Job Corps graduates concerned about elimination in Trump's budget
The Brief
Job Corps is one of the most notable cuts in the Trump administration's budget – from $1.56 billion in funding to $0. The administration says it's financially unsustainable and a failed experiment.
The program originated in 1964 and offers education and vocational training to Americans between the ages of 16 and 24. About 50,000 people participate every year, getting room and board, and a very small stipend.
Participants can quit at any time, but about 38% of them complete earn a high school education and/or vocational training. Graduates told FOX 9 that Job Corps is the main reason they were able to turn their lives around.
(FOX 9) - One of the notable cuts in President Trump's budget that passed the House last week is to Job Corps.
Youth training
The 61-year-old program offers education and vocational training to Americans between the ages of 16 and 24.
More than a dozen of its graduates talked to FOX 9 Monday, and all of them say they walked away from Job Corps with something valuable — whether it was a job skill they still use or just how to be a responsible adult.
And now they're worried the government is about to pull that life ladder.
Changed lives
Job Corps meant everything for a lot of the three million people who have used it as a stepping stone since 1964.
"I would probably be in jail right now," said Donte Rodolph.
"I was homeless, and I had nowhere to go," said Renee Rodolph. "I was 16, turning 17 years old, and it completely changed my life."
The Rodolphs met at Job Corps and built their own "American Dream" out of the ashes of their former lives.
The program puts a roof over the heads of about 50,000 every year, helping them get a high school diploma or a GED, while teaching trades and even driving skills.
"One of my dreams was to become a truck driver and now I'm living it and I've been driving a truck for 13 years," said Brandon Zacharias. "And if it wasn't for Job Corps I wouldn't have been able to get my driver's license even."
More than a dozen graduates told FOX 9 that Job Corps is where they learned structure, responsibility and even basic life skills.
"I learned that you were supposed to dust baseboards," said Anna Boyd. "I didn't learn that at home. I didn't know that was a thing you were supposed to do. Job Corps taught me that."
'Failed experiment'
But the program currently costs more than $1.5 billion a year.
The Trump administration says it's financially unsustainable and called it a failed experiment.
Its success stories are hoping for a reversal.
"Job Corps means everything," said Andrew MacGregor. "It means the promise of a bright future, the promise of hope and the ability to pursue a brighter path."
What's next
The fate of Job Corps is currently in the hands of the U.S. Senate, where the budget bill is headed after the House passed it last week.
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