[House Hearing, 115 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
STUDENT SAFETY IN THE JOB
CORPS PROGRAM
=======================================================================
6HEARING
before the
COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
AND THE WORKFORCE
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
HEARING HELD IN WASHINGTON, DC, JUNE 22, 2017
__________
Serial No. 115-20
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Education and the Workforce
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COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND THE WORKFORCE
VIRGINIA FOXX, North Carolina, Chairwoman
Joe Wilson, South Carolina Robert C. ``Bobby'' Scott,
Duncan Hunter, California Virginia
David P. Roe, Tennessee Ranking Member
Glenn ``GT'' Thompson, Pennsylvania Susan A. Davis, California
Tim Walberg, Michigan Raul M. Grijalva, Arizona
Brett Guthrie, Kentucky Joe Courtney, Connecticut
Todd Rokita, Indiana Marcia L. Fudge, Ohio
Lou Barletta, Pennsylvania Jared Polis, Colorado
Luke Messer, Indiana Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan,
Bradley Byrne, Alabama Northern Mariana Islands
David Brat, Virginia Frederica S. Wilson, Florida
Glenn Grothman, Wisconsin Suzanne Bonamici, Oregon
Elise Stefanik, New York Mark Takano, California
Rick W. Allen, Georgia Alma S. Adams, North Carolina
Jason Lewis, Minnesota Mark DeSaulnier, California
Francis Rooney, Florida Donald Norcross, New Jersey
Paul Mitchell, Michigan Lisa Blunt Rochester, Delaware
Tom Garrett, Jr., Virginia Raja Krishnamoorthi, Illinois
Lloyd K. Smucker, Pennsylvania Carol Shea-Porter, New Hampshire
A. Drew Ferguson, IV, Georgia Adriano Espaillat, New York
Ron Estes, Kansas
Brandon Renz, Staff Director
Denise Forte, Minority Staff Director
------
C O N T E N T S
----------
Page
Hearing held on June 22, 2017.................................... 1
Statement of Members:
Foxx, Hon. Virginia, Chairwoman, Committee on Education and
the Workforce.............................................. 1
Prepared statement of.................................... 3
Scott, Hon. Robert C. ``Bobby'', Ranking Member, Committee on
Education and the Workforce................................ 3
Prepared statement of.................................... 5
Statement of Witnesses:
Barton, Mr. Jeffrey, Center Director, Earle C. Clements Job
Corps Academy, Morganfield, KY............................. 33
Prepared statement of.................................... 35
Barnes, Ms. Cindy, Director of Education Workforce and Income
Security, Government Accountability Office, Washington, DC. 7
Prepared statement of.................................... 9
Turner, Mr. Larry, Deputy Inspector General, Department of
Labor Office of Inspector General, Washington, DC.......... 41
Prepared statement of.................................... 43
Additional Submissions:
Adams, Hon. Alma S., a Representative in Congress from the
State of North Carolina:
Letter from the Henderson Police Department.............. 93
Letter dated May 26, 2017 from the Henderson-Vance
Chamber of Commerce.................................... 95
Barletta, Hon. Lou, a Representative in Congress from the
State of Pennsylvania:
Letter dated June 22, 2017 from the National Job Corps
Association............................................ 72
Ms. Barnes:
Slide: Types of Onsite and Offsite Safety and Security
Incidents Reported by Job Corps Centers, January 1,
2007 - June 30, 2016................................... 118
Slide: Number and Percentage of Reported Onsite and
Offsite Violent Incidents with Student Victims and
Perpetrators, and Staff Victims and Perpetrators,
January 1, 2007 - June 30, 2016........................ 119
Chairwoman Foxx:
Slide: Fast Facts: Student Safety in the Job Corps
Program................................................ 121
Fudge, Hon. Marcia L., a Representative in Congress from the
State of Ohio:
Letter dated April 6, 2017 from the Congress of the
United States.......................................... 123
Polis, Hon. Jared, a Representative in Congress from the
State of Colorado:
Directive: Job Corps PRH Change Notice No. 15-09......... 133
Directive: Job Corps Program Instruction Notice NO. 16-09 139
Directive: Job Corps Program Instruction Notice No. 16-30 141
Scott, Hon. Robert C. ``Bobby'', a Representative in Congress
from the State of Virginia:
Employment and Training Administration response (Appendix
B)..................................................... 98
Employment and Training Administration response to Draft
Report (Appendix C).................................... 109
Shea-Porter, Hon. Carol, a Representative in Congress from
the State of New Hampshire:
Letter dated June 7, 2017 from the City of Manchester
Police Department...................................... 69
Wilson, Hon. Frederica S., a Representative in Congress from
the State of Florida:
Letter dated June 7, 2017 from the Miami Gardens Police
Department............................................. 79
Letter dated June 7, 2017 from Florida Memorial
University............................................. 81
Letter dated June 20, 2017 from Kiwanis.................. 82
Letter dated June 20, 2017 from Urban Growing Institute.. 83
Success Stories from Miami Job Corps Center.............. 144
Article: Paying it Forward! Two Miami Job Corps students
receive job offers from Job Corps alumnus.............. 145
Letter dated June 20, 2017 from Resource Room............ 147
Article: Holistic Approach At Miami Job Corps Center
Helps Students Succeed................................. 148
Letter dated June 21, 2017 from Carcamo, Ms. Patricia.... 149
Letter dated June 21, 2017 from Mooneyhan, Mr. Dylan..... 150
Letter dated June 21, 2017 from Shivers, Mr. MarcAnthony
J...................................................... 151
Letter dated June 21, 2017 from Reverend Dr. Jimmy Ray
Burke, Ph.D............................................ 152
STUDENT SAFETY IN THE JOB
CORPS PROGRAM
----------
Thursday, June 22, 2017
House of Representatives,
Committee on Education and the Workforce,
Washington, D.C.
----------
The committee met, pursuant to call, at 10:02 a.m., in Room
2175, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Virginia Foxx
[chairwoman of the committee] presiding.
Present: Representatives Foxx, Hunter, Roe, Walberg,
Guthrie, Rokita, Barletta, Messer, Grothman, Allen, Lewis,
Mitchell, Garrett, Smucker, Ferguson, Estes, Scott, Davis,
Fudge, Polis, Wilson of Florida, Bonamici, Takano, Adams,
DeSaulnier, Norcross, Krishnamoorthi, Shea-Porter, and
Espaillat.
Staff Present: Caitlin Burke, Legislative Assistant;
Courtney Butcher, Director of Member Services and Coalitions;
Amy Raaf Jones, Director of Education and Human Resources
Policy; Jonas Linde, Professional Staff Member; Nancy Locke,
Chief Clerk; Kelley McNabb, Communications Director; James
Mullen, Director of Information Technology; Krisann Pearce,
General Counsel; Clint Raine, Professional Staff Member; Lauren
Reddington, Deputy Press Secretary; James Redstone,
Professional Staff Member; Mandy Schaumburg, Education Deputy
Director and Senior Counsel; Michael Woeste, Press Secretary;
Tylease Alli, Minority Clerk/Intern and Fellow Coordinator;
Jacque Chevalier, Minority Director of Education Policy; Denise
Forte, Minority Staff Director; Nicole Fries, Minority Labor
and Policy Associate; Christine Godinez, Minority Staff
Assistant; Eunice Ikene, Minority Labor Policy Advisor;
Stephanie Lalle, Minority Press Assistant; Kevin McDermott,
Minority Senior Labor Policy Advisor; Richard Miller, Minority
Senior Labor Policy Advisor; Udochi Onwubiko, Minority Labor
Policy Counsel; Veronique Pluviose, Minority General Counsel;
and Kimberly Toots, Minority Labor Policy Fellow.
Chairwoman Foxx. Good morning, everyone. A quorum being
present, the Committee on Education and the Workforce will come
to order.
Welcome to today's full committee hearing. I'd like to
thank our panel of witnesses and all of our colleagues for
joining today's very serious discussion on the safety and
security of the Job Corps program. I also want to note my
disappointment that the Office of Job Corps has decided not to
testify today. The attendance would have provided the committee
with important information about the program and the measures
taken by the Office of Job Corps to address these safety
concerns.
The Job Corps program is intended to help some of our
Nation's most disadvantaged youth receive high-quality
education, workforce development and support services in order
to become more employable, responsible and productive citizens.
The very purpose of the program is to serve those who are hard
to serve and the safety of students and instructors within the
Job Corps program should be priority one. Unfortunately, that
is not the case and that is what brings us to today's hearing.
The work of this committee, as well as other government
bodies, such as the inspector general, have found a systemic
and alarming lack of oversight in the safety and security of
the Job Corps program. And we've reached a critical point where
lives are in real danger if Congress does not act. In fact over
30 different government reports and audits have raised concerns
over the safety and security of the Job Corps program. A 2009
IG report even noted that, quote, ``40 percent of 235
significant incidents occurring at six centers during our audit
period were not reported.''
Even in 2015 an IG report specifically stated, quote, ``Job
Corps needs to improve enforcement and oversight of student
disciplinary policies to better protect students and staff.''
end quote.
What is truly shocking and sad is that nine student deaths
and a number of other violent or health-related incidents have
occurred just since 2015 as a result of lapses in safety and
security. These reports are extremely troubling and no program,
no program sponsored by the Federal Government should have such
tragedies associated with it.
The committee has spent almost 2 years investigating and
asking about these repeated lapses in safety and security
within the Job Corps program and we are still without answers.
What we do know is that the deficiencies and proper
security measures are not isolated nor associated with one
specific Job Corps center. This is a systemic problem
throughout the Job Corps program. The security failures within
Job Corps are a failure in basic good governance and jeopardize
the safety of American citizens.
Today we will hear testimony from witnesses who have made
findings highlighting the troubling lack of safety and
oversight in Job Corps centers. We will hear testimony about
failures in reporting violent incidences, security lapses and a
lack of cooperation with law enforcement officials.
While these facts may be troubling, it is vital that we as
a committee understand just where the lack of oversight has
occurred in order for us to make proper recommendations to keep
the Job Corps program safe for the future.
The Job Corps program was designed to help disadvantaged
young people gain the skills they need to achieve a good
education, find a good paying job and have a successful life.
Putting the students and instructors of the Job Corp program in
harm's way does a disservice to its participants and the
American taxpayers.
I wish to thank the members of this committee for joining
this discussion and thank our witnesses for coming up and
talking to us today.
I now yield to Ranking Member Scott for his opening
remarks.
[The statement of Chairwoman Foxx follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Virginia Foxx, Chairwoman, Committee on
Education and the Workforce
Good morning, and welcome to today's full committee hearing. I'd
like to thank our panel of witnesses and my colleagues for joining
today's very serious discussion on the safety and security of the Job
Corps program. I also want to note my disappointment that the Office of
Job Corps has decided not to testify today. Their attendance would have
provided the committee with important information about the program and
the measures taken by the Office of Job Corps to address these safety
concerns.
The Job Corps program is intended to help some of our nation's most
disadvantaged youth receive high quality education, workforce
development, and support services in order to become more employable,
responsible, and productive citizens. The very purpose of the program
is to serve those who are hard to serve and the safety of students and
instructors within the Job Corps program should be priority one.
Unfortunately that is not the case, and that is what brings us to
today's hearing.
The work of this committee, as well as other government bodies such
as the Inspector General, have found a systemic and alarming lack of
oversight in the safety and security of the Jobs Corps program, and we
have reached a critical point where lives are in real danger if
congress does not act.
