Nancy Kassebaum: “Job Corps, under the legislation that we are considering, remains a residential program for at-risk youth, but it is…”

“Job Corps, under the legislation that we are considering, remains a residential program for at-risk youth, but it is integrated into the statewide work force development system. Too often today we have Job Corps centers that are federally run that operate independently of the vocational education efforts that are ongoing in the State. These centers remain separate and apart from job service information when we could include them into initiatives better able to help students find jobs. I think it is just absolutely essential for us today to recognize that there is a population of at-risk youth that need a stronger support system. Many times the Job Corps centers have become, or should become perhaps, detention-center-type efforts, but because there has not been a directive that has focused on the changing needs of the population being served. I think that on the whole we are now doing a disservice.”