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Author Topic: "Hopeless: Job Corps Slams Door on 30,000 Young Adults"  (Read 13232 times)
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WhiskeyGirl
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« on: February 18, 2013, 05:41:06 PM »

How sad.  At a time when jobs go unfilled due to qualified individuals, cutting a training program for young people.

Quote
President Barack Obama campaigned last week to promote his plans for job training and job creation that he claimed would expand the country's middle class, fully aware that the Job Corps program had suspended enrollment in January due to gross bureaucratic mismanagement of the country's largest job-training program for low-income youths, particularly African Americans.

The freeze started in January and is expected to last until June 30. That did not stop Obama from making lofty promises in his State of the Union address last week about job creation.

The enrollment freeze could prevent as many as "30,000 young adults struggling in a troubled economy" from getting jobs and cost another 10,000 staff jobs.

Job Corps has been described as a "vanguard" of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s so-called war on poverty. Since opening its first center in 1965, the free program gave "young adults a chance to earn a high school diploma, receive vocational training or earn certifications in more than 100 specializations."

That was until 2011, when Job Corps faced a $30 million shortfall and had to temporarily implement a freeze for the first time in the program's history. Job Corps reportedly has a $61.5 million budget shortfall now, which led to an even more prolonged freeze.

Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) speculated whether the enrollment freeze was due to a "management failure" and has requested an audit of the budget. He intends to hold hearings within weeks in the Senate on the matter.

read more here  - http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/02/18/Hopeless-Job-Corps-Slams-Door-on-30-000-Young-Adults-Due-to-Bureaucratic-Mismanagement

Job Corps home page http://jobcorps.gov/home.aspx

from the FAQ -
Quote
What does Job Corps offer?
Job Corps staff and students in a meeting

Job Corps offers hands-on training in more than 100 career technical areas, including: automotive and machine repair, construction, finance and business services, health care, hospitality, information technology, manufacturing, renewable resources, and many more. All training programs are aligned with industry certifications and are designed to meet the requirements of today's careers.

Job Corps also offers the opportunity to earn a high school diploma or a GED for those youth who don't have either. For youth who already have a high school diploma, Job Corps can help them prepare for college through partnerships with local colleges. Resources are also available for English Language Learners.

Courses in independent living, employability skills, and social skills are offered to all Job Corps students in order to help them make the transition into the workplace. For more information, please see our Recruiting Web site.
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All my posts are just my humble opinions.  Please take with a grain of salt.  Smile

It doesn't do any good to hate anyone,
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WhiskeyGirl
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« Reply #1 on: February 18, 2013, 06:15:35 PM »

Quote
The problem that has the attention of Kline and Foxx has been building for several years. There was a $39 million shortfall in 2011, followed by a $60 million shortfall last year. Labor Department officials put a freeze on accepting new enrollees in the program in January.

In their letter to Acting Secretary of Labor Seth Harris, Kline and Fox said they want to know why DOL officials knew about the funding problems at the Job Corps but "failed to anticipate and address the specific causes or take action to stabilize the financial condition of the program. Instead, it continues to take temporary steps to achieve savings to cover the shortfall, estimated at more than $100 million over the last two program years."

 ::snipping2::

Kline and Fox also wrote to the National Job Corps Association, a trade group that represents Job Corps contractors, and the DOL Inspector General, which recently issued a report that was critical of officials with the department for issuing nearly 200 employment training grants at a cost of $230 million without knowing whether any of them accomplished their purposes.

Richard Manning, a former chief of staff within a DOL department, told The Washington Examiner the investigation is needed because "President Obama's Labor Department financial mismanagement is effectively shutting down Job Corps opportunities for at risk young people around the nation."