In fact, over 30 different government reports and audits have
raised concerns over the safety and security of the Jobs Corps program.
A 2009 IG report even noted that ``40 percent of 235 significant
incidents occurring at [six] centers during our audit period were not
reported.''
Even in 2015, an IG report specifically stated, ``Job Corps needs
to improve enforcement and oversight of student disciplinary policies
to better protect students and staff.''
What is truly shocking and sad is that nine student deaths and a
number other violent or health related incidents have occurred just
since 2015 as a result of lapses in safety and security.
These reports are extremely troubling, and no program sponsored by
the federal government should have such tragedies associated with it.
This committee has spent almost two years investigating and asking
about these repeated lapses in safety and security within the Job Corps
program, and we are still without answers.
What we do know is that the deficiencies in proper security
measures are not isolated, or associated with one specific Job Corps
center. This is a systemic problem throughout the Job Corps program.
The security failures within Job Corps are a failure in basic good
governance, and jeopardize the safety of American citizens.
Today we will hear testimony from witnesses who have made findings
highlighting the troubling lack of safety and oversight in Job Corps
centers.
We will hear testimony of failures in reporting violent incidents,
security lapses, and a lack of cooperation with law enforcement
officials.
While these facts may be troubling, it is vital that we as a
committee understand just where the lack of oversight has occurred in
order for us to make proper recommendations to keep the Job Corps
program safe for the future.
The Jobs Corps program was designed to help disadvantaged young
people gain the skills they need to achieve a good education; find a
good-paying job; and have a successful life.
Putting the students and instructors of the Job Corps program in
harm's way does a disservice to its participants and the American
taxpayers.
I wish to thank the members of this committee for joining this
discussion, and thank our witnesses for coming up and talking to us
today.
______
Mr. Scott. Thank you, Madam Chair. I would like to welcome
our witnesses and thank them for their testimony.
Today's hearing we'll discuss safety and security issues at
Job Corps programs.
Madam Chair, I certainly agree with you that violence is
unacceptable and that safety, health and security of the Job
Corps students and staff is critically important. I appreciate
the inspector general's attention to these issues over the
years and I believe the Department of Labor must continue to
aggressively implement the corrective action initiated under
the Obama administration and make additional improvements as
necessary.
We have to work together to make sure the Job Corps
students and staff are living and working in safe environments.
But we also have to recognize that the Job Corp program has a
vital mission. We must recognize and appreciate the
opportunities it provides for approximately 60,000 of America's
disadvantaged and vulnerable youth every year.
Madam Chair, as you know, an estimated 60 percent of Job
Corps students dropped out of school or were expelled from
school. In addition, 56 percent entered the program reading at
or below the eighth grade level. Virtually all Job Corps
students are from low-income families. Job Corps provides a
safer environment for these young people and it's
transformative for the overwhelming number of students who
finish the program. In 2015, more than 80 percent of Job Corps
graduates found a job, went on to college, or entered the
military, and 71 percent received an industry recognized
credential before graduation.
Rigorous evaluations of the Job Corps found the program
increases educational levels and earnings with youth over 20
finding the most benefit. As the data and evaluation show, Job
Corps is the ticket to helping disadvantaged youth achieve
their educational goals, obtain a well-paying job, serve in the
military, and build a better future for themselves. For some,
Job Corps is a second chance. For others, it actually saved
their lives.
So as we discuss the legitimate concerns raised in the
inspector general and GAO report regarding safety and security
at Job Corps, I think it is reasonable to ask where these young
people would be without the Job Corps program and how safe
would they be.
In Mr. Barton's testimony, he notes that the national
mortality rate for 16 to 24 year olds between 2012 and 2015 was
70.88 per 100,000. That's 70 for every 100,000, 70 died.
Comparable rate for Job Corps 4.7. That's 70 died out in the
public, only 4.7 in the Job Corps programs. That means the risk
of death for young people 16 to 24 nationally was 15 times
worse than Job Corps students. And what do we pay for the Job
Corps program each year pales in comparison to what we would be
on track to pay for some of these young people if they are
incarcerated, on public assistance, or on Medicaid.
Madame Chair, nearly 5 million our Nation's youth are both
out of school and out of work. In 2015, 14 percent of youth
aged 16 to 24 were unemployed, double the national unemployment
rate. Twenty-two percent of youth do not graduate from high
school, 40 percent of those who do are ill prepared for work or
higher education. Now whether they have personal barriers to
college and career such as involvement in juvenile or criminal
justice system or come from low opportunity communities, our
nation's disadvantaged youth deserves a chance to succeed. To
make that happen we should not undermine, consolidate or
eliminate educational and vocational programs such as Job
Corps, whose students as Mr. Barton will eloquently say, call
him every day, every single holiday break asking if they could
return to the Job Corps center because they are concerned about
violence in their community, the temptation of drugs or their
own safety.
The Job Corps centers are their refuge. So yes, let's be
sure that we identify problems and work on problems identified
by the inspector general. And we need to continue -- those
problems have to be addressed, but let's not shoot at the wrong
target. We need more Job Corps programs than ever. With this in
mind, I am trying to say that our committee has advanced
bipartisan legislation to expand opportunities for young
people.
Last year we passed Every Student Succeeds Act in a
bipartisan way. We've moved the Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention Act reauthorization. Later today on the
floor, we will vote to reauthorize the Carl D. Perkins Career
and Technical Education Act all on a bipartisan basis.
So I hope we will continue that tradition by providing
opportunities for young people in the future as we work towards
reauthorizing and strengthening the Job Corps program.
Before I conclude, Madam Chair, I want to join with you in
saying that it is unfortunate that the Office of Job Corps
withdrew from testifying in today's hearing. They would have
been able to speak on how they have been able to address
problems and concerns identified by the inspector general over
the years.
I would ask the Job Corps program about their zero
tolerance policy. In the K through 12 system, we have seen that
zero tolerance policies are based on zero common sense and have
been found to be ineffective in promoting safety.
Under the Job Corps' current zero tolerance program, a
young person could be kicked out of Job Corps for being tardy
for class or failing to adhere to a dress code. This policy is
counterproductive and fails to ensure that Job Corps students
have meaningful opportunities to succeed.
Again, Madam Chair, thank you for convening the hearing. I
look forward to the testimony of the witnesses and yield back
the balance of my time.
[The statement of Mr. Scott follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Robert C. ``Bobby'' Scott, Ranking Member,
Committee on Education and the Workforce
I would like to welcome our witnesses and thank them for their
testimony. Today's hearing will discuss safety and security issues at
Job Corps.
I certainly agree with Chairwoman Foxx that violence is
unacceptable and the safety, health, and security of Job Corps'
students and staff is critically important. I appreciate the Inspector
General's attention to these issues over the years, and I believe the
Department of Labor must continue to aggressively implement the
corrective action initiated under the Obama Administration and make
additional improvements as necessary.
We must work together to make sure Job Corps' students and staff
are living and working in safe environments, but must not stop there.
We must also stand together in strong support of Job Corps and its
vital mission. We must recognize and appreciate the opportunities it
provides for approximately 60,000 of America's disadvantaged and
vulnerable youth every year.
Madam Chair, as you know, an estimated 60 percent of Job Corps
students dropped out of or were expelled from school. In addition, 56
percent enter the program reading at or below an eighth-grade level.
Virtually all Job Corps students are from low-income families.
Job Corp provides a safer environment for these young people and is
transformational for the overwhelming number of students who finish the
program. In 2015, more than 80 percent of Job Corps graduates found a
job, went on to college, or entered the military and 71 percent
received an industry-recognized credential before graduation. Rigorous
evaluations of the Job Corps have found that the program increases
education levels and earnings, with youth over 20 finding the most
benefit.
As the data and evaluations show, Job Corps is a ticket to helping
disadvantaged youth achieve their educational goals, obtain a well-
paying job, serve in the military, and build a better future for
themselves. For some, Job Corps is a second chance. For others, it
saved their lives.
So as we discuss the legitimate issues raised by the Inspector
General and GAO regarding the safety and security with Job Corps today,
I think it's reasonable to ask where these young people would be
without Job Corps. Where and how safe would they be if not for this
program?
In Mr. Barton's testimony, he notes that the national mortality
rate for 16 to 24-year-olds between 2012 and 2015 was 70.88 per
100,000, while the comparable rate for Job Corps centers was 4.7. That
means the risk of death for young people 16 to 24 nationally is 15
times greater than the risk for Job Corps students.
And what we pay for the Job Corps program each year pales in
comparison to what we would be on track to pay for some of these young
people if they are incarcerated, on public assistance, and on Medicaid.
Madam Chair, nearly 5 million of our nation's youth are both out of
school and out of work. In 2015, 14 percent of youth ages 16 to 24
years old were unemployed--more than double the national unemployment
rate. Twenty-two percent of our youth do not graduate from high school,
and 40 percent of those who do are ill-prepared for work or higher
education.
Whether they have personal barriers to college and career, such as
involvement in the juvenile or criminal justice system, or come from
low-opportunity communities, our nation's disadvantaged youth deserve a
chance to succeed.
To help make that happen, we should not undermine, consolidate, or
eliminate education and vocational training programs such as Job Corps
whose students - as Mr. Barton eloquently put it in his testimony -
call him every single holiday break asking if they can return to the
Job Corps center because they are concerned about violence in their
community, the temptation to use drugs, or their own safety. Job Corps
centers are their refuge.
So, yes, let's make sure the problems identified by the Inspector
General continue to be addressed by the Labor Department, but let's not
shoot at the wrong target here.
We need Job Corps more than ever, and we need more of it.
With that in mind, I am proud to say that our Committee has
advanced bipartisan legislation to expand opportunities for young
people. We have moved the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
Act Reauthorization; and later today we will vote to reauthorize the
Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act.
I hope we will continue that tradition of providing opportunities
for young people in the future as we work toward reauthorizing and
strengthening Job Corps.
Before I conclude, I just want to say that it's unfortunate the
Office of Job Corps withdrew from testifying at today's hearing. They
would have been able to speak to how they have been addressing the
problems and concerns identified by the Inspector General over the
years.
I also would have asked them about Job Corps' zero tolerance
policy. In the K-12 system, we've seen that zero tolerance policies are
based on zero common sense and ineffective in promoting safety. Under
Job Corps' current zero tolerance policy, a young person could be
kicked out of Job Corps for being tardy for class or failing to adhere
to dress code. This policy is counterproductive and fails to ensure to
that Job Corps students have a meaningful opportunity to succeed.
______
Chairwoman Foxx. Thank you, Mr. Scott.
Pursuant to committee rule 7(c), all members will be
permitted to submit written statements to be included in the
permanent hearing record. Without objection, the hearing record
will remain open for 14 days to allow such statements and other
extraneous material referenced during the hearing to be
submitted for the official hearing record.
I now turn to introductions of our distinguished witnesses.
Ms. Cindy Brown Barnes is the Director of Education Workforce
and Income Security with the U.S. Government Accountability
Office. Mr. Jeffrey Barton is the academy director for the
Earle C. Clements Job Corps Academy in Morganfield, Kentucky.
Mr. Larry Turner is the deputy inspector general for the U.S.
Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General.
I now ask our witnesses to raise your right hand.
[Witnesses sworn.]
Chairwoman Foxx. Let the record reflect the witnesses
answered in the affirmative.
