A federally funded education and job training program for at-risk young people is on the chopping block. The U.S. Department of Labor is moving to shut down dozens of Job Corps programs, including three in Massachusetts after citing financial inefficiencies.
But people with the programs say the federal government’s numbers don’t tell the whole story.
“This isn’t just an education and training school, it’s hope for our students, it’s a future for our students,” says Nicole Trombly, center director for Job Corps in Grafton.
Trombly says that hope is now at risk.
Grafton is one of dozens of centers across the country recently notified they had to promptly shut down operations by the end of June, according to a letter obtained by 25 Investigates.
“Job Corps is essential for our communities. Our students go on to work for many employers within the community,” Trombly said.
Job Corps is a federally funded education and training school for 16 to 24-year-olds who are in poverty and endured hardships like abuse and homelessness. Trombly says they often see former Massachusetts foster children who have aged out of the system.
Students can enroll for training in 9 basic trades, from electrical and plumbing to culinary and medical assistant training. Many go on to work right in the very community that trained them.
There are 210 students who are currently living on the Grafton campus. There are also programs in Devens and Chicopee.
Grafton’s Job Corps provided 25 Investigates with testimonials from recent graduates.
“I appreciate the role of JC [Job Corps] and shaping my future opportunity,” one graduate said.
“Job Corps really gave me a second chance to show people that I can change my life and make a career and a living,” said another.
“This is a place that a student can come and build a future for themselves that they may not have had any other opportunities if this didn’t exist,” Trombly said.
About 120 centers and the contractors who operate them were put on notice across the country after the release of a transparency report issued by the U.S. Department of Labor, which oversees Job Corps.
It cited the cost per student per year was about $80,284.6 Yet, their report says, Job Corps participants who had moved on were earning an average of $16,695. It also referred to graduation rates and alleged ballooning costs at certain centers.
25 Investigates reached out to the Department of Labor for more context on their data and the decision to shutter the centers. We will update this story when we receive a response.
The National Job Corps Association says that last year the DOL set a goal of median annual wages of $30,800 and they claim Job Corps exceeded that goal.
In a press release, they addedthat the “inflated cost per graduate is the result of misguided regulations introduced in recent years that have caused student attrition to increase and graduations to decline.”
Job Corps also disputes the data and says the figures pulled from 2023 were distorted by the pandemic.
“Job Corps is essential. It is not only helping young people get on the right path, but in many cases, it’s saving people’s lives,” said U.S. Representative Jim McGovern (D) MA.
Members of Congress, including Massachusetts Representative Jim McGovern, are fighting to keep Job Corps funded and to ensure any future budget changes require congressional approval. There is at least one Job Corps center in every state.
“Many of these young people have been through hell. They’ve had very difficult lives. And Job Corps was about kind of helping them get the skills to go to the workforce and to have successful futures,” McGovern told Boston 25’s Kerry Kavanaugh.
“There is so much growth that can happen in this program,” Trombly said.
Trombly says dozens of her students would have nowhere else to turn if they had to leave the Grafton site.
Just last week, a federal judge in New York temporarily blocked the Trump Administration’s actions to eliminate Job Corps.
Centers are resuming normal operations for now.
The next hearing on the future of Job Corps is set for June 17th.
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