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NBC News
2 days ago
- Politics
- NBC News
'A gut punch': Job Corps alumni and faculty lament Trump administration cuts to the program
Mariyah Louis used to think she wouldn't make it to 27 years old. Louis was in the foster care system as a teenager before turning to Job Corps, a government-funded program that provides free career training to low-income students. Now, she owns an auto detailingbusiness — a success she attributed to her Job Corps experience. "I was able to pretty much rebuild my whole life, whereas most foster youth do not have that many opportunities coming out of a situation like that, and I've been independent, taking care of myself since 17," said Louis, who is now 27. Last week, the Labor Department said it would pause Job Corps operations at 99 contract-operated centers by the end of June, leaving thousands of students in limbo. Now, program alumni and faculty are anxious about the looming end date as they scramble to provide assistance to students who have also relied on Job Corps for free housing and food. The closures are part of President Donald Trump's sweeping attempt to reduce the federal workforce through mass layoffs, department closings and reorganizations. The efforts, some of which have been halted by federal judges, were framed as necessary to trim outsize government spending, but critics argued the cuts targeted vital sectors, jeopardizing Americans' safety and health. The National Job Corps Association and other groups joined to sue the Labor Department on Tuesday, urging the court to block the department from pausing Job Corps. The cuts have alumni like Louis anxious about where the program's current students will go next. Louis was 17 when she entered the foster care system in Michigan, where she remained until she aged out at 18. She said that she did not have "a good relationship with school because of that transition into foster care," but her interest in Job Corps piqued after a friend attended. After Louis enrolled, she began working with a trade instructor who became a parental figure. "I will never forget that man," she said. "He was way beyond a trade instructor. For me, he was a mentor, like a real-life mentor." WJBK-TV of Detroit captured students carrying their belongings out of the center where Louis attended after the Labor Department announcement. Louis, who said she hasn't slept in days, started a Facebook group for alumni, staff and students to share resources and launched a GoFundMe to support people affected by the program's closure. "I feel like they're being robbed, and they're not going to have that experience that I had and where I am today, because being honest with you, I didn't think that I would make it to 27 years old. I did not, I can't," she said. "And I'm married and everything. I never would have saw this life for myself outside of foster care." In Astoria, Oregon, the Tongue Point Job Corps Center is still trying to find housing for more than two dozen students who were homeless before starting the program, according to Mac McGoldrick, the center's director. "There is a black cloud over this campus," McGoldrick said. "It is a heartbreaking thing to see." Reached for comment, a spokesperson for the Labor Department said that a "comprehensive review of Job Corps revealed significant systemic issues — including an alarming number of serious incidents, poor student outcomes, and unsustainable costs." The spokesperson, Courtney Parella, said that only 38% of students graduate from the program. The National Job Corps Association pushed back on this statistic last week, saying that "graduate rates were depressed by Covid-19 policies" and claimed that Job Corps graduation rates have historically been above 60%. NBC News has not independently verified either statistic. "Our priority is promoting success for every student and ensuring a safe transition during this pause," Parella said. "We've instructed center operators to work directly with the providers who helped students enroll and made it clear that there is no fixed deadline for transfers." Randolph Goodman has worked at the Gary Job Corps Center in San Marcos, Texas, for more than 30 years after retiring from the Navy. He said that there have "been a lot of problems" with the program, that "sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't." "But, you know, that's what we have to do," he said. "There's nobody else that does what we do. There's no vocational school that does it, no college that does it, none of that stuff." Roughly 3 million students have participated in Job Corps since its 1964 launch, studying industries ranging from manufacturing to hospitality, according to the program's archived website. The program targeted low-income students, providing them with access to free career training and education, housing, meals, basic medical care and a living allowance. In fiscal year 2024, the Labor Department spent $1.7 billion on Job Corps out of the department's $13.4 billion in discretionary funds, according to the department. Levi Golden, who studies seamanship at Tongue Point Job Corps, said the program's pause felt like a "gut punch." He got his final certification last month and his high school diploma on Tuesday. "If it weren't for Job Corps, I would never have gotten my high school diploma. I wouldn't have had the ability to get a good job," said Golden, who has a job lined up for July. He plans to travel to Alaska, where he will be a crew member on a tug boat pushing material up the Yukon River for several months. Golden, 24, enrolled in July 2023, and said Job Corps was "one of the best programs" he had experienced. "Ever since I was a little boy, I had always dreamed of working on the water, but I never actually knew where to start or how to get there," Golden said. He said that he believed "more than anything in my heart that this is a necessary program, and I hate to see it shut down." Advocates for the program have argued that Job Corps provides a way forward for teenagers who come from disadvantaged backgrounds. "I believe this program was sent by God to help people who are less fortunate," said Christopher Coupette, who graduated in 2016 from the Jobs Corps center in Pinellas County, Florida. "And it's sickened me, and I'm just sad to hear that it's being taken away." Coupette, 32, is now a wellness director at an assisted living facility and bemoaned that students would no longer be able to get free education in the program. "It helps you get on your feet," he said. "It doesn't hold your hand throughout your whole life. It helps you get ahead of life." Coupette lived in multiple households growing up, moving to live with his father after his mother died, and later moving in with his sister after his father "was not there for me." "I was just not happy there," he recalled. "I wanted something for myself or something. I don't know what I wanted to do with my life." He decided to participate in Job Corps based on his sister's experience in the program and "just fell completely in love with it." Now, Coupette lives in the same city where he participated in the program. He is pursuing a degree in nursing, has a daughter and is preparing to get married in December. "Everything started from Job Corps taking a bet on me and helping me climb the next ladder of life, so I'll forever be a Job Corps student," he said.