Before I recognize each of you to provide your testimony,
let me briefly explain our lighting system. We allow 5 minutes
for each witness to provide testimony. When you begin, the
light in front of you will turn green. When 1 minute is left,
the light will turn yellow. At the 5 minute mark, the light
will turn red and you should wrap up your testimony. Members
will each have 5 minutes to ask questions.
I now recognize Ms. Barnes for 5 minutes.
TESTIMONY OF CINDY BROWN BARNES, DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION
WORKFORCE AND INCOME SECURITY, GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY
OFFICE, WASHINGTON D.C.
Ms. Barnes. Chairwoman Foxx, Ranking Member Scott and
members of the committee, I am pleased to be here today to
discuss GAO's preliminary observations on the safety and
security of students in the Job Corps program. This work is
part of our recently started effort to examine this issue.
Job Corps is the Nation's largest residential, educational
and career development program for low-income youth between the
ages of 16 and 24. The program is administered by the
Department of Labor and currently serves about 50,000 students
each year at 125 Job Corps centers nationwide.
My remarks today will cover one, the number and types of
reported safety and security incidents. And two, student
perceptions of safety at Job Corps centers.
For this testimony we analyze the Department of Labor's
incident data from January 2007 through June 2016. Due to
concerns about the completeness of the data, we report the
minimum number of incidents in the aggregate for those 9 years,
but the actual numbers are likely higher. We also analyzed
national student survey data from March 2007 through March
2017. Overall, we found that Job Corps centers reported nearly
50,000 safety and security incidents of various types that
occurred both on site and off site from January 2007 through
June 2016.
During this time period, over 500,00 students were enrolled
in the program. We found that 76 percent or about 38,000 of the
reported incidents occurred on site and 24 percent occurred off
site. In addition, about 21 percent of reported incidents
involved violence.
As you can see, with the figure on the monitor, three types
of incidents represent 60 percent of all reported on site and
off site incidents. Serious illnesses or injuries are 28
percent, assaults at 19 percent, and drug related incidents at
13 percent. The remaining 40 percent of reported incidents
included theft, or damage to property, and breaches of security
or safety, and other incidents.
During this time, Job Corps centers reported 265 deaths
captured in the other and assault categories in the figure on
the screen. And the majority of these deaths occurred off site.
Most of these deaths were due to homicides, medical causes and
accidental causes.
As shown in the table on the screen, Job Corps centers
reported over 10,000 violent incidents, which include
homicides, assaults and sexual assaults. Students were the
majority of the victims in 72 percent of these reported violent
incidents and perpetrators in 85 percent of these incidents.
Staff were victims in 8 percent of these incidents and
perpetrators in 1 percent of these incidents.
As for the student survey data, we found that students
generally reported feeling safe, but reported feeling less safe
with respect to certain safety issues. The student survey asked
49 questions about students' experiences in the Job Corp
program, including 12 questions related to safety. Across these
12 survey questions an average of 72 percent of students
reported feeling safe.
However, the average percentage of students who reported
feeling safe on each individual survey question ranged from 44
percent to 91 percent. For example, an average of 44 percent of
students reported that they had never heard students threaten
each other or had not heard such threats within the last month.
The remaining 56 percent of students on average reported
hearing such threats at least once in the last month.
In conclusion, Job Corps students should be provided with a
safe learning environment. However, as our preliminary analysis
demonstrates, too many safety and security incidents are
occurring at Job Corps centers and this is a cause for concern.
And it is likely that the actual number of safety and security
incidences is greater than the number we report in this
statement. Our ongoing work will present opportunities for us
to further examine these issues.
Thank you. This concludes my statement and I will be happy
to entertain any questions.
[The statement of Ms. Barnes follows:]
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Chairwoman Foxx. Thank you Ms. Barnes.
Mr. Barton, you're recognized for 5 minutes.
TESTIMONY OF JEFFREY BARTON, CENTER DIRECTOR, EARLE C. CLEMENTS
JOB CORPS ACADEMY, MORGANFIELD, KY
Mr. Barton. Thank you, Chairwoman Foxx, Ranking Member
Scott and members of the committee for inviting me to testify
about the Job Corps program. I'm honored to have the
opportunity to contribute to this important discussion about
how we can strengthen and improve Job Corps, particularly as it
relates to the safety and security of the students entrusted
into our care.
I cannot sufficiently express how serious student safety is
to me and my colleagues across the Job Corps system. We are
educators, counselors, mentors. But the most important role
I've taken on in my professional life is caretaker to someone
else's children and to your constituents.
I have over 25 years of experience in Job Corps in multiple
capacities, including having served as center director at three
centers. I also served as a police officer in nearby Loudoun
County, Virginia, which exposed me to the challenges of
policing violence in criminal activity.
I currently serve as the academy director of the Earle C.
Clements Job Corps center in Morganfield, Kentucky. And today
over 700 students from 29 States, including nearly 100 students
from the districts of 13 members of this committee, are
receiving training at my center.
My center exemplifies the founding premise of Job Corps,
that taking vulnerable youth out of challenging home
circumstances and providing them with safe and secure living
and learning environment will help them become employable. The
Clements academy offers our students, the majority of whom
dropped out or were kicked out of school, multiple options for
completing their high school education.
Our center also offers training in 19 occupations,
including nursing and welding, and the opportunity to earn any
of hundreds of industry recognized credentials. This year 95
percent of my vocational students have earned an industry
recognized credential. And 91 percent of my graduates
transitioned into employment or higher education.
Based on my experience, I can tell you that these successes
are predicated on providing a safe and secure environment for
our students to live and learn. The entire Job Corps community
was shocked by the tragic incidents that occurred in Job Corps
2 years ago, because those were our students. We work hard to
prevent such events.
Over the course of my career the 3 days which I received
phone calls that one of my students had passed as a result of
medical issues were among the worst days of my life. Preserving
and protecting the lives of these students is not an abstract
concept to me. I know them, I know their families. I know their
hopes and I know their dreams. And to see those taken for any
reason is heartbreaking.
These two tragedies are not representative of Job Corps'
overall safety record. And in fact, based on data from the last
4 years, Job Corps students were 15 times safer, on Job Corps
campuses, than their peers, including their nondisadvantaged
peers nationally.
Nonetheless, these incidents necessitated a reevaluation
from top to bottom of whether we were doing everything we can
to protect our students. As a result of that review, Job Corps
has taken multiple actions, including updating the zero
tolerance policy, clarifying when to call law enforcement,
updating and enhancing center security plans, implementing new
procedures for reporting significant incidents, and introducing
new hotlines for students to anonymously report safety
concerns.
Unfortunately, we cannot completely shield our students
from violence, substance abuse or mental health disorders given
the population that we serve and the communities from which
they often come. Our students often tell us stories about how
they enrolled in Job Corps to escape gangs, unstable home life,
or an unsafe community. And every single holiday break, I
receive calls from students asking if they can return to Job
Corps early because they are concerned about violence in their
community, the temptation or peer pressure to use drugs or for
their own safety. For many of our students our center is a
refuge.
Nationally there are 4.9 million young Americans age 16 to
24 who are neither employed nor enrolled in school, yet
employers frequently report they cannot find the workers they
need. The bottom line is we need these young people to gain the
skills they need to participate in the workforce and many of
these young people need Job Corps to be successful. Ensuring
these students' safety and security is critical to that success
so we will continue to be vigilant and to improve.
And I appreciate the opportunity to contribute to this
discussion and look forward to answering any questions you may
have. Thank you.
[The statement of Mr. Barton follows:]
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Chairwoman Foxx. Thank you, Mr. Barton.
Mr. Turner, you're recognized for 5 minutes.
TESTIMONY OF LARRY TURNER, DEPUTY INSPECTOR GENERAL, DEPARTMENT
OF LABOR OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL, WASHINGTON, D.C.
Mr. Turner. Good morning Chairwoman Foxx, Ranking Member
Scott and distinguished members of the committee. Thank you for
an opportunity to discuss the Office of Inspector General's
oversight work of the Department of Labor's Job Corp program.
My testimony today will focus on issues related to the
safety and security of Job Corps students. In 2015 two students
were killed at different Job Corps centers, allegedly by fellow
students. While the two murders put a spotlight on the issue or
violence in the Job Corp program, OIG has been reporting for
the past 8 years on the challenges that Job Corps faces in
providing a safe, learning environment. From 2009 through 2015
a series of audits covering 24 centers reveal serious problems
with how student misconduct had been addressed.
Unfortunately, student misconduct is not uncommon at Job
Corps centers. During the 2-year period covered by our 2015
audit, there were 35,000 serious student misconduct incidents
reported across Job Corps' 129 centers. This series of audits
found centers' operators too often allow potentially dangerous
students to remain in the program despite behavior that should
have resulted in their dismissal. Specifically we found centers
did not consistently investigate and adjudicate alleged serious
student misconduct such as physical assault, weapons possession
and distribution of drugs.
Centers did not conduct many student disciplinary hearings
in a timely manner. Centers failed to report many serious
incidents to Job Corps. And centers inappropriately downgraded
serious incidents to lesser infractions that did not require
dismissal of the student.
For example, one center found a student in possession of
illegal drugs on center property. Instead of charging this
student with violating Job Corps zero tolerance policy and
terminating him from the program, the center opted to downgrade
the offense to a lesser infraction. Seventy-four days later,
this same student was dismissed after assaulting and injuring
another student.
After the murders of the two Job Corps students in 2015, a
team of OIG auditors and criminal investigators conducted a
joint review to examine how Job Corps was identifying and
managing risk to safety and security at its centers. Eleven of
the 12 centers the team visited failed to report 40 percent of
the potentially serious criminal misconduct incidents to law
enforcement. Furthermore, these 12 centers also failed to
report numerous significant incidences to Job Corps and
misclassified many of the incidents they did report.
We also found one-third of Job Corps centers had not
established cooperative agreements with law enforcement
organizations. Of the centers with agreements, 85 percent
failed to include adequate descriptions of center and law
enforcement's roles and responsibilities.
During the site visits to the 12 centers, the team observed
physical security weaknesses such as inadequate and unmonitored
closed circuit television systems, security staff shortages and
compromised perimeters. Our review also found Job Corps
required pre-employment background checks to very few center
positions and had not defined criminal histories that would
disqualify individuals from employment.
To address the problems identified by our audit, Job Corps
has reported initiating numerous corrective actions such as
establishing a division of regional operations and program
integrity. In part to improve oversight of center safety.
Revising a zero tolerance student conduct policy, developing
tools to better assess applicant's readiness to benefit from
Job Corps, rolling out a new criminal background check process
for student applicants and conducting $12 million security
pallets at 14 centers.
The media's core mission of attracting at risk youth
teaches them the skills they need to become employable and
independent and placing them in meaningful jobs or further
education, Job Corps must provide a safe learning environment
for its students.
Since our last audit, Job Corps has taken numerous actions
to make centers safer. Nonetheless, we continue to have a
significant number of serious incidents reported to us.
Therefore, Job Corps still has work to do. Job Corps needs to
quickly complete the various safety initiatives it has recently
begun. Further, Job Corps must be more vigilant in its
monitoring to ensure center operatives fully enforce Job Corps
zero tolerance policy.
Job Corps also needs to establish appropriate law
enforcement jurisdiction and agreements for each center, assess
campus physical security at all centers, and develop and
implement policy for criminal background checks for center
employees.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify on our work. I
would also like to publicly acknowledge the great work that the
men and women of the Office of Inspector General do every day.
