32 U.S.C. § 509 : US Code - Section 509: National Guard Youth Challenge Program of opportunities for civilian youth

Search 32 U.S.C. § 509 : US Code - Section 509: National Guard Youth Challenge Program of opportunities for civilian youth

(a) Program Authority and Purpose. - The Secretary of Defense may
use the National Guard to conduct a civilian youth opportunities
program, to be known as the "National Guard Youth Challenge
Program", which shall consist of at least a 22-week residential
program and a 12-month post-residential mentoring period. The
Program shall seek to improve life skills and employment potential
of participants by providing military-based training and supervised
work experience, together with the core program components of
assisting participants to receive a high school diploma or its
equivalent, leadership development, promoting fellowship and
community service, developing life coping skills and job skills,
and improving physical fitness and health and hygiene.
(b) Conduct of the Program. - (1) The Secretary of Defense shall
provide for the conduct of the Program in such States as the
Secretary considers to be appropriate.
(2) The Secretary shall carry out the Program using -
(A) funds appropriated directly to the Secretary of Defense for
the Program, except that the amount of funds appropriated
directly to the Secretary and expended for the Program in fiscal
year 2001 or 2002 may not exceed $62,500,000; and
(B) nondefense funds made available or transferred to the
Secretary of Defense by other Federal agencies to support the
Program.
(3) Federal funds made available or transferred to the Secretary
of Defense under paragraph (2)(B) by other Federal agencies to
support the Program may be expended for the Program in excess of
the fiscal year limitation specified in paragraph (2)(A).
(4) The Secretary of Defense shall remain the executive agent to
carry out the Program regardless of the source of funds for the
Program or any transfer of jurisdiction over the Program within the
executive branch. As provided in subsection (a), the Secretary may
use the National Guard to conduct the Program.
(c) Program Agreements. - (1) To carry out the Program in a
State, the Secretary of Defense shall enter into an agreement with
the Governor of the State or, in the case of the District of
Columbia, with the commanding general of the District of Columbia
National Guard, under which the Governor or the commanding general
will establish, organize, and administer the Program in the State.
(2) The agreement may provide for the Secretary to provide funds
to the State for civilian personnel costs attributable to the use
of civilian employees of the National Guard in the conduct of the
Program.
(d) Matching Funds Required. - The amount of assistance provided
under this section to a State program of the Program may not exceed
-
(1) for fiscal year 1998, 75 percent of the costs of operating
the State program during that year;
(2) for fiscal year 1999, 70 percent of the costs of operating
the State program during that year;
(3) for fiscal year 2000, 65 percent of the costs of operating
the State program during that year; and
(4) for fiscal year 2001 and each subsequent fiscal year, 60
percent of the costs of operating the State program during that
year.
(e) Persons Eligible To Participate in Program. - A school
dropout from secondary school shall be eligible to participate in
the Program. The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe the standards
and procedures for selecting participants from among school
dropouts.
(f) Authorized Benefits for Participants. - (1) To the extent
provided in an agreement entered into in accordance with subsection
(c) and subject to the approval of the Secretary of Defense, a
person selected for training in the Program may receive the
following benefits in connection with that training:
(A) Allowances for travel expenses, personal expenses, and
other expenses.
(B) Quarters.
(C) Subsistence.
(D) Transportation.
(E) Equipment.
(F) Clothing.
(G) Recreational services and supplies.
(H) Other services.
(I) Subject to paragraph (2), a temporary stipend upon the
successful completion of the training, as characterized in
accordance with procedures provided in the agreement.
(2) In the case of a person selected for training in the Program
who afterwards becomes a member of the Civilian Community Corps
under subtitle E of title I of the National and Community Service
Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12611 et seq.), the person may not receive a
temporary stipend under paragraph (1)(I) while the person is a
member of that Corps. The person may receive the temporary stipend
after completing service in the Corps unless the person elects to
receive benefits provided under subsection (f) or (g) of section
158 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 12618).