Manning, who is now a spokesman with Americans for Limited Government, a non-profit advocacy group, added that "it's not a question of whether Job Corps should be funded, but instead it is a question of how Obama's Labor Department has failed in its responsibility to both the taxpayers and to the Job Corps students. Hopefully, Chairman Kline's investigation into this malfeasance, will lead to those responsible being held accountable.

read more here - http://washingtonexaminer.com/oversight-house-panel-to-probe-job-corps-100-million-shortfall/article/2520310

It would be interesting to know how this program was funded under Bush and if there were shortfalls.  Are we spending and borrowing more?  Success rate? 

Where is the money really going?  Green energy grants?
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All my posts are just my humble opinions.  Please take with a grain of salt.  Smile

It doesn't do any good to hate anyone,
they'll end up in your family anyway...
WhiskeyGirl
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« Reply #2 on: February 18, 2013, 06:32:07 PM »

Interesting facts -

http://www.dol.gov/dol/budget/2013/PDF/CBJ-2013-V1-05.pdf

Average salary between $93,000 and $173,000?  Really?  I wonder how many are below and how many above.

Look at the goals section.  Training seems to fall at the end of the line as compared to 'green' 'fair' and 'inequality'...don't we already have MANY government departments that do those things?  Duplication anyone? 

Securing health benefits?  Data collection?  Secure health benefits for those not working?  Really?

Money wasted on green improvements that won't work?

What was the average salary under Bush? 

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All my posts are just my humble opinions.  Please take with a grain of salt.  Smile

It doesn't do any good to hate anyone,
they'll end up in your family anyway...
WhiskeyGirl
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« Reply #3 on: February 18, 2013, 07:47:21 PM »

From 2011 -
Quote
... Disagreeing with Democrats who emphasized the program’s success, Rehberg contended Job Corps has “been proven to be ineffective.”  As a $1.7 billion program that serves “45,000 youth” and “costs $38,000 per person”, Job Corps is “the most expensive cost-per-participant program in the department, if not the entire government.”  He also indicated that there are “15.5 million eligible young adults, but Job Corps only serves 0.4%.”  Rehberg cited an Office of Management and Budget (OMB) study that found the program’s “costs exceed results,” and the 2006 Mathematic study that showed Job Corps graduates only make “22 cents more than their counterparts.”  Before asking Solis how DOL justified $1.7 billion in continued funding, Rehberg said that questioning the Job Corps’ effectiveness is “not a political statement, but a fact.”
dated 3-16-11

more here - http://www.njcaweb.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=142442&articleId=20898

many links - http://www.jobcorps.gov/aboutjobcorps/performance_planning.aspx

from Q1 2007 one page summary - http://www.jobcorps.gov/Libraries/pdf/07_1st_qtr.sflb  Average cost per participant, $26,141.

How could costs go up $22,000 per year?

One recent report -
Quote
In August 2012, four students from Long Beach, Detroit, Treasure Island, and Columbia Job Corps Centers represented the United States at the first bi-annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Youth Skills Camp held in Beijing, China. The purpose of the APEC Youth Skills Camp is to promote and generate awareness of the importance of career technical training, skilled trades, and technology in economies around the world. During the camp, Job Corps students attended lectures and workshops where they exchanged career technical ideas and participated in skills demonstrations with youth from 20 other economies. In addition to attending workshops, students participated in field visits to vocational colleges, enterprises, and public training facilities in China. Students also participated in cultural tours to Beijing, Nanjing, Wuxi, and Shanghai. International opportunities such as these provide students with unique life-changing experiences in travel, diversity, and exposure to global issues. Employers value qualities fostered by these experiences, such as the ability to adapt to new environments and experience in cross-cultural communication skills.
link - http://www.jobcorps.gov/Libraries/pdf/12_1st_qtr.sflb

In the Q1 2007 report, the average wage was $8.72 hour.  Much higher than minimum.  Compare with Q1 2011 wage of $9.60...much closer to minimum wage.

Where is the money really going?
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All my posts are just my humble opinions.  Please take with a grain of salt.  Smile

It doesn't do any good to hate anyone,
they'll end up in your family anyway...
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