I would be pleased to answer any questions that you have
and the members of the committee. Thank you very much.
[The statement of Mr. Turner follows:]
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Chairwoman Foxx. Thank you very much, Mr. Turner.
I'm very appreciative again of all of the witnesses. I will
begin the questioning this morning.
Chairwoman Foxx. Ms. Barnes, your findings indicate the
incident reporting data you analyzed was incomplete. And
therefore, the numbers you presented today represent the
minimum number of safety related incidents. Do you believe
there is a much bigger safety issue than the contractors,
Department, and we are aware of?
Ms. Barnes. Yes. Mr. Turner just testified in the March 17
IG report mentioned 12 centers, that 34 percent of the data was
missing out of the significant incident reporting system. So my
testimony today explains that we reported a minimum number
around 50,000 incidents, but it is likely higher. The
Department of Labor has also told us that there are problems
with the data and the reporting of the significant incidents
and is not contained therein. So to answer your question, yes.
Chairwoman Foxx. Thank you. It is bad enough as it is, let
alone the fact that we think it's a lot worse.
Mr. Turner, your work has highlighted two major components
of the student safety concerns with the Job Corp program. The
first piece revolves around oversight and management
deficiencies in the Department. The second piece and of equal
importance is contractor complacency or efforts to game the
system. Do you believe the Department or contractors have
played the larger role in the safety and security incidents
that have been observed over the last few years?
Mr. Turner. I believe that the bulk of the responsibility
lies with the Department. The Department is responsible for
setting guidelines and policy also for overseeing that
operation. In addition, the contractor's work under the
guidance of the Department. Although it is somewhat of a joint
responsibility, ultimately the responsibility lies with the
DOL.
The other part of that too is DOL has the opportunity to
evaluate the performance of the contractor so they have some
impact on whether they accept the performance that has been
given by the contractor.
Chairwoman Foxx. Ms. Barton, do you agree with Mr. Turner's
assessment about the contractor's role in the lack of safety
protections in the centers?
Ms. Barnes. Yes, I do agree with that assessment. The
Department has over our responsibility for developing the
policies and procedures and for the implementation of those
policies and procedures, oversight and monitoring of the
contractors at the Job Corps centers.
Chairwoman Foxx. Mr. Barton, please give me your reaction
to Mr. Turner's assessment.
Mr. Barton. My reaction is safety and security in Job Corps
is our absolute, number one priority. Our students come from
challenging neighborhoods where violence, gang activity is
rampant. There is nothing more important than maintaining safe
centers. In Ms. Barnes' opening she said herself many of the
incidents occur off site. And that's why Job Corps centers need
to continue to be a safe refuge, free of gang activity, free of
drug use, free of violence. And we are everything possible to
make sure that our students understand this challenge, staff
are trained, centers are safe. And the most important thing is
being visible and connected.
Manage by walking around, know every student, know what
they are going through, know the staff. This is serious
business. We take it very seriously, the lives of over 50,000
young people every single year. And what's troubling is to hear
about these events, but I think Job Corps has acknowledged
improvements moving forward and the most important platform is
safety and security for our students.
Chairwoman Foxx. Thank you, Mr. Barton.
Mr. Turner, the Job Corps policy and requirements handbook
states that the purpose of Job Corps' residential living
program is to provide a safe and secure living environment for
students. Do you believe Job Corps centers have met this
responsibility?
Mr. Turner. I do not believe they have fulfilled that
responsibility. I think part of that is that Job Corps has to
do a better job of micromanaging and overseeing some of the
jobs that's taking place at the centers. I believe too often
they have not provided the oversight by monitoring some of the
actions that they expect. And too often the centers have been
allowed to kind of operate independently on their own without
proper oversight.
Chairwoman Foxx. Thank you very much. I want to say it is
very troubling again, as I said in my opening statements, that
the Federal Government -- the taxpayers of this country are
funding programs and where deaths occur in the participants who
are attending the programs.
Mr. Scott, I recognize you for 5 minutes.
Mr. Scott. Thank you, Madam Chair. I would like to follow
up on that last question. Mr. Turner, do you know what the
crime rate is for students, similar demographics, outside of
the Job Corps, compared to those in the Job Corps?
Mr. Turner. No, sir, I would not have that information.
Mr. Scott. When you say it is not safe, the question is
compared to what?
Mr. Turner. Well sir, when I say it is not safe, what I am
saying is that based on the number of complaints that we have
received from students and staff, they come through our hotline
and some of those come through our submitted and significant
incident reports.
Mr. Scott. That's right. Any incident would be a
disappointment. The question, as Mr. Barton has pointed out, if
they were not in the Job Corps, would it be better or worse?
And Mr. Barton, can you respond to that?
Mr. Barton. Yes. According to the latest statistics from
the CDC let me just say this, Job Corps students both on and
off center are 2.5 times less likely to commit suicide, four
times less likely to die from a drug overdose, 15 times safer
than their counterparts, 16 to 24 years old nationally.
At Earle C. Clements, we have a 90 percent placement rate,
94 of our students have credentials right now. Students don't
achieve where they don't feel safe. They don't prosper where
they don't feel as if the environment is safe, warm, friendly
and they have outlets to report.
So while we can acknowledge the findings from Mr. Turner
and Ms. Barnes, the fact of the matter is safety and security
at all Job Corps centers is paramount and we will continue to
implement the initiatives from the national Office of Job Corps
to ensure the safety and security of all students.
Mr. Scott. Now as a result of Job Corps, can you tell me
what happens to the prospects for employment for higher
education of the graduates of Job Corps compared to the 5
million disconnected youth that you refer to?
Mr. Barton. I can tell you that Job Corps offers an
environment for a student to prosper. But if I would, if I
could just take a few minutes, I would like to read you an
excerpt from a student. It is in part, it is just a synopsis.
After 8 months of this, my mother told me I had 2 months to
figure something out because I could no longer stay there doing
nothing. I tried to enlist in the military but that wasn't an
option and I didn't know what I was going to do. I did my
research and learned about Job Corps. I met with my outreach
and admissions counselor, and it sounded tough, but I knew I
had to try or be homeless again.
But ever since I've gotten here things have changed so much
for me, waking up early, making my bed, cleaning my room,
dressing appropriately, going to class consistently, and so
forth taught me a lot about discipline and caring for myself.
The more I started to accomplish, the more and more proud of
myself I became, which pushed me to achieve even greater
things.
I feel very safe here at Earle C. Clements Job Corps
Academy. I never really had a problem with any other students
or staff and I believe this was critical for my success here,
because my home environment was unpredictable and chaotic. But
here, I was taught to trust again and have felt very
comfortable.
So in addition to a safe environment what Job Corps does is
give young people hope, a sound platform to move forward.
Mr. Scott. And that student seems like he's on a totally
different trajectory than he was before the Job Corp program.
Do any of you have results of studies that point to the
difference in crime rate or teen pregnancy or employment before
and after Job Corps experience?
Mr. Turner. No, sir, I do not.
Mr. Scott. Ms. Barnes?
Ms. Barnes. I do not.
Mr. Scott. Any question, Mr. Barton, that Job Corps
participants are much more likely to get a job, much more
likely to improve their education, much less likely to commit a
crime or become a teen parent?
Mr. Barton. I can tell you that the success stories are
countless and heartwarming. Just recently we put two of our
tile setting completers to work making over $25 an hour. And
this goes for any one of our career and technical training
offerings.
Our students are leaving with primary credentials, high
school diplomas, and on the pathway to college, advanced
training, entrance into the military, and all the while
achievement of these heights, of this standard will not occur
if students did not feel safe, if they didn't feel welcome and
if they didn't have an outlet to go to if they felt that
trouble was coming.
Chairwoman Foxx. Thank you very much.
Dr. Roe, you're recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. Roe. Thank you, Madam Chairman. And I want to start by
saying I have been a very staunch supporter of the Job Corps
since I've been in the Congress the 8-1/2 years I've been here.
And I have a Job Corps site in my district which I've visited.
I also visited the one in southwest Virginia that had an
incident not long ago. And I could not agree more, Mr. Barton,
that safety is a huge, huge issue. And I read our literature
here and seen the number of what appear to be drug overdose
deaths. That's not a Job Corps specific. That's a systemic
around the entire population of this country.
I will give you an example, I serve on the Veterans'
Affairs committee and 20 veterans a day commit suicide. It is a
societal problem. Drug abuse. And where I live in my part of
the country, and certainly in southwest Virginia, New
Hampshire, Maine other States have a terrible problem with drug
abuse. So it is not confined just to Job Corps.
And I think you're absolutely right about a safe
environment. I guess one question I have and it has always
concerned me, if Job Corps is not there for these students, and
I had almost 10 years I lived and worked with young people and
patients in inner center Memphis, if not Job Corps, what, what
do they end up doing because it's -- I've looked at like this,
it is either pay me now or pay me later.
So many of these young people may end up incarcerated or --
and what you, Mr. Barton, have described and the way I always
have looked at this is what is the value of saving one young
people in changing not only their life, but the life of
everybody they come in contact with. I can assure you that if
you've got a young man or woman who is making $25 an hour, they
are going to be able to take care of a family, they are not
going to need Medicaid, they are not going to need all these
services that they may otherwise need.
And I think you pointed out I know there's something that's
got to be unique about you if you leave a community, a city,
and you go to the Job Corps site, which is in the mountains
where I live, and there's got to be something different about
you to want to get out to make something of yourself.
So I just say that to start with so what would happen if
there were not a Job Corps for these kids? And anybody can take
this on.
Mr. Barton. So I can tell you at Earle C. Clements we have
graduation every 30 days. For some of our students, they are
the first person in had their family to graduate from
anything.I21Mr. Roe. Anything.
Mr. Barton. And what a proud moment that is. And so what
that does is that only doesn't give that student hope but maybe
their little brother or sister hope, maybe their cousin, maybe
somebody at home. And so it starts another initiative in the
house of achievement, knowing that education is powerful and
that there is another outlet aside from gang activity, maybe
illicit drug use or sales. There is another way to go about
this. And Job Corps is a safe place to teach students that.
Mr. Roe. Thank you.
Mr. Turner is the OIG satisfied or anyone can take this,
Ms. Barnes too, with the Job Corps actions following the 2015
audit. Do you think they are doing enough to adequately
protect? That's been asked once before, but I think we need
that for the record.
Mr. Turner. We are encouraged by what the Job Corps is
doing. Previous in 2009 and 2010 audits they corrected
everything that we identified as a deficiency. However, part of
the problem with Job Corps they need to do a better job with
just following through.
Once a correction has been made we found out over time we
find that there are still additional problems that resurface.
And so we expect that Job Corps needs to do a better job. As
far as the 2015 report, we've been encouraged that they have
made a big effort to come with a lot of new initiatives. And so
those initiatives I think will pay off in the long run.
In regards to your earlier question, OIG believes that the
Job Corp program is a very important program. The IG, Scott
Dahl, and myself and Elliot Lewis, assistant inspector general
for audit, we actually visited a Job Corps center because we
wanted to find out firsthand the importance of what was taking
place at the Job Corps center.
And we had a chance to meet students that come from rural
places and we saw some of the changes and developments and we
engaged with them and saw what the program meant to them. I
personally had a family member that has gone through the Job
Corps program and they have had some advancements in their life
due to the Job Corps program.
