State Department programs that bring foreign exchange students to the United States to work or attend school require urgent attention because students are being put at risk for abuse, according to a report from the federal Inspector General's office.
That's because the State Department's programs are poorly run, according to the report. It said some programs need to be restructured and another federal agency _ the Labor Department _ may need to take over other programs.
IG spokesman Doug Welty said Monday that his agency has no power to force the State Department to make changes.
``That's where Congress comes in,'' he said.
The State Department said the report, released last week, will be a helpful tool as it improves programs in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
``We are reviewing all of the recommendations in the report with a critical eye towards how we can improve and have already made significant progress on many of them,'' State Department spokesman Mark Toner said in an email. ``We recognize that there are major issues that must be addressed.''
The agency has taken measures to reform the bureau's operations and its programs, Toner said.
``We have zero tolerance for abuse or mistreatment of exchange program participants, nor for misconduct by sponsor organizations or host families. We are committed to keeping international exchange program participants safe during their time in the United States,'' he said.
It's the latest in a series of problems that have plagued the State Department student exchange programs.
The Associated Press previously reported the State Department last year abandoned a plan to require FBI-based fingerprint searches for people hosting foreign high school exchange students _ even though the agency received dozens of complaints from students who said they were sexually and physically abused in recent years.
An earlier AP investigation found serious abuses in the program that allows foreign college students to live and work in the United States for up to four months. The problems in that program, known as J-1 Summer Work Travel, included organized criminal groups arranging for participants to work in strip clubs. Others received little money for working long hours at menial jobs or were crammed into overcrowded apartments and charged exorbitant rent.
Part of the IG report focused on problems in that program, which attracts tens of thousands of participants a year. Sponsors recruit teenagers and young adults from all over the world. The report recommended strictly limiting the program ``until it can provide proper oversight.''
The program suffers from overexpansion, poor supervision and weak compliance regulations, according to the report, which blames the State Department for poorly monitoring unscrupulous sponsors.
``Many visitors are young persons of secondary school or college age, whose safety and well-being are of paramount importance,'' said the report, which added it is imperative the educational and cultural affairs bureau holds sponsors to the highest standards.
Yet that's not happening, the report said.
For example, the Exchange Visitor Program brings close to 30,000 high school students to the United States each year. Foreign students live with a host family for a year and attend U.S. schools. It's supposed to be a learning experience for the students, but over the years, dozens of students have been abused, according to State Department records, advocates and court documents.
The IG report said that with a faltering economy, sponsors were finding it hard to find host families. Instead of limiting the number of students, sponsors just lowered their standards of who to select, the report said.
That's led to serious problems.
``Students reported host family requests that they provide daycare, do housework, perform farm labor or work in host family-owned businesses. Some students had insufficient food and lived in squalor,'' the report said.
Others were sexually abused. The State Department received 118 complaints of sexual abuse since 2010 school year, the report said.
The report found that sponsors had not always completed required annual criminal background check on host families, resulting in ``teens being placed in homes with sex offenders and other felons.''
Danielle Grijalalva, executive director of the Committee for Safety of Foreign Exchange Students, said the IG report didn't surprise her. Her agency has found dozens of cases of sexual abuse over the years and forwarded the complaints to the State Department. (AP)
<한글 기사>
"美로 간 교환학생들 학대위험에 놓여있다"
연방 감사관실 보고서…국무부 "개선 조치 중"
미국 국무부의 외국학생 교환 연수 프로그램에 참여 중인 학생들이 학대를 당할 위험에 놓여 있어 주의가 요망된다고 연방 감사관실 보고서가 지적했다.
이 보고서는 국무부의 외국학생 교환연수 프로그램이 부실하게 운영되고 있다고 지적하고, 교환연수 프로그램 일부는 보완이 필요하며 노동부 등 다른 연방부처가 맡아서 관리할 필요가 있다고 지적했다.
연방 감사관실의 더그 웰티 대변인은 19일(현지시간) 감사관실은 현재 국무부로 하여금 이 프로그램을 개선하도록 강제할 권한이 없으며, "의회만이 이를 할 수 있다"고 말했다.
국무부는 연방 감사관실이 지난주 발표한 이 보고서에 대해 교육문화국에서 운영 중인 연수 프로그램을 개선하는 데 도움이 될 것이라고 밝혔다.
마크 토너 국무부 대변인은 "보고서가 비판적인 시각에서 제기한 모든 제안을 검토해 종합적인 개선책을 마련하도록 할 것"이라며 "보고서에 반드시 이행해야 할 주요 문제점들이 지적돼 있다는 점을 잘 알고 있다"고 말했다.
토너 대변인은 이어 국무부 교육문화국이 시행 중인 이 프로그램의 운영상 문제 점에 대해 개선조치를 취하고 있다고 밝혔다.
또 "프로그램 참가자들이 학대나 부당한 대우를 받거나, 후원기관 및 초청 가정 으로부터 불법행위를 당하는 것을 용납하지 않을 것"이며 "참가자들이 미국에 체류하는 동안 안전하게 머물 수 있도록 보장할 것"이라고 강조했다.
외국인 학생 교환연수(J-1) 비자 프로그램은 `여름 취업•여행(SWT) 프로그램'으로 불리는 것으로, 국무부가 외국 대학생을 대상으로 문화적 상호이해를 증진하고 기업에는 단기 계절 노동력을 공급할 목적으로 시행하는 것이다.
이 제도는 애초 미국 문화를 전파하기 위해 도입된 것이지만 참가한 외국학생들 이 저임금과 열악한 노동환경 속에서 일을 해 노동력 착취논란이 끊이지 않았고, 범죄조직에도 악용되는 것으로 나타나 논란이 계속됐다.
힐러리 클린턴 미 국무장관은 작년말 'J-1 여름 취업•여행(SWT) 비자'에 대해 광범위하고 철저한 조사를 지시하기도 했다.
