J VISA SESSION NAYEN 2012 Conference – Anchorage, AK J VISA SESSION PRESENTER: JAMES ALEXANDER, Program Analyst U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Office of Private Sector Exchange

Office of Designation Secondary School Student Program James Alexander – Program Analyst Travis Parsley – Program Coordinator Mary Gant – Special Assistant

Role of Designation: Philosophy  Oversee Secondary School Student Program  Partner to the Sponsors  Want you to succeed  Helping to keep Sponsors in compliance Give guidance, answer questions, etc.  Program Integrity  Health, Safety, Welfare of Students  Physical safety  Appropriate Living/Educational Environment

Key Regulatory Issues/Changes Multiple Changes - Effects ◦ Promotion of Programs  Limiting access ◦ Incident Reporting  More Transparent, Attention ◦ Reporting Requirements  Data for use/ Our reporting ◦ Training  Not errors of omission

Promotion of Program Need to Promote and Protect Students ◦ DOS  Key is to protect student: Health, Safety, and Welfare  Recognize sponsor need to promote programs, recruit host families ◦ New Regulations Place Limits on Promotion  First year in practice  Figuring out – Sponsors & DOS – best practices  Pushing the boundaries ◦ Effect?  Fewer students? (1,500-2,000)  5 sponsors sanctioned – webpage violations  Not for newspaper ads yet

Advertising & Promotion: Host Family Recruitment § (m) Sponsors must: (1) Utilize only materials that professionally, ethically, and accurately reflect the sponsor's purposes and activities (2) Not publicize the need for host families via public media that: ◦ are not sufficiently in advance of the exchange student's arrival ◦ appeal to public pity or guilt if a host family is not found ◦ show photos of individual exchange students with an appeal for an immediate family; (3) Not compromise the privacy, safety or security of participants, families, or schools. Sponsors shall not ◦ include personal student data: ◦ Provide contact information ◦ Show photographs of prospective students (4) Ensure that access to exchange student photos and PII: ◦ Accessible only to fully vetted potential host families. ◦ Password protect online information

Pre-Screening I: Promotion Limits No… ◦ Personally Identifiable Information (PII) ◦ Pictures of prospective students  No cartoonized images ◦ Full Name ◦ Identification #s (passport, etc.) ◦ Combination of information  Full name  Country  Home town  Parents names  Parents professions  And more…. Rotary Placement Process  Post-placement Rotary Publications  Rotary Disadvantage – Incentives…..

Pre-Screening II: Ease of Regulation Best practices suggest no hand written student essays (warm fuzzies?) No pictures of anybody in promotion w/o clearly visible statement that not actual prospective students No overly revealing descriptions of students w/o clearly visible statement that not actual prospective students Guidance Coming Soon

Report Incidents Quickly§ n (1)  Sponsors must immediately report to DOS any incident involving the actual or alleged:  sexual exploitation  other allegations of abuse or neglect  Sponsors must report allegations as required by local/state law.  Failure to report to DOS and as required to local law enforcement can lead to suspension and revocation of the sponsor's designation

Reporting – Time Requirements Delayed Incident Reports ◦ Sexual abuse ◦ Unsafe housing conditions ◦ Student Acting Out Dangerously ◦ Tell us quickly, even w/o all details  Same Day….. DOS Concerns ◦ Health, Safety, Welfare ◦ Potential Notoriety of Department Asking for Documents, etc. ◦ Help us to help you  Provide Documents  Answer Questions Improving Our System ◦ Templates, SOPs, etc. ◦ Looking for suggestions

Reports to DOS  Annual – July 31  Placement – August 31, January 15  Change of Placement – July 31  Rotary Struggle  Request Annual Allotment – July 31  Timing Concerns for those asking for allotment expansion  Issues for Smoother Reporting  Time, Confirmation, SOPs  Review/Audit Process – Expect more frequently  OSRs – periodic  ESRs - periodic  DOS/CSIET Audit Functions

Training Module Volunteers/LCs are the critical link to a successful exchange program serve as representatives of the sponsors have responsibility for obtaining school enrollment locating and recruiting host families responsible for monitoring the student and the host family DOS ensuring representatives know regulatory requirements The certification program was proposed to ensure that this aspect of training was uniform All Sponsor officials, local/regional coordinators received the training. 12

Regulatory Requirement § d (1) Regulatory Requirement § d (1) In addition to their own training, sponsors must ensure that all LCs complete the DOS training module prior to their appointment as a LC or assumption of duties. DOS training will include instruction designed to provide a comprehensive understanding of the Exchange Visitor Program its public diplomacy objectives the Secondary School Student category regulations. Sponsors must demonstrate the local coordinator's successful completion of training requirements and that annual refresher training is successfully completed. 13

Training Content Web-based Test ◦ Brief text initially Open book test minutes to complete 27 of 30 questions (90 %) must be answered correctly to be passed Test can be taken multiple times DOS certified 14

Who must be certified? All U.S.-based sponsor organizational officers, employees, representatives, agents, and volunteers tasked with core responsibilities that require contact with exchange students (e.g. placement/ relocation of students, student orientation, student monitoring, etc.) must be certified as set forth in §62.25(d)(1). -Counselor or Coordinator? - Key…. 15

Meeting the Requirement Must pass DOS test yearly Currently for New LCs ◦ Within 30 days of taking on LC function ◦ Before working with students or on student-focused issues Next Deadline: July 31, 2012 ◦ All continuing LCs must be certified by deadline Compliance Violation: To not be certified and working with students or student-intensive issues Rotary? Current issues of licenses…. ◦ Not started, In Progress, Failed…. 16

Current Issues New Regime? Electronic Signatures? Emergency Situations? ◦ Moving the student Rock Center? Questions? Testimonials? Concerns?