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References: JTPA Regulations at 20 CFR Parts 632 and 636; Federal Register, Vol. 60, No. 227, Monday, November 27, 1995 (60 FR 58228-9). Background: Because of new employment and training legislation pending before Congress, it was decided not to implement an entirely new set of JTPA Section 401 regulations. However, because the one really innovative Section of the current draft proposed Section 401 regulations involves the insertion of a general waiver capability, the Department and Advisory Council/Partnership Plan members agreed that publication of this general waiver provision as an amendment to the current regulations would be sufficient to enable grantees to improve their programs as in the revised draft proposed regulations. With this in mind, the Department published the general waiver section as an amendment to the 1983 program regulations on November 27, 1995. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) recently approved this amendment, thereby giving Section 401 grantees the opportunity to request waivers for Program Year (PY) 1996. Policy: It is the Department's policy that a grantee may request a waiver to any regulatory or program requirement not contained in statute, whether JTPA or other legislation. However, grantees must be prepared to show how granting the requested waiver will improve program results/outcomes and enable them to provide better services to their participants. Information: It is the Department's intent to make this waiver process as simple as possible. To that end, waiver requests should be as concise as practicable and not involve a lot of paperwork. The Department is concerned with the quality of the waiver request, not the quantity of paper which can be submitted to support any individual request. The Department will not specify specific procedures or parameters for waiver requests, beyond the requirement that the request contain sufficient information to enable the Department to make an informed decision regarding the merits of each specific waiver requested. Attachment 1 is the text of 20 CFR 632.70. As the public comment period has not yet expired, grantees wishing to provide comments on any aspect of the general waiver provision should submit their responses. Attachment 2 contains general guidance on requesting the waiver of specific sections of the regulations. Attachment 3 is a list of requirements for the Section 401 program which may not be waived for statutory reasons, and a list of those items which may be waived. Attachment 4 is an optional waiver request form which grantees may find useful in submitting their waiver requests.

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References: Federal Register, Vol. 61, No. 96, Thursday, May 16, 1996, Notices. Background: The Departments of Labor and Education are reserving funds appropriated for FY95 under the School-to-Work Opportunities Act, Public Law 103-239 for a competition for Indian Program Grants authorized under Title II, Subtitle C of the Act. Grants under this competition will be awarded to local partnerships that serve Indian youth and involve Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) funded schools. Approximately $650,000 is available for awards as explained in the attached Federal Register Notice. The following implementation grants were awarded in June 1995: Alamo Navajo School Board, New Mexico; Delaware Tribe of Western Oklahoma, Oklahoma; Puyallup Tribe of Indians and Yakama Indian Nation, Washington; and Lac Courte Oreilles, Wisconsin. Additionally, four development grants were also awarded to: Tohono O'Odham High School and Pascua Yaqui Tribe, Arizona; Hannahville Indian Community, Michigan; and St. Stephens Indian School, Wyoming. Action: Applications for grant awards will be accepted commencing May 16, 1996. The closing date for receipt of applications is July 15, 1996, at 2 p.m. (Eastern Time). Telefacsimile (FAX) applications will not be honored.

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Background: Since 1986 the National Office has been providing each State with a computer system to operate nationally mandated programs such as Quality Control and UI Required Reporting. With the advent of Internet connectivity for some SUN systems and connection of the SUNs to Local Area Networks (LANs) and Wide Area Networks (WANs), security for the State systems has become increasingly more important. In order to help the SESAs protect their SUN systems and the data residing on the systems, the National Office is adding software which will provide SSAs with additional capabilities to protect the system from unauthorized access. The Unemployment Insurance Service (UIS) will provide SSAs with technical assistance and guidelines necessary to strengthen system security. The security programs will restrict access to the SUN computer systems and help identify security weaknesses so that SSAs can take action to protect against unwanted access. Software: a. "TCP/IP Wrapper", developed at the Eindhoven University of Technology and freely available on the Internet, will be used to restrict Internet connectivity to the State SUN systems. A paper describing the software in detail is included as Attachment 1. The software is scheduled for release in May. b. "Crack", by Alec D. E. Muffett, and freely available on the Internet allows system administrators to check their system for users who have weak passwords. The software will be programmed to run periodically and send the local system administrator a list of users on the system who have weak passwords. A copy of the report will also be sent to the National Office. A paper describing the software in detail is included as Attachment 2. Crack is currently scheduled for release in early July. c. The "Computer Oracle & Password System (COPS)", developed by Dan Farmer, is also available freely on the Internet. The COPS utility is basically a large set of scripts which investigates many security risk areas on a system, such as ID's without passwords or files that can be written to by anyone. COPS simply reports potential security problems; it does not change or fix any system files. COPS will be run once a month in each State and a report will be sent to SSAs and the National Office for review of any security weaknesses. A paper describing the software in detail is included as Attachment 3. COPS is currently scheduled for release in early July, along with the Crack software. Firewalls: Firewalls are machines that restrict connectivity to local networks from external networks. States can enhance the security of the SPARC 10 by placing them behind firewalls on corporate State networks. For sites with Internet connectivity, this is strongly encouraged, but not required by the National Office. States are requested to allow unrestricted access to the SPARC from the National Office Network, (Network IP Number 166.97.204.0). This will allow the elimination of the modem on the SPARC 10, resulting in cost savings and better service. Responsibilities: a. National Office. The National Office Hotline will assist State System administrators, as required, with configuration of the TCP/IP Wrapper software. They will also review reports from security scanning software and assist State System Administrators with correcting potential security problems. b. States. State System Administrators should supply the Hotline with Internet addresses for friendly computer systems that need to connect to the SPARC 10 systems. They should review reports from the security scanning software and work with end users and the National Office Hotline to correct potential security problems. They should work with local network administrators as needed to implement firewalls. Action Required: State Administrators are requested to provide SUN System Administrators with a copy of this document.