Job Corps pauses operations, leaving Ga. students in limbo
KENNESAW, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - The Job Corps program allows youth to earn a high school diploma and to get hands on training for jobs.
Saebra Grannis and her mom Melissa Thompson believe it brought her out of her shell and made her a leader and an example to others.
“Traditional college at that moment would be a little too much at that moment. We wanted to try to transition her a little slower and giver her on hands training,” said Thompson.
“Being able to work with a group and having activities to help us kind of bond together and get to know each other was just so like refreshing,” said Grannis.
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With a goal of becoming a mortician, Grannis moved from Kennesaw and started her education at the Brunswick Job Corps campus, only to be told months later that it was pausing operations.
“This is a great opportunity for students that maybe have a dysfunctional home or they just don’t have the means to do it,” said Thompson.
The U.S. Department of Labor told Atlanta News First this pause affects all 99 federally run centers. They said in a statement:
“Job Corps center operators were issued additional guidance to clarify that there is no hard deadline for transferring students to their home of record, especially where their safety and wellbeing are concerned.”
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The Department of Labor said financial woes and serious incidents, along with aligning with the President’s budget cuts are to blame. In the meantime, students like Grannis are left wondering what’s next for them.
“There could have been so many other more other pathways that you could have taken to be able to fix what they saw was broken,” said Grannis.
“This is not a policy, this is people we’re talking about. We’re talking about our youth. Our youth are the most important right now and we need to develop skills and trades for them to be successful,” said Thompson.
Thompson started a petition. You can learn more here.
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