIC. (1) The chief elected official(s) of the SDA shall establish and the Governor shall certify the private industry council (PIC) pursuant to section 102 of the Act. (2) The Governor shall review the certification of the PIC biennially, one year prior to the effective date of the 2-year SDA job training plan to the Governor. The Governor's review shall include: (i) The PIC composition, which shall be consistent with section 102(a), (b), (c), and (d) of the Act and shall include the names of individuals nominated and their qualifications; (ii) The nomination process; (iii) The written agreement(s) among the appropriate chief elected official(s) and the PIC, including procedures for the development of the SDA job training plan and the selection of the grant recipient and administrative entity. (3) The chief elected official shall select labor representatives for the PIC from individuals recommended by recognized State and local labor federations. For purposes of this section, a labor federation is an alliance of two or more organized labor unions for the purpose of mutual support and action. An example of a recognized labor federation is the AFL-CIO. (b) Responsibilities of the PIC. Pursuant to section 103 of the Act, the PIC shall: (1) Provide policy and program guidance for all activities under the job training plan for the SDA; (2) In accordance with agreements negotiated with the appropriate chief elected official(s), determine the procedures for development of the job training plan and select the grant recipient and administrative entity for the SDA; (3) Independent oversight. As specified in subpart D of part 627 of this chapter, the PIC shall exercise independent oversight over programs and activities under the job training plan, which oversight shall not be circumscribed by agreements with the appropriate chief elected official(s) of the SDA; (4) Be a party to the designation of substate grantees under title III, as set forth in §631.35 of this chapter; (5) Establish guidelines for the level of skills to be provided in occupational skills training programs funded by the administrative entity; (6) Consult with the Governor on agreements to provide services for older individuals under section 204(d) of the Act; (7) Establish youth and adult competency levels consistent with performance standards established by the Secretary, based on such factors as entry level skills and other hiring requirements, in consultation with educational agencies and, where appropriate, with representatives of business, organized labor and community-based organizations pursuant to section 106(b)(5) and 107(d); and (8) Identify occupations for which there is a demand in the area served. (c) Substate plan. The PIC shall be provided the opportunity to review and comment on a substate grantee plan under title III of the Act prior to the submission of such plan to the Governor (section 313(a)). (d) [Reserved] (e) The State Employment Service agency shall develop jointly with each appropriate PIC and chief elected official(s) for the SDA those components of the plans required under the Wagner-Peyser Act which are applicable to the SDA. (See part 652 of this chapter). (f) Single SDA States. (1) In any case in which the service delivery area is a State, the SJTCC or a portion of the SJTCC may be reconstituted as a PIC if the PIC meets the requirements of section 102(a) of the Act. (2) When the service delivery area is a State and the functions of the SJTCC are embodied in the HRIC, the HRIC or a portion of the HRIC may be reconstituted as a PIC if the requirements for private sector business representation at section 102(a)(1) of the Act are met (section 102(h)). (a) Selection of SDA grant recipient. (1) The SDA grant recipient and the entity to administer the SDA's job training plan for title II, developed pursuant to section 104 of the Act, shall be selected by agreement of the PIC and chief elected official(s) of the SDA. These may be the same or different entities. (2) The specific functions and responsibilities of the entities described in paragraph (a)(1) of this section shall be spelled out in the agreement between the PIC and the chief elected official(s), and shall specifically address the provisions of section 141(i) of the Act (section 103(b)(1)). (b) Subrecipient requirements. (1) The Governor may establish requirements pertaining to subrecipient, including SDA grant recipient, responsibility for JTPA funds. (2) The requirements of paragraph (b)(1) of this section shall not preclude the selection of any entity identified in section 103(b) of the Act as SDA grant recipient. (a) The Governor shall issue instructions and schedules to assure that job training plans and plan modifications for SDA's within the State conform to all requirements of the Act. (b) The Governor's instructions for development of the SDA's job training plan shall require that the plan contain the following information: (1) A complete and detailed discussion of the elements found in section 104(b) of the Act, including goals for the training and training related placement of women in nontraditional employment and apprenticeships; (2) A discussion of the SDA's compliance with the Secretary's program goals, as outlined in the planning guidance provided to the Governor; and (3) An oversight plan for the SDA which includes: (i) A description of the oversight activities of the PIC and the chief elected official(s), and (ii) the SDA administrative entity's monitoring plan which includes the Governor's monitoring requirements for service providers. (c) The Governor may also require that the SDA job training plan contain a capacity building and technical assistance strategy that includes plans for designating capacity building as a staff function, assessing local