Mr. Roe. I've been to multiple times to Job Corps sites and
spoken at graduations, it is really inspiring.
Very quickly, you found, Mr. Turner, that 32 percent of 41
Job Corps centers have not established a cooperative agreement
with local law enforcement agencies and yet that's a
requirement. Why wouldn't that have happened? That's pretty
simple --
Mr. Turner. We were kind of surprised by that, because we
believe these policies need to be identified early on before
something actually happens. It is a little late in the game for
an emergency to happen and then you try to find out who's
responsible, what roles people have, and what jurisdiction
belongs to who. So we think that's an important part, so we
were somewhat surprised by the pushback that we were getting
from the Department on that.
Mr. Roe. Thank you. I yield back.
Chairwoman Foxx. Thank you, Dr. Roe. Ms. Fudge you are
recognized for 5 minutes.
Ms. Fudge. Thank you very much, Madam Chairman. And thank
you all so much for being here today.
Madam Chairman, let me just first bring to your attention
an appropriations letter that I helped lead to support Job
Corps. It is signed by 133 Members of this Congress from both
sides of the aisle. So we are all very supportive of Job Corps.
There are three job centers in the State of Ohio. All of
whom have an overall student outcome performance of better than
90 percent, so we are very pleased with the work that is going
on in Ohio in Job Corps.
I represent an urban area. I represent the City of
Cleveland and the City of Akron. I would argue that there are
less safe places than the Job Corps in my communities. But Mr.
Barton, we know that Job Corps' intended to serve one of the
hardest to serve student populations. Can you expand on what
type of services the students need when you receive them? And
what degree of direction and discretion did you believe you
need to bring these young people to a point where they can be
productive citizens?
Mr. Barton. And again, many of our students do come from
very challenging neighborhoods. And one of things that would
help a lot if we had some more flexibility and latitude, let's
say to command more mental health hours. We see students that
come into the program that may have some mental health needs
that we don't have the capacity right then and there to treat.
So the flexibility for more of those hours or attention to
students with those needs would be absolutely helpful.
But again, Job Corps partners with our local community,
local hospitals. And I just think the key to the centers
success in Job Corps' partnerships but always keeping safety
and security first.
Ms. Fudge. And certainly if you addressed things like
mental health, you would probably even see a smaller amount of
violence in and around the centers.
Mr. Barton. It is possible.
Ms. Fudge. Secondly, Mr. Barton, you testified that due to
the revised zero tolerance policy that now almost one in four
Job Corps students are expelled. What happens to these
students? Where do these students go to turn for help when they
can't come to Job Corps anymore?
Mr. Barton. The one in four statistics is sobering, but I
think we need to look at what happens before that. And I think
this is an ongoing challenge of Job Corps for us to remain
connected with students from the minute they get on center to
the time that they graduate, to help them with some of those
behaviors, identify them early. However, if a student does not
manage to complete the program, they will be faced with just
what they were before they entered into the program.
So we try at all costs to have all students be successful
and that comes from immediate wrap around services, evening and
weekend programs, because that's when most of the trouble
happens on the street is at night and on the weekends. So it
becomes critical that Job Corps centers have structured evening
and weekend programs to make sure that our students have
initiatives to be involved in and aren't just wandering
aimlessly.
So we think that structured approach in Job Corps will
continue to help and we won't have to deal with those -- that
many students that don't make it through the program.
Ms. Fudge. Do you have any idea what the average cost is
for a student in Job Corps, annually?
Mr. Barton. I can tell you at Earle C. Clements it is
somewhere in the neighbor of $20,000 to $30,000 a year.
Ms. Fudge. But actually less than it would be if they end
up in prison.
Mr. Barton. Absolutely.
Ms. Fudge. Thank you very much.
Madam Chair, I yield back.
Chairwoman Foxx. Thank you, Ms. Fudge.
Mr. Walberg, you're recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. Walberg. Thank you, Madam Chairman.
Mr. Turner and all the panel, thank you for being here. Mr.
Turner, overall how effective would you say that the Department
and the Office of Job Corps has been responding to your safety
and security related recommendations?
Mr. Turner. As I've mentioned earlier, we have seen an
improvement in the response. The 2015 report and the 2017
report, they have responded. We have been working with them for
the last year and a half on the 2015 report. Let me just kind
of give you an example of what happens, when we come up with
deficiencies, we did notify the Department. And once we release
our report, the Department has 60 days to provide a response to
us.
On the 2015 report, they have been also coordinating with
us for the last year and a half, so initially they provided us
some response, but they have not completed and have not
resolved all the issues and recommendations that we identify.
Mr. Walberg. What recommendations are still outstanding if
you could -- ?
Mr. Turner. It would be easier between 2015 and 2017 to say
the ones that they had -- there's only 15 that were
outstanding, only two have been resolved. That combined the
2015 into 2017 report.
Mr. Walberg. Could you give me at least some examples of
the 15 that still aren't resolved?
Mr. Turner. Some of the ones that have not been resolved
deals with law enforcement. And it is one of the ones that we
are just trying to come to common ground on.
There's also -- the ones that have been resolved, I guess
are the backlog, the one that just was completed. The backlog
of the serious incident reports. There were over 9,000
backlogged and we just got an indication in the last couple
weeks that they had found and resolved most of the issues on
that and provided a corrective action plan going forward.
Mr. Walberg. I guess the next question to come to my mind
is if they've come close to resolving this, but the other 15 --
do you know why they are still outstanding?
Mr. Turner. Well part of it is because -- and we can
provide you a list of the outstanding ones, but part of the
reason is because in some cases they are kind of giving us a
paper fix, they grant us a policy and they want to close the
issue. But we want to kind to see the effects of some of the
policies that they are suggesting. So it's more than just
showing us that you have a copy of a new policy change. We want
sometimes to just take a look and observe and to see if the fix
that they have suggested actually works and so that is why it
is taking longer. For instance, the response that they just
provided on the 2017 report they just provided that to us
earlier this week. And several of those they proposed that we
close. Well, it is premature to close those and we have not had
a chance to observe, assess and to see that the fix is really
in place.
What happened in 2009 was that we closed some of their
recommendations and overtime, they did not have a system in
place to go back and monitor and do checks. I think one of the
initiatives that they have now is they are beginning to do more
spot checks and have teams that out for up to a week to make
sure those places -- those recommendations are taking effect.
Mr. Walberg. So would you say that right now that they are
making a good-faith effort?
Mr. Turner. No doubt. They are making a good-faith effort.
Mr. Walberg. You mentioned in your testimony that the
Department cannot exercise appropriate oversight due to
deficient reporting on significant incidents. What are the full
range of dangers involved when Job Corps centers do not report
on these incidents?
Mr. Turner. One of the major problems that happens is for
instance I will give you the example of the zero tolerance
policy, if we are allowing students that should be dismissed to
remain in the program, what you do is you put the other
students at risk. And those are with level one offenses, from
sexual assault to physical assault, some of these problems that
occur. So I think what we've got to do, what Job Corps has to
do is look at the center as a whole and see how can they be
more effective to protect students. Although I applaud Mr.
Barton in what he's going through at his center, but that is
just one center of the 129 that we have to deal with.
Mr. Walberg. Important issues as I understand it, these are
recurring findings in many cases.
Mr. Turner. Not only are they recurring findings, but some
of those have not even been reported. I think that's what we
saw with the significant incidents. You had some that had not
been reported. There were some cases where students actually
went to the hospital and that was not classified or not
reported to the Job Corps.
Mr. Walberg. Oh. Well, I hope you keep on it, because the
program can have, as we've heard, have great impact, but these
are challenges. So I yield back.
Chairwoman Foxx. Thank you, Mr. Walberg.
Mr. Polis, you're recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. Polis. Thank you Chairwoman Foxx and Ranking Member
Scott.
The Job Corps, as you know, can effectively provide
specialized services to meet the needs of at-risk young people.
In Colorado, the Job Corps center in Collbran provides students
with new skills in areas like carpentry, computer networking,
and welding. Seventy-two percent of the students receive a
credential, those students in our society and the workforce are
better off because of these programs.
Mr. Barton, I want to thank you for being here today. You
shared some of your experiences and successes you've seen at
Job Corps. You mention in your testimony that the national
mortality rate for 16 to 24 year olds is 15 times higher for 16
to 24 year olds as a whole compared to participants in the Job
Corps. Do you feel if the Job Corps will cut back or eliminated
it will put more lives of young people at a higher degree of
risk?
Mr. Barton. It would absolutely be a disaster. Job Corps is
needed and necessary. It is a refuge for thousands of young
people. The centers provide needed skilled training and a
variety of CTT offerings in vocational trades and absolutely it
--
Mr. Polis. In addition to that, think based on your
testimony you are also indicating that it would actually put
their lives at greater risk if they were not participants in
Job Corps.
Mr. Barton. That's correct.
Mr. Polis. And even though the national office isn't here
today, I have a directive from the national office on Job Corps
outlining the steps programs should take just for student
safety. And I would like to ask unanimous consent to submit
that to the record.
Chairwoman Foxx. Without objection.
Mr. Polis. It includes the three detectives offered. Even
though they are not here today share with us. Even further
student safety had you serious Job Corps directors and programs
taking the incidents St. Louis and Homestead and what changes
are being made to enhance student safety?
Mr. Barton. Again, those incidents were shocking, but I can
tell you the message has been clear. Safety and security is the
foremost priority in Job Corps. Immediately Job Corps updated
the zero tolerance policy, clarified and went to call law
enforcement, updated center security plans, but more
importantly it is about being connected to the student body,
making sure that we're keeping their living area safe, their
dormitories, their classrooms, the center grounds, making sure
that students have an outlet to report anything doesn't seem
appropriate or right on job corps centers.
And there are ways to do that. There has been a national
text line that has been implemented through our national
office. Students have email addresses where they can email
staff members, any staff member on center, day or night. And so
the platform is there. The stage has been set, safety and
security by far is what we watch every day, we are plugged into
it, we are making sure that centers or at least doing
everything we can for the initiatives that have been outlined
by Mr. Turner and Ms. Barnes.
Mr. Polis. And some of those steps that already being taken
and will further be approved on are some of the reasons that it
is 15 times safer to be in Job Corps than out of Job Corps?
Mr. Barton. Just think, there is always room for
improvement and constantly looking to see what we can do to
enhance safety at centers and we will continue to do so.
Mr. Polis. I also want to ask about your program
participation with local community colleges. In Colorado,
students part pat in dual and concurrent enrollment are more
likely to continue taking classes full-time to get a degree,
gives them a leg up in certifications as well. Can you talk
about how your Job Corps students receive college credit? Are
there programs that support dual enrollment in college courses?
What's your experience been with the partnering community
colleges?
Mr. Barton. Certainly. At Earle C. Clements Job Corps
center we have a great co-enrollment program with the local
high school with the Union County public school systems where
students can remain in high school, working on their high
school diploma for half a day and then half a day work on a
career and technical training initiative at the center. We also
have an outstanding partnership with Henderson Community
College. We have 10 students enrolled in there and plan to have
more in the years to come. But again, what's important wouldn't
be able to do this, they wouldn't think about doing these
things if they didn't feel comfortable, if they didn't feel
safe, if they didn't know Job Corps was a safe place for them
to return after college.
Mr. Polis. And what would it mean for the students who were
served by Job Corps if the funding was severely cut or
eliminated, what would their lives look like?
