(a) Within 30 working days of receiving a request for
decertification, the Assistant Secretary for ETA shall review the case
and shall decide whether to proceed with decertification.
(b) The Assistant Secretary shall grant the request for
decertification unless he/she makes a finding that (1) the violations of
JS regulations are neither serious nor continual; (2) the State agency
is in compliance; or (3) the Assistant Secretary has reason to believe
that the State agency will achieve compliance within 80 working days
unless exceptional circumstances necessitate a longer time period,
pursuant to the remedial action already applied or to be applied. (In
the event the Assistant Secretary does not have sufficient information
to act upon the request, he/she may postpone the determination for up to
an additional 20 working days in order to obtain any available
additional information.) In making a determination of whether violations
are ``serious'' or ``continual,'' as required by this subsection, the
Assistant Secretary shall consider:
(i) Statewide or multiple deficiencies as shown by performance data
and/or on-site reviews;
(ii) Recurrent violations, even if they do not persist over
consecutive reporting periods, and
(iii) The good faith efforts of the State to achieve full compliance
with JS regulations as shown by the record.
(c) If the Assistant Secretary denies a request for decertification,
he/she shall write a complete report documenting his/her findings and,
if appropriate, instructing that an alternate remedial action or actions
be applied. Copies of the report shall be sent to the Regional
Administrator. Notice of the Assistant Secretary's decision shall be
published promptly in the Federal Register, and the report of the
Assistant Secretary shall be made available for public inspection and
copying.
(d) If the Assistant Secretary decides that decertification is
appropriate, he/she shall submit the case to the Secretary providing
written explanation for his/her recommendation of decertification.
(e) Within 30 working days after receiving the report of the
Assistant Secretary, the Secretary shall determine whether to decertify
the State agency. The Secretary shall grant the request for
decertification unless he/she makes one of the three findings set forth
in Sec. 658.705(b). If the Secretary decides not
to decertify, he/she shall then instruct that remedial action be
continued or that alternate actions be applied. The Secretary shall
write a report explaining his/her reasons for not decertifying the State
agency and copies will be sent to the State agency. Notice of the
Secretary's decision shall be published promptly in the Federal
Register, and the report of the Secretary shall be made available for
public inspection and copy.
(f) Where either the Assistant Secretary or the Secretary denies a
request for decertification and order further remedial action, the
Regional Administrator shall continue to monitor the State agency's
compliance. If the agency achieves compliance within the time period
established pursuant to Sec. 658.705(b), the Regional Administrator
shall terminate the remedial actions. If the State agency fails to
achieve full compliance within that time period after the Secretary's
decision not to decertify, the Regional Administrator shall submit a
report of his/her findings to the Assistant Secretary who shall
reconsider the request for decertification pursuant to the requirements
of Sec. 658.705(b).
