The Secretary shall enter into an agreement with a Federal, State, or local agency, an area career and technical education school, a residential career and technical education school, or a private organization, for the operation of each Job Corps center.
The Secretary may enter into an agreement with a local entity, or other entity with the necessary capacity, to provide activities described in this part to a Job Corps center.
Except as provided in subsections (a) and (b) of section 3304 of title 41, the Secretary shall select on a competitive basis an entity to operate a Job Corps center and entities to provide activities described in this part to the Job Corps center. In developing a solicitation for an operator or service provider, the Secretary shall consult with the Governor of the State in which the center is located, the workforce council for the Job Corps center (if established), and the applicable local board regarding the contents of such solicitation, including elements that will promote the consistency of the activities carried out through the center with the objectives set forth in the State plan or in a local plan.
In selecting a service provider for a Job Corps center, the Secretary shall consider the factors described in clause (i).
If an entity meets the requirements described in paragraph (2) as applied to a particular Job Corps center, such entity shall be allowed to compete in any competitive selection process carried out for an award to operate such center.
Job Corps centers may be residential or nonresidential in character, and shall be designed and operated so as to provide enrollees, in a well-supervised setting, with access to activities described in this part. In any year, no more than 20 percent of the individuals enrolled in the Job Corps may be nonresidential participants in the Job Corps.
The Job Corps centers may include Civilian Conservation Centers, operated under an agreement between the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Agriculture, that are located primarily in rural areas. Such centers shall provide, in addition to academics, career and technical education and training, and workforce preparation skills training, programs of work experience to conserve, develop, or manage public natural resources or public recreational areas or to develop community projects in the public interest.
Enrollees in Civilian Conservation Centers may provide assistance in addressing national, State, and local disasters, consistent with current child labor laws (including regulations). The Secretary of Agriculture shall ensure that with respect to the provision of such assistance the enrollees are properly trained, equipped, supervised, and dispatched consistent with standards for the conservation and rehabilitation of wildlife established under the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act (16 U.S.C. 661 et seq.).
The Secretary of Agriculture shall designate a Job Corps National Liaison to support the agreement under this section between the Departments of Labor and Agriculture.
The Secretary may enter into agreements with Indian tribes to operate Job Corps centers for Indians.
In this subsection, the terms “Indian” and “Indian tribe” have the meanings given such terms in subsections (d) and (e), respectively, of section 5304 of title 25.
The agreement described in subsection (a)(1)(A) shall be for not more than a 2-year period. The Secretary may exercise any contractual option to renew the agreement in 1-year increments for not more than 3 additional years, consistent with the requirements of subsection (g).
If the Secretary exercises an option under paragraph (2), the Secretary shall provide, to the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, a detailed explanation of the rationale for exercising such option.