Mr. Barton. Their options would be drastically limited or
reduced, it would be very sad. And quite honestly, they would
be faced with a life with challenges that they had before they
enrolled in the Job Corps program.
Mr. Polis. Thank you. I yield back.
Mr. Guthrie. Thank you Madame Chairwoman for having us here
today. Thank you for the witness for being here, Mr. Barton,
particularly coming up from home. Actually, as you know,
Morganfield, Union County, is in the first district. My
colleague James Comer has talked to me at least three times
this week about this hearing and testimony and speaks very
highly of the way you run your job center and the quality of
the job center you have at the Earle Clements.
I also have the Great Onyx, which is in the -- next to the
Mammoth Cave national park. So I'm very aware of the good work
going on in Kentucky.
But I want to ask Ms. Barnes first a question. It's my
understanding there used to be a suitability policy whereby
additional reviews were in place to determine whether an
applicant was suitable for Job Corps and that this policy was
terminated in the previous administration?
I know GAO is in its initial stages of looking into the Job
Corps program. But going forward, do you plan on looking into
the contracted admissions process and whether the requirements
surrounding admissions are being met, and do you think this is
some work the GAO should look into?
Ms. Barnes. We do plan to look at additional safety and
security issues as well as some of that process. But as you
mentioned, we are very early on.
Mr. Guthrie. So looking into the suitability of just
admissions even into the Job Corps program?
Ms. Barnes. Yes.
Mr. Guthrie. You are looking at that?
Have you completed any work in this area? You said it's
very early in the process. You haven't really completed any
working in this area yet?
Ms. Barnes. Not yet.
Mr. Guthrie. Okay. Thanks for that.
And, Mr. Turner, in your testimony, you noted that efforts
by the Department to mitigate some of the noted concerns could
have been taken much earlier than 2015?
If the Department had asked you to address your concern in
a more robust and timely manner, do you think the program would
be safer today?
Mr. Turner. It's hard to say that, with certainty, that it
would have been safer. What we have found, through our 2015 and
2017 report, that when nothing is done, their -- their increase
and rate balance moves up a lot more. So that's one of the
things that we found.
But I can't say that there would have been a change because
of different personnel with people. And so it's really hard to
say. But I just can say that if anything does not take place,
then there is a marked increase in violence.
Mr. Guthrie. Okay. Well, Mr. Barton, so when the admissions
process sends people into the Job Corps, is there -- I know
they used to have the suitability standard. Is there any
concern about that for you? I know that -- so when they look at
the admissions process, is this program really suitable for
this person coming into the program? Have any of you had any
experience with that since that's been terminated that you
think should be addressed?
Mr. Barton. You know, I can tell you at the Earle C.
Clements Center, we have implemented a pre-arrival call. So
it's a call to the student before they arrive on center just to
make sure that the student is serious about obtaining an
education and training at the center, they know what to bring,
what to expect.
Because we're in a remote location, we are unable to have
center tours for most of our new arrivals. So the pre-arrival
call really does take the place of that. And so it suggests to
the student that they are prepared, they're ready, and they're
anxious to come. So that's worked well for us.
Mr. Guthrie. Yeah. Union County is remote, but it is
beautiful, isn't it?
Mr. Barton. It is.
Mr. Guthrie. That you very much. And that completes my
questions.
And I yield back and the balance of my time.
Chairwoman Foxx. Thank you very much, Mr. Guthrie. Ms.
Bonamici, you're recognized for five minutes.
Ms. Bonamici. Thank you very much Chair Foxx and Ranking
Member Scott for holding this hearing. It's a very important
conversation that we're having. And I know that each and every
one of us cares greatly about the safety of students at their
Job Corps locations. And, of course, we're concerned about
that.
And oftentimes, as we see, the data show that students are
actually safer at Job Corps than out in the community. And
that's certainly true with some of my Job Corps centers.
I have in Oregon, two local Job Corps. Tongue Point Job
Corps Center is in Astoria, Oregon; and Partners in Vocational
Opportunity Training Center, or PIVOT; in Northwest Portland.
And I visited many times and spoken with students and spoke at
the graduation at Tongue Point. And I know, Mr. Barton, you
talked about what that means to those students and their
families to see a graduation. It's really, really meaningful.
Students are earning a whole range of credentials and
practical skills, including carpentry and seamanship. Astoria
is around the beautiful Oregon coast. Culinary arts, office
administration -- a whole range of possibilities and, really,
opening up of opportunities for them.
But I want to highlight a story of Cassandra. Cassandra
went through a culinary arts program at Tongue Point. She
graduated in 2016. She came to Washington, D.C., last year to
explain to lawmakers why Job Corps is important to her -- to
develop skills, to earn a credential, to learn in a safe
environment. And this is particularly important to Cassandra,
because Cassandra is transgender. And we know how challenging
it is for transgender youth to be and feel safe in the
community. And Cassandra is an inspiring young woman who
applauded the Tongue Point community for affirming her and
making her feel safe in her learning environment.
So, Mr. Barton, in your testimony, you said for many of our
students Job Corps is a refuge. And I know you shared some of
the stories from your community about what happens when
students are able to break out of, you know, gang activity and
perceived threats to their safety.
So can you expand on some of the challenges that students
face when they return to their communities? You talked a little
bit about that. And after you answer that, I want to ask -- Ms.
Barnes, your preliminary audit refers and includes the data on
offsite incidents. So can you explain what that means? And
could that include incidents that happened outside the purview
of Job Corps? That doesn't seem like an accurate way to report
on the success of the program if, like, Mr. Barton said
students leave the program during a holiday or something.
Can you talk about what that means? And, Mr. Barton, can
you expand on the challenges that students face when they leave
the Job Corps campus?
Mr. Barton. Absolutely. And most students -- or some
students do not return home, and they begin that plan early, as
soon as they arrive on the Job Corps center. They know what
their home life is like, choose not to return back there. And
they begin a plan, a personal career development plan and a
projection to not return home.
Many times they team up with some friends they've made at
the center, move and live locally to give themselves a fresh
start. And that's something that our counseling team and staff
work with students on center who want to relocate early in
their Job Corps career so, when graduation approaches, it's a
smooth transition to a new State, new job, new environment, and
a fresh start on life. And that's -- that's the outcome that
we're looking for all of our students.
Ms. Bonamici. Thank you.
Ms. Barnes, can you talk about what you meant by offsite?
Ms. Barnes. Sure. The offsite incidents include activities
that our supervisors are sponsored by Job Corps as well as
those that are not. And the reason why we -- it's included in
the data I presented today is because the Department of Labor
has a policy in their significant incident reporting system to
report these type of incidents that involve Job Corps students.
Ms. Bonamici. Thank you.
And, Mr. Barton, can you talk about some of the effective
strategies to improve safety? We all want students to be safe.
So what types of programs and services are you implementing at
Earle C. Clements to ensure safe and welcoming living and
learning environment? And can you talk about how you could
perhaps share that information with other Job Corps centers, is
there a way to do that now so that other Job Corps centers can
learn from your experience in making it a safe environment?
Mr. Barton. Sure. I think the most important thing that we
do at the center is make safety a relevant priority to all
students, to all staff. We have safety team meetings where
students are part of those meetings. We make sure that we have
regular patrols on center. Checking every bag when students
come back for any type of trips or passes.
But more importantly it's being connected with the student
population. Not having a disconnect or a void between staff and
students. So, again, managing by walking around, knowing every
student, making students or ensuring that students are
comfortable to report anything that they see that's out of
place on center immediately and them having the confidence in
the staff to know that we will react and make sure that we take
care of that right away.
So I think it's a litany of things done at one time to make
sure that a center is safe.
Ms. Bonamici. Thank you. And I see my time has expired.
Thank you, Madame Chair.
Chairwoman Foxx. Thank you very much.
Mr. Estes, you're recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. Estes. Thank you, Madam Chair.
One of the things that I want to make sure I focus on in my
questions is around the safety aspect, which is, I think, the
purpose of this hearing. I know there's been a lot of
discussion around the value of the Job Corps program in
general, and I want to make sure we focus just on the safety
aspect.
And, Mr. Turner, one of the questions I had was, you know,
your Department pushed back on the conclusion that law
enforcement needs to be contacted by Job Corps centers for
potential criminal misconduct. And the 2017 report indicated
there were five assaults that required hospital visits that
were not reported.
Is better Department oversight needed to ensure that the
infractions are being reported?
Mr. Turner. Yes, there is. We felt like that was part of
the problem with the Department, that they did not have any
kind of system to monitor what was being done to ensure that
people were following the policies that it had outlined.
Law enforcement is a very important part, because without
that they could compromise any kind of criminal matter that
takes place. And so we were concerned about that and that
further puts the students at risk. And that was some concerns
that we brought out.
Mr. Estes. I mean, why would we not -- I mean, have you
heard explanations or justifications for not reporting? I think
that's the appropriate agencies to help provide that support.
Mr. Turner. We were surprised. Some of it was they felt
like it was hard because there were different levels of law
enforcement. Some at the State, Federal, as well as there --
each city -- our area has different agreements. And so there
was concern on their part in terms of going in and establish
separate agreements. We felt like it was still worth doing
that.
The other part they pushed back on is that we felt like
there needs to be something in writing that the staff as well
as the students would be able to understand who to contact when
something does take place or when there is a requirement. And
so that was part of the problem. There was no written or
identified means to establish who to contact. And we think
that's important.
Mr. Estes. I would agree with you in terms of the important
standpoint. Being a relatively new Member, we've kind of gone
through the procedures for our offices. And one of the things
that we've addressed with our district offices are some of
those aspects of what we would do if an incident happened with
one of our employees there at our district office. So I think
that same kind of logic would apply to a Job Corps center.
The other question I had, Mr. Turner, was around the 2009
and 2010 audits. And they identified several issues related to
safety. Have those issues been addressed?
I can understand maybe all the issues from 2015 wouldn't be
addressed. But those audits that were several years ago now --
should have been enough time to be addressed.
Ms. Barnes. If all the recommendations that came out of
2009-2010 timeframe were all addressed and they were all
corrected. What we found to be a problem is there was nothing
in place to sustain. There were no policies in place. So there
was no spot-checking to ensure that the policies stayed in
effect.
So when we -- there are calls for us to go back and
actually do some additional audits based on the response that
we received from 2013 and 2012. We had a lot of feedback that
we they were getting from some of the center students that
there as still a violence problem and that was ongoing. And so
that prompted our 2015 audit.
Mr. Estes. Okay. Thank you.
Madame Chair, I yield back.
Chairwoman Foxx. Thank you very much.
Ms. Shea-Porter, you're recognized for 5 minutes.
Ms. Shea-Porter. Thank you very much.
I think we're all in agreement that the safety and the
welfare is incredibly important, probably No. 1, for the
responsibility of the Job Corps. And so it's important that we
have this hearing.
But it's also important to remember what the purpose of the
Job Corps is and what it does for the disadvantaged youth of
our country. So I hope we don't lose sight of that. And I've
been encouraged by the positive comments that I've heard at
this hearing.
2015 saw the opening of a new center near Manchester in my
State of New Hampshire. And we're every proud of the work being
done there.
Madame Chair, I ask unanimous consent to add into the
record a letter from the Manchester Police Department sent to
this committee expressing their support for the Job Corps work
and admission and discussing the partnership they have with New
Hampshire Job Corps.