Reuters
2 days ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Judge blocks Trump administration's effort to eliminate Job Corps
NEW YORK, June 4 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Wednesday temporarily stopped the Trump administration from moving ahead with an effort to eliminate the Job Corps, the largest U.S. job training program for low-income youth. U.S. District Judge Andrew Carter in Manhattan issued a temporary restraining order in a lawsuit filed by a trade group representing contractors that operate Job Corps centers. Carter ordered the government not to terminate Job Corps contractors or stop work at Job Corps centers until a further ruling in the case, and he ordered the Labor Department to appear at a court hearing on June 17. The lawsuit alleges that the U.S. Department of Labor is violating federal law and its own regulations by abruptly shuttering the program, a plan the agency announced last week, opens new tab. Job Corps was created by Congress in 1964 and allows 16-to-24-year-olds from disadvantaged backgrounds to obtain high school diplomas or an equivalent, vocational certificates and licenses and on-the-job training. The program currently serves about 25,000 people at 120 Job Corps centers run by contractors. The Labor Department in announcing the end of the program said it was not cost effective, had a low graduation rate and was not placing participants in stable jobs. The department also said there had been thousands of instances of violence, drug use and security breaches at Job Corps centers. The National Job Corps Association and other plaintiffs in Tuesday's lawsuit said the Labor Department does not have the power to dismantle a program established and funded by Congress. Shuttering Job Corps is a small piece of a broader effort by Trump, a Republican, and his appointees to drastically shrink the federal bureaucracy, including by getting rid of some offices and agencies altogether.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
‘This was my last chance': Fight to keep Job Corps open seen nationally and in Pinellas County
PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — The Pinellas County Job Corps will host a job fair Wednesday to help its students and staff after the U.S. Department of Labor announced it would be pausing the Job Corps program nationwide. Job Corps is a vocational trade school designed to help low-income students. 4 HCPS graduates complete rare feat thousands of other students couldn't achieve 'This was my last chance to actually do something with my life so I kind of want to help save this place,' said Skye Considine, a student at Job Corps. Considine said she had about a year and a half left in her program at the Pinellas County location. Now, she and more than 100 other students have just days left before the campus closes down. The Department of Labor Secretary said, 'A startling number of serious incident reports and our in-depth fiscal analysis reveal the program is no longer achieving the intended outcomes that students deserve.' The program will pause operations at all Job Corps centers by June 30. 'Job Corps does so much and it fills so many needs in our community,' said St. Petersburg City Council Member Corey Givens. Judge blocks Florida law barring minors from social media Givens worked at this Job Corps for five years. He said the closure will leave a devastating gap. 'Not only are 150 young people trained here but over 100 people work here. Not only will you have young people who are homeless, but now you have people who won't be able to feed their families and it's just unfair,' Givens said. When asked if the city of St. Pete can do anything, Givens said they can put pressure on elected officials in congress. Tampa Bay representative Kathy Castor sent a letter to the DOL secretary asking to reverse the decision, and wants certain questions answered by June 15. Castor asked how student participation numbers were gathered for their transparency report and why one year's worth of graduation rates was given. She also asked if COVID-19 impacts were considered, if there are efficient structural changes that can be made prior to stopping operations, and more. Considine said she would tell leaders how Job Corps helped give her a future. 'It's a really good place to be here, and I don't want this place to be shut down because this was one of my only other options that I had left,' Considine said. The National Job Corps Association filed a motion for a temporary restraining order to protect Job Corps Tuesday. 'For generations, Job Corps has provided life-changing education and hands-on training to young people looking for a pathway to a better future,' said Donna Hay, President and CEO of the National Job Corps Association. 'These students are often overcoming significant personal and economic challenges and Job Corps gives them the ability to gain the skills they need to build meaningful careers.' The job fair will be Wednesday, June 4 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. inside the gym at Pinellas County Job Corps. Both students and staff may participate. See the flyer below for more information. If you want to send Marilyn Parker a news tip about this story or other newsworthy events, fill out the form below! Submit a form. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Job Corps contractors sue to block Trump's program closure
June 3 (Reuters) - The administration of President Donald Trump was hit with a lawsuit on Tuesday seeking to block it from eliminating Job Corps, the largest U.S. job training program for low-income youth. A trade group representing contractors that operate Job Corps centers and some of its members claim the U.S. Department of Labor is violating federal law and its own regulations by abruptly shuttering the program, a plan the agency announced last week, opens new tab. The lawsuit, opens new tab was filed in Manhattan federal court. Job Corps was created by Congress in 1964 and allows 16-to-24-year-olds from disadvantaged backgrounds to obtain high school diplomas or an equivalent, vocational certificates and licenses and on-the-job training. The program currently serves about 25,000 people at 120 Job Corps centers run by contractors. The Labor Department in announcing the end of the program said it was not cost effective, had a low graduation rate and was not placing participants in stable jobs. The department also said there had been thousands of instances of violence, drug use and security breaches at Job Corps centers. The National Job Corps Association and other plaintiffs in Tuesday's lawsuit said the Labor Department does not have the power to dismantle a program established and funded by Congress. "Shuttering Job Corps will have disastrous, irreparable consequences, including displacing tens of thousands of vulnerable young people [and] destroying companies that have long operated Job Corps centers in reliance on the Government's support for the program," they said. The Labor Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Shuttering Job Corps is a small piece of a broader effort by Trump, a Republican, and his appointees to drastically shrink the federal bureaucracy, including by getting rid of some offices and agencies altogether. But the lawsuit filed on Tuesday said Congress in creating Job Corps also limited the Labor Department's ability to shut down the program. Federal law, for example, allows the department to close individual Job Corps centers only after seeking public comment and notifying local members of Congress, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit seeks to block the Labor Department from closing Job Corps centers and otherwise eliminating the program. The plaintiffs said they would seek an order requiring the program to continue pending the outcome of the lawsuit.
