More than 200 low-income students at the Phoenix Job Corps Center got just a few days' notice that their vocational training program is shutting down. Many are losing not only their education plans, but also their housing. This comes amid Trump administration cuts.
The U.S. Department of Labor has run the Job Corps program since the 1960s. It provides free training in construction, medical assisting, security and other skilled trades to students aged 16 to 24, many of whom were formerly homeless or in foster care. The program has about 25,000 students on more than 120 campuses nationwide.
The Phoenix Job Corps Center has about 250 students, more than half of whom live for free in dorms at the campus on Third and Lincoln streets downtown.
After the Department of Labor on Thursday announced plans to pause Job Corps operations, students at the Phoenix Job Corps Center were told they would have to move out this week.
“I’ve been here for almost a year, I worked so hard. I don’t even really have anywhere to go. They just don’t care. They really don’t care,” said 18-year-old Yehsenia Tapia. She cried as she carried her belongings out of her dorm Monday morning.
Staff are now scrambling to try to help students find jobs, housing or other resources, said former instructor Juanita Montalbo.
“Things have just been moving so fast, and it’s unfair for them. You need to give them more time so that they can plan, you know? What are they going to do?” Montalbo said.
Montalbo said she resigned Monday morning amid concern she would face retaliation for participating in a protest over the school’s closure.
It is unclear how many will be laid off in Phoenix following the Department of Labor’s announcement.
Montalbo said students are also now unsure if they will receive transition pay of $1,200 that they typically get upon completing training programs.
The Department of Labor said operations would pause at all Job Corps centers by June 30. The Department said the programs are being suspended because of serious financial deficits and reports of violence and other safety issues on campuses.
“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,” Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said in a statement. “We remain committed to ensuring all participants are supported through this transition and connected with the resources they need to succeed as we evaluate the program’s possibilities.”
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