Chairwoman Foxx. Without objection.
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Ms. Shea-Porter. Thank you.
Mr. Turner, on page 10, you said the Job Corps reported it
was improving physical security as funding permits. Could you
expound on that? Is funding one of the main reasons that
they're not doing this, or can you explain the role that -- and
why you wrote that?
Mr. Turner. Funding is something, ma'am, that I think that
the Department would be better equipped to address in terms of
whether or not they could afford to do some of their actions.
Ms. Shea-Porter. Okay. So when they gave you that
statement, you just took it and put it into the report. But we
don't really know if funding is --
Mr. Turner. Well, I do know that they have received
additional funding for some of the physical concerns -- as far
as physical security for some of the centers. I think for this
year they have 12 million that they're going to dedicate for 12
centers, and I think next -- 14 centers -- I'm sorry. And next
year they have another 12 million for 12 additional centers.
There was a lot of things that we found out in our report
from just a physical security aspect, from perimeter to just
metal detectors and just lighting around the different centers.
So those were some of the things. And when they explained it to
us, they did indicate that they had ran out of funding. And
that's why that some of those centers did not have those
improvements.
Ms. Shea-Porter. Okay. So based on what they told you and
what you wrote, funding does appear to have some role -- or
lack of funding in some role --
Mr. Turner. It has some role. But, again, they could speak
better to that than we could. But, yes, we were told that it
did have some role.
Ms. Shea-Porter. Okay. Thank you.
And you said they corrected everything but they need to
stay on it so --
Mr. Turner. Yes. Again, we found that to be -- the bigger
problem is that, once you correct something, that you got to
say: You know what? When you look at audits, there is really
two big pieces to that. One of it is to identify what's wrong
and to -- correcting it. And the other piece of that is ensure
that there is a sustainment effort- that you don't go back to
the problems you had before.
Ms. Shea-Porter. Okay. Thank you.
And, Mr. Barton, do you think funding has anything to do
with some of this? I recognize that it's not all of it. Some of
it, you know, the directors bear responsibility for not
reporting and not having the relationship that they need to
have with the P.D. et cetera.
But do you think funding has some role in what we're
talking about.
Mr. Barton. You know, maybe that would be a better question
for the Department of Labor. But I can tell you that Mr.
Turner, in his statement, said that Job Corps has reacted.
There has been a lot of corrections that have taken place
already. And I think that's the position that we're going to
continue on. Constant improvement, constant enhancements,
making sure we're alert and aware, and keeping safety and
security the foremost initiative in Job Corps.
Ms. Shea-Porter. Okay. The purpose of the question is, if
it's a question of funding in any way for security, that's
something that we would have to address right away if that
could make the students safer there.
Also, Mr. Barton, what are you proudest of? When you think
about, you know, the work that you do, what's the thing that
you are the proudest of?
Mr. Barton. You know, I think what makes me proud, and
possibly a lot of my colleagues, is making a difference in the
lives of students that were really in challenging positions
before they've arrived at Job Corps.
Ms. Shea-Porter. Okay. And do you have a network with other
center directors? Do you have a way to, like, share, exchange
ideas, any peer review? Is there any way -- because, obviously
-- like we're very proud of ours in New Hampshire. But there
appear to be a few that need more support or need some change.
Do you have any kind of network that allows all of you to
communicate with one another, and is there a peer-review
system?
Mr. Barton. You know, I can tell you Job Corps refers to
those as best practices. There was a time when we were able to
have meetings and come together as center directors. That has
since changed. And we're hopeful that one day maybe those CD
meetings and other Job Corps-related meetings can occur again,
because they were extremely beneficial.
Ms. Shea-Porter. So you don't even have like a phone
network or any way that you can --
Mr. Barton. Phone and email, certainly.
Ms. Shea-Porter. Right.
Mr. Barton. But the meetings were effective as well.
Ms. Shea-Porter. Right.
So there's no peer review, peer encouragement, any best
practices exchanged very little right now. Am I correct?
Mr. Barton. Within the Job Corps companies, I would imagine
that best practices are exchanged, yes.
Ms. Shea-Porter. Okay. Thank you.
I yield back.
Chairwoman Foxx. The gentle lady's time has expired.
Mr. Barletta, you're recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. Barletta. Thank you.
Madam Chair, I ask unanimous consent to enter a letter from
the National Job Corps Association into the permanent hearing
record.
Chairwoman Foxx. Without objection.
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Mr. Barletta. Mr. Barton, thank you for being here and all
that you do for the Job Corps program. As the Republican chair
of the Job Corps Caucus, I have long been supportive of the
program. The Keystone Job Core Center operates in my district.
And during my time as mayor of Hazelton, Pennsylvania, I
witnessed the great things that Job Corps can do for these
young adults that traditional educational systems could not.
I've also seen the local partnerships that the Keystone Center
has developed and the tremendous benefit that those
relationships have had on my local area.
When I was mayor, the Keystone students worked to restore
the old sidewalks around city hall. They also took part in the
downtown beautification project, and they designed these
beautiful trash receptacles that are still there today. The
students there helped volunteer fire departments perform smoke
alarm tests and go door to door offering their assistance
installing working detectors.
They participated in the United Way's annual Thanksgiving
dinner and even volunteer with Habitat for Humanity. The
culinary students put their skills to use by preparing meals
for many of our local events. And I've also had tremendous Job
Corps students intern in my Hazelton congressional district
office. And just as Keystone gives back to their community, the
community invests in them.
Keystone has a strong working relationship with the Butler
Township police department. A partnership that spans over 50
years. The cooperation between the center and the police
department is based on open and constant communication.
Most recently, an officer came to speak to the students in
the security program about the rewards and challenges of being
in law enforcement. Local church leaders visit once a week
giving students a chance to talk to someone from outside the
center if something is bothering them. Retired folks in the
community even drop by to tutor those students. Many students
simply do not have access to these types of positive
relationships before they came to Keystone.
Now, I'm citing these examples, as you can see, that the
students are very involved in our community. The management at
Keystone has told me their community partnerships help to
reduce safety incidents. And I can see why. Teaching students
to live in the community, and to be part of one, fosters a
sense of self value that lends itself to a sense of
accountability to others.
I'm proud to represent Keystone, and I believe that every
Job Corps center has the responsibility to be a good neighbor.
I also recognize that Job Corps centers are the first time
students have been away from the place where they grew up.
Helping them realize a new sense of community is fundamental in
making them feel at home, and so is their safety.
So my question, Mr. Barton, is we can all agree that one
death or incidence of violence is one too many. Can you tell me
about the efforts your center undertakes to engage students in
the local community, and if you believe these activities
increase safety? And are there ways that the Department of
Labor can encourage Job Corps centers across the country to
become more involved with their local communities to encourage
a culture of accountability, safety, and security?
Mr. Barton. First of all, thank you for being chair of the
Job Corps caucus. We appreciate that. And I need to tell you
that, at Earle C. Clements, we -- and just hearing those stores
at Keystone, it's quite similar at Earle C. Our culinary
students make or prepare meals for Veterans Day, and are always
assisting in the community.
But I can tell you that an initiative led by our national
office of Job Corps -- it's called Youth to Youth. And that was
rolled out. That initiative was put forward 6 months ago or so.
And it is an anti-bullying platform. And it encouraged students
to get out in the community, work with local school systems,
work with local residents to send a message that there are
other ways to solve problems besides bullying and hazing and
fighting. And that initiative has been extremely beneficial to
Job Corps.
Students across the country have expressed other coping
skills to deal with problems other than violence or arguments
and teaching students how to get to an end without conflict. So
that Y2Y, is what's it's referred to, has been extremely
popular and successful in Job Corps. And we're going to
continue those types of initiatives moving forward.
Mr. Barletta. Thank you for the work you're doing.
Thank you, Madame Chair.
Chairwoman Foxx. Thank you. The gentleman's time has
expired.
Ms. Wilson, you're recognized for 5 minutes.
Ms. Wilson of Florida. Thank you, Madam Chair.
This is really earth-shattering for me today to be here at
this hearing. I think this is the first time since I've come to
Congress that I've had three African-American people testifying
before a committee. So I say welcome to you. And you're
testifying about something that is very close to my heart. Job
Corps.
And I've had experience with Job Corps since I was a very
young woman. My sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha, operated the
Cleveland Job Corps for 30 years. And I was involved in all of
that operation. And I want to say to Mr. Bartlett, I want to
join the Job Corps Caucus. And I appreciate them having a Job
Corps Caucus.
As African-American people, we don't have much. Society has
not -- has seen that our children don't have the many
opportunities that other children have. So the safety that they
have put in place, that the government has put in place, and
the few things that we do have for these children, one of them
that I try to champion is Job Corps.
And Job Corps is one of the best kept secrets in this
Nation. And if more people knew the good that Job Corps does,
the more support Job Corps would get.
So I can tell you about the Job Corps center in Miami. The
Job Corps center in Miami sends to me an intern every semester.
From the time I served on the Miami-Dade County school board,
I've had Job Corps children interning at my office.
Whenever I have community events, the ROTC from the Job
Corps performs at every community event I have. I have HIV/AIDS
summits for Black AIDS Day, for National Aids Day. My
volunteers are always from Job Corps. I have a huge job fair
every year, and all of the school of Job Corps is there to help
with that. We have a drug conference every year, and they are
there. We have antiviolence conferences, and they are there.
And I have letters to put into the record from our Miami
Gardens Police Department, and it says: ``This letter serves to
confirm the outstanding relationship the City of Miami Gardens
Police Department has with Miami Job Corp Center. We'' --
Chairwoman Foxx. Without objection.
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Ms. Wilson of Florida. ``We consider the Miami Job Corps
center students and staff to be great partners.''
And I know how important it is for you serving
organizations to have solid relationship with law enforcement.
Can you speak to your center's relationships, Mr. Barton, with
the police department? Because we have a great partnership.
And I'll let you speak in a minute, but I want to make sure
that I submit these letters for the record: One from the Miami
Gardens Police Department, one from Florida Memorial University
that has a partnership with Job Corps, one from the Kiwanis
club, and one for -- from Urban Growing Institute. And I want
you --
Chairwoman Foxx. Without objection.
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Ms. Wilson of Florida. -- to come to Miami and see how the
Miami Job Corps operates. I want you to listen to the stories
that I listen to every day. I go to Job Corps two and three
times a year to speak to them. They're in my office all the
time.
This is a refuge for these children. Please. Whatever you
can, protect Job Corps. Think about where they would be,
especially the black boys, if there was no Job Corps. And we
all know the answer to that.
And I just want to say to Mr. Turner, you mentioned that
the 12 centers you visited -- that the report had security
weaknesses and that it was related to the physical campus.
Could many of these issues you say are the cause of inadequate
security cameras, security staff shortages, is that a result of
funding? So let us look at how we're funding these Job Corps
centers.
And, Mr. Barton tell me about the police with law
enforcement with your --
Chairwoman Foxx. The gentle woman's time has expired.
Ms. Wilson of Florida. Oh, I yield back.
Chairwoman Foxx. You're recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. Garrett. Thank you, Madame Chair.
I wonder if any of the panelists could tell me what
percentage of Job Corps participants are female?
Mr. Barton. Well, I can tell you, at the Earle C. Clements
Center, we have currently 16 percent female.