capacity building needs, and developing and participating in computerized communication mechanisms. (d) The SDA job training plan shall be jointly approved and jointly submitted to the Governor by the PIC and the chief elected official(s) (section 103(d)). (e) Modifications. (1) Any major modification to the SDA job training plan shall be jointly approved and jointly submitted by the PIC and chief elected official(s) of the SDA to the Governor for approval. (2) For the purposes of this section, the circumstances which constitute a “major” modification shall be specified by the Governor. (a) Standards and procedures. The Governor shall establish standards and procedures for the review and approval or disapproval of the SDA job training plan and plan modifications that shall be provided to the SDA's at the same time as the instructions and schedules for preparation of the plans are provided. (b) Plan approval. Except when the Governor makes a finding under the provisions of section 105(b)(1) of the Act, the Governor shall approve the SDA job training plan or plan modification. The notice of approval shall be provided in writing to the chief elected official(s) and to the private industry council. (a) If the Governor disapproves the SDA job training plan or plan modification for any reason, the Governor shall notify the PIC and chief elected official(s) for the SDA in writing as provided in section 105(b)(2) of the Act. (b) If the Governor disapproves the SDA job training plan or plan modification, the Governor shall provide the PIC and the chief elected official(s) for the SDA 30 days to correct the deficiencies and resubmit the plan or plan modification. Within 15 days after the plan or plan modification is resubmitted, the Governor shall make a final decision and shall notify the PIC and the appropriate chief elected official(s) of the SDA in writing of the final disapproval or approval. (c) Governor mediation. If the PIC and the appropriate chief elected official(s) of an SDA are unable to reach an agreement under the provisions of section 103 (b)(1) or (d) of the Act, any such party may request the Governor to mediate. (d) Failure to reach agreement. If the PIC and the chief elected official(s) fail to reach the required agreements in section 103 (b)(1) or (d) of the Act, funds may not be made available to an SDA under section 104 of the Act and the Governor shall merge the affected area into one or more other existing service delivery areas (section 105(c)(1)). (e) Appeals. (1) In accordance with section 105(b)(2) of the Act, any final disapproval by the Governor of the SDA job training plan or modification may be appealed by the PIC and chief elected official(s) of the SDA to the Secretary. (2) The Secretary shall not accept an appeal dated later than 30 days after receipt by the PIC and chief elected official(s) of the final disapproval of the SDA job training plan or modification from the Governor. (3) The Secretary shall accept an appeal under paragraph (e)(1) of this section and shall determine only whether the disapproval is clearly erroneous under section 105(b)(1) of the Act. The Secretary may consider any comments submitted by the Governor. In accordance with section 105(b)(2) of the Act, the Secretary shall make a final decision within 45 days after the appeal is received by the Secretary. (4) The Secretary shall notify the Governor and the appellant in writing of the Secretary's decision. (f) Appeals of plan revocations. Pursuant to section 164(b)(1) of the Act, a notice of intent to revoke approval of all or part of a plan may be appealed to the Secretary. Such appeals shall be treated as a disapproval under paragraphs (c) and (e) of this section, except that the revocation shall not become effective until the later of: (1) The time for appeal under paragraph (e) of this section has expired; or (2) The date on which the Secretary issues a decision affirming the revocation. (g) In the event that a plan is disapproved and the Governor's decision is upheld upon appeal, the Governor shall merge the affected area into other designated SDA's willing to accept it or include it in another SDA within the State. (a) Pursuant to section 105(d) of the Act, when the SDA is the State, the Governor shall submit to the Secretary, not less that 60 days before the beginning of the first of the two program years covered by the job training plan and in accordance with instructions issued by the Secretary, an SDA job training plan covering two program years. When the SDA is the State, modifications to the plan shall be submitted to the Secretary for approval. (b) When a State submits an SDA job training plan or plan modification pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section, the Secretary shall review the plan or plan modification for overall compliance with the provisions of the Act. The State's plan shall be considered approved unless, within 45 days of receipt of the submission described in paragraph (a) of this section, the Secretary notifies the Governor in writing of inconsistencies between the submission and requirements of specific provisions of the Act. If the plan or plan modification is disapproved, the Governor may appeal the decision by requesting a hearing before an administrative law judge pursuant to subpart H of part 627 of this chapter.
Title 20: Employees' Benefits
PART 628—PROGRAMS UNDER TITLE II OF THE JOB TRAINING PARTNERSHIP ACT
Subpart D—Local Service Delivery System
§ 628.400 Scope and purpose.
§ 628.405 Service delivery areas.
§ 628.410 Private Industry Council.
§ 628.415 Selection of SDA grant recipient and administrative entity.
§ 628.420 Job training plan.
§ 628.425 Review and approval.
§ 628.426 Disapproval or revocation of the plan.
§ 628.430 State SDA Submission.