(g) Program Personnel. - (1) Personnel of the National Guard of a
State in which the Program is conducted may serve on full-time
National Guard duty for the purpose of providing command,
administrative, training, or supporting services for the Program.
For the performance of those services, any such personnel may be
ordered to duty under section 502(f) of this title for not longer
than the period of the Program.
(2) A Governor participating in the Program and the commanding
general of the District of Columbia National Guard (if the District
of Columbia National Guard is participating in the Program) may
procure by contract the temporary full time services of such
civilian personnel as may be necessary to augment National Guard
personnel in carrying out the Program in that State.
(3) Civilian employees of the National Guard performing services
for the Program and contractor personnel performing such services
may be required, when appropriate to achieve the purposes of the
Program, to be members of the National Guard and to wear the
military uniform.
(h) Equipment and Facilities. - (1) Equipment and facilities of
the National Guard, including military property of the United
States issued to the National Guard, may be used in carrying out
the Program.
(2) Activities under the Program shall be considered noncombat
activities of the National Guard for purposes of section 710 of
this title.
(i) Status of Participants. - (1) A person receiving training
under the Program shall be considered an employee of the United
States for the purposes of the following provisions of law:
(A) Subchapter I of chapter 81 of title 5 (relating to
compensation of Federal employees for work injuries).
(B) Section 1346(b) and chapter 171 of title 28 and any other
provision of law relating to the liability of the United States
for tortious conduct of employees of the United States.
(2) In the application of the provisions of law referred to in
paragraph (1)(A) to a person referred to in paragraph (1) -
(A) the person shall not be considered to be in the performance
of duty while the person is not at the assigned location of
training or other activity or duty authorized in accordance with
a Program agreement referred to in subsection (c), except when
the person is traveling to or from that location or is on pass
from that training or other activity or duty;
(B) the person's monthly rate of pay shall be deemed to be the
minimum rate of pay provided for grade GS-2 of the General
Schedule under section 5332 of title 5; and
(C) the entitlement of a person to receive compensation for a
disability shall begin on the day following the date on which the
person's participation in the Program is terminated.
(3) A person referred to in paragraph (1) may not be considered
an employee of the United States for any purpose other than a
purpose set forth in that paragraph.
(j) Supplemental Resources. - To carry out the Program in a
State, the Governor of the State or, in the case of the District of
Columbia, the commanding general of the District of Columbia
National Guard may supplement funds made available under the
Program out of other resources (including gifts) available to the
Governor or the commanding general. The Governor or the commanding
general may accept, use, and dispose of gifts or donations of
money, other property, or services for the Program.
(k) Report. - Within 90 days after the end of each fiscal year,
the Secretary of Defense shall submit to Congress a report on the
design, conduct, and effectiveness of the Program during the
preceding fiscal year. In preparing the report, the Secretary shall
coordinate with the Governor of each State in which the Program is
carried out and, if the Program is carried out in the District of
Columbia, with the commanding general of the District of Columbia
National Guard.
(l) Definitions. - In this section:
(1) The term "State" includes the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico,
the territories, and the District of Columbia.
(2) The term "school dropout" means an individual who is no
longer attending any school and who has not received a secondary
school diploma or a certificate from a program of equivalency for
such a diploma.
(3) The term "Program" means the National Guard Youth Challenge
Program carried out pursuant to this section.
(m) Regulations. - The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe
regulations to carry out the Program. The regulations shall address
at a minimum the following:
(1) The terms to be included in the Program agreements required
by subsection (c).
(2) The qualifications for persons to participate in the
Program, as required by subsection (e).
(3) The benefits authorized for Program participants, as
required by subsection (f).
(4) The status of National Guard personnel assigned to duty in
support of the Program under subsection (g).
(5) The conditions for the use of National Guard facilities and
equipment to carry out the Program, as required by subsection
(h).
(6) The status of Program participants, as described in
subsection (i).
(7) The procedures to be used by the Secretary when
communicating with States about the Program.