Dear YEOs,
On December 23, the State Department published a proposed
set of new rules
for J-visa high school exchanges. A couple of days later it
was withdrawn
because it had not been reviewed by the Office of Management
and Budget.
During the past few days, Don Peters of Arkansas and I met
with
representatives of the Department of State. They advised us that
the
proposed new rules would be republished as soon as the review by OMB
is
completed (possibly the end of February) and then there will be a sixty
day
period for comments.
Those proposed rules included the
following:
1) New content and methodology requirements for
local
representative/
2) Annual FBI Finger
Print-based background check requirements for host
families and
volunteers/staff
3) Further guidance on monthly visits (first visit to be
conducted by
separate program representative)
4) Insurance information on
the ID cards
5) Extensive new host family application and screening
requirements
6) Single adults (with no children) are not permitted to
host
It became apparent to Don and I that some aspects of these rules are
really
"trial balloons" or attempts to have the youth exchange community
propose
standards that fit the DoS needs and the reality of exchanges
today.
Therefore, it is critical that when the revised rules are published
that the
Rotary Youth Exchange community and Rotary leaders send in their
comments
during those sixty days. We can influence these changes if we are
effective
in responding to the DoS and in contacting our Representatives and
Senators
once the rules are reviewed and revised.
In the meanwhile, we
have a team led by Don Peters reviewing the set of
rules that was published
so that NAYEN is ready to respond immediately to
the State Department and so
that we can send to each of you a "model
response" that you can endorse,
revise, or re-create as you and your
District Governor respond during the
comment period.
We have also been in contact with Rotary International
and the Council on
Standards for International Educational Travel (CSIET) so
that they are
ready to respond as they deem appropriate once the rule is
published. At
this time, until the rules are reviewed, revised, and
republished, there is
nothing that we should do since we are not in a comment
period and the final
form is not known. We will continue to keep you alerted
to developments and
urge you to respond when the time comes. If we focus on
the most important
issues and present clear comments and alternatives, we can
make a
difference.
Yours in Service Above Self,
Dan Bronson,
PDG
Daniel R. Bronson, President
North American Youth Exchange Network
(NAYEN)
259 W. Fifth St
Quarryville, PA 17566
Tel
717-786-7277
Cell 717-615-4767
E-mail: danbronson@epix.
www.yeoresources.
NAYEN Conference 10Th Annual Conference being held in Chicago, Illinois at the Marriott Chicago O'Hare Hotel
We hope to see you in Chicago on Thursday, February 25, 2010 through Sunday, February 28, 2010!
To register today go to:
www.ridistrict6220.org/nayen/registration.html www.nayenconference.org.
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