Mr. Garrett. So let me start by saying that I have had the
unique opportunity repeatedly to visit the Old Dominion Job
Corps, and I'm familiar personally with Danny Grimes, the
director of that center. And I am a vociferous advocate for the
good work done by Job Corps.
My contention is that, inherent to American citizenship, is
the right to have an opportunity, and that Job Corps creates
opportunity for young people in circumstances wherein often
that opportunity is too difficult to find.
Having said that, the subject matter of this hearing isn't
about support for Job Corps. I think there's near consensus
that Job Corps is an effective and excellent program that
extends opportunity to young people who might have been born
amongst the least fortunate of us. But it's about the safety at
Job Corps centers.
And the reason I began my questioning with what percentage
of Job Corps participants were female, is the data in the ETA
that we were provided and the statistics and specifically, in
this instance with relation to sexual assault. It's not
difficult to determine the rate of sexual assault per 100,000
population in the country. It's not difficult to ascertain that
the groups demographically and age-wise most disproportionally
affected by sexual assault are the age and demographics of the
Job Corps participant pools. But it's still troubling when you
learn without regard for the percentage of females in the
program, which are 77 times more likely to be a victim of a
sexual assault than at the population at large. Conceding, of
course, that the numbers are higher for the 18-to-24 age
bracket which primarily is served by Job Corps.
It's terribly troubling to me when you learn that 82 to 90
percent of victims of sexual assault are female and the
population of the Job Corps centers is roughly 16 percent
female. And that you're still 77 times more likely to be the
victim of a sexual assault based on the data that we've been
provided in a Job Corps center.
Likewise, we heard testimony from my colleague for whom I
hold great regard, Congressman Polis from Colorado, that you're
actually at a lower risk of becoming a victim of homicide in
the Job Corps, but that doesn't change the fact that
participants in Job Corps were 14 times more likely than the
general population to be a victim of homicide.
Now, in the general population pool, amongst the ages
served by Job Corps, the number is about 15 times more likely;
right? So we can demonstrate that Job Corps is, in fact, a
safer place fractionally and that we're really reaching out to
people who need the help the most?
But I guess what I'm driving at here is I support Job
Corps. I support maintaining funding for Job Corps antithetical
to the budget of the President who occupies the White House
who's of my party. But we do have a safety issue or else there
wouldn't be a hearing.
So I suppose the point that I'm driving at here is thank
you all for the good work you do, but we're not done yet.
There's more that needs to be done. And recognizing that, for
example, young women in 4-year colleges are three times more
likely to be victims of sexual assault than the population at
large.
And so, yes, there are circumstances that are horrible that
we should seek to address while it's not throwing out the
proverbial baby with the bathwater, right? You guys do good
work on the oversight side, on the running-the-facility side,
on the program side. But let's keep trying to push these
numbers down; right?
So I want to color my remarks with a thank you and an
imploration to continue to try to do even better. I don't
disagree that Job Corps provides better circumstances for young
people than they would have outside the Job Corps. But the
numbers are still such that we need to do more. That's all.
Madame Chair, I yield back my time and again thank the
panelists, all three. I don't want to see this program be hurt,
because people point out numbers like these and use it as an
excuse to hurt this program. There's too much good going on.
Let's make it better.
Thank you.
Chairwoman Foxx. Thank you, Mr. Garrett.
Mr. Espaillat, you're recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. Espaillat. Thank you, Madame Chair.
This is a great program, one of a few programs that has
survived since the 1960s, including Head Start, Medicaid,
Medicare. This particular program, the Job Corps program, I
think is an example of what we can do for our -- the people
that we represent. What government can do. How government can
be a force of good and do for the people that we represent.
Obviously, just like any other program, it will encounter
difficulties.
Violence is not exclusive of the Job Corps program. You
know, there's sexual assault going on in the -- unfortunately,
in the armed forces. Sexual assault against women in colleges
across the Nation. Violence in the schools. Unfortunate and
tragic shootings in the schools. So violence, in general --
it's a problem across society, and it is not exclusive of the
Job Corps. I think the Job Corps, in fact, have helped reduce
violence in urban settings by giving young people that would
otherwise be exposed to violence an opportunity to move
forward.
So, you know, I don't think that we should dismantle this
program. I think that we should strengthen it and work with the
program to ensure that steps are taken to cure any incidents of
violence, just as they occurred across our society. I don't
think Job Corps has ownership of that. It is pervasive across
society.
And so, Mr. Barton, I know that you first started in Job
Corps in the South Bronx, in New York, the State that I
represent. And I just want to know: Do you have any numbers for
how many people from New York are participating in the Job
Corps, by any chance?
Mr. Barton. At the Earle C. Center?
Mr. Espaillat. Yes.
Mr. Barton. I don't have those right now, to be specific.
Mr. Espaillat. I would appreciate if you can share with
them with me at some point.
Ms. Barnes. I will do that.
Mr. Espaillat. I want to get that information. And if you
can even make them by congressional district, it will be even a
greater tool for us to know exactly what our -- how many young
people in our district are benefiting from -- what would occur
to these young people if the program was dismantled? I mean,
what -- what would happen? Explain to me. You were a
participant. What would happen?
Mr. Barton. I think initially many students wouldn't know
what to do. Many would be forced to return home to a home life
with extreme challenges, no work, lack of skills, lack of
education, lack of any type of credential, forced to take low-
wage jobs. And it would just create a continuous cycle of not
achieving, not feeling as if there's any future.
I think what Job Corps brings is hope for the future, a
safe haven for students to achieve high school diplomas,
trades, primary credentials, and right to work. And it's so
important that -- that we acknowledge that students are
leaving, going right to work.
Again, at Earle C. Clements, we have a 90 percent placement
rate. Students would not achieve that if they didn't feel safe.
It's just a wonderful opportunity for young people to better
their lives.
Mr. Espaillat. What kind of professions and trades are
young people graduating with the skills to then go into the
workforce? This is a great job-producing program. What kind of
skills are you teaching them that are -- that is consistent
with the need that we have in society for jobs?
Mr. Barton. At Earle C. Clements, we have carpentry,
electrician, we have the deckhand trade, we have facility
maintenance, which is warehousing. And all of these trades are
applicable to entry and mid-level jobs.
Right now, we have a litany of nursing and healthcare
trades at the center. And so we know, with the proper training,
with the proper work ethic, that are our students will graduate
the program and move on to great jobs and great careers and
change their lives and, more importantly, their family's lives.
Mr. Espaillat. Madame Chair, thank you. I just want to say
that, again, the Job Corps does not have exclusivity in
violence across America. We want to work with them to save this
program and strengthen their -- the steps that they have
already begun to take to ensure that no incidents occur in the
future.
I yield back my time.
Chairwoman Foxx. Thank you very much.
Mr. Ferguson -- excuse me. Mr. Lewis, you're next for 5
minutes.
Mr. Lewis. Thank you, Madame Chair, and thank you to the
witnesses today. I don't think there's any doubt in this room
that everybody agrees with the goals that we're trying to get
to. I'm especially enthused by the emphasis on vocational
training and what you're doing and what some of the other
programs are doing.
But there does appear to be a problem here. The law is
fairly clear. -- Mr. Turner, I'll start with you -- on the zero
tolerance policy for acts of violence and drugs and other
disruptive activity. But as the, you know, inspector general
report or the audit revealed, there were center operators that
did not report 21 percent of the serious infractions. They
downgraded 15 percent of other infractions. There were
situations where the OIG found that centers were not contacting
law enforcement for 140 out of 348 potential serious criminal
misconduct instances. That's 40 percent. Twelve centers did not
report numerous significant incidents to Job Corps. The
cooperative agreement supposedly established with law
enforcement did not materialize. And I'm trying to figure out
why that is.
You know, in your written testimony, you suggested that
there was an attempt to avoid some of the adverse effects of
early dismissals on the performance outcomes. Let me be blunt.
Do you think there's been a culture of -- or a conflict of
interest, if you will, that, look, if we report all this stuff,
contract renewals could be in jeopardy, our centers are not
going to look quite as good, they're not going to meet their
goals, and so someone's turning the other cheek?
Mr. Turner. While we did not investigate intentional fraud
or criminal fraud, we did find that there may have been several
reasons for this.
One of those reasons we feel like may have been in some
cases where the center operator was trying to give the students
a second chance, in some cases. We also feel like it could have
been human error. But we also thought there was a possibility
that there may have been some performance, you know, motivation
behind that. We felt like, in some cases, the center may have
had a conflict of interest, meaning that if they had to -- if
they had to graduate X amount of students and they fall short
of that, it could have impact on their performance of their
contract renewal.
Mr. Lewis. Yeah. And --
Mr. Turner. Or bonuses that may be associated with it as
well.
Mr. Lewis. Exactly. And then that concerns me deeply,
because you've got, as they say, a bit of a conflict of
interest there operating and -- at the expense of a lot of
young people.
Do we have plans to put something in place to provide
incentives in the other direction to make certain we get
compliance and reinstate the zero policy with some
effectiveness?
Mr. Turner. Well, we have not done enough work on this one
way or the other. But we can look to do more. It is a concern
that we have raised with the department. And so we do share
your concern.
Mr. Lewis. Thank you.
Mr. Barton, I'd like to continue with regard to the
effectiveness of the program. I want to make certain we're
getting our money's worth. We're going to debate a CTE bill
that this committee has been working on today. It provides
about a billion dollars -- 1.1 billion a year for Federal
support for career and technical education. And yet the Job
Corps program costs us $1.7 billion a year for 50,000 students.
That's $33,000 per student. Where can we get efficiencies here?
That seems to be a little bit of a high price to me.
Mr. Barton. Well, I think we have to look what Job Corps
does. Wrap-around services; day and evening structured
programs; a safe haven to obtain a high school diploma; achieve
multiple credentials; go right into the world of work, college,
advanced training, and/or the military. And so when you look at
the multiple benefits that over 50,000 students will receive
across the country from Job Corps, the student-year cost all of
a sudden seems absolutely worth it. Job Corps is an outstanding
spend for thousands of students.
Mr. Lewis. And yet the study you cited found little
difference between Job Corps participants and nonparticipants
in earnings after four years completing the program.
Mr. Barton. I --
Mr. Lewis. How do you -- yeah. Go ahead.
Mr. Barton. I think students to have a long-term plan. And
that's one of the things that Job Corps assists students with:
Planning for their future, making sure that they have a good
career track, and that the CTT offering that they choose or
select has many options and avenues, that they can continue to
increase their education level, increase their wages, and make
sure they can do better for them and their families.
And there's just one thing that I do want to say about a
question that you were asking Mr. Turner. Job Corps centers --
it does not help a Job Corps center to keep a student that is
not paying attention to the rules and regulations. What that
does is hurt the culture.
Mr. Lewis. Certainly -- we all certainly agree with that.
Thank you for your testimony. I yield back.
Chairwoman Foxx. Thank you very much, Mr. Lewis.
Mr. Takano, you're recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. Takano. Thank you, Madame Chair. I apologize. This seat
over here was kind of stuck, and that's why it went -- I just
wanted to let you know.
Chairwoman Foxx. No problem.
Mr. Takano. Okay.
Mr. Barton, I just want to -- this issue of efficiency and
CTE funding to school districts versus the number of students
you serve through the budget that you have, is it really fair
to compare the supplemental CTE funding that school districts
get with the complete total wraparound services that you
provide for the young people that come to your program?
Mr. Barton. You know, I think the question is where would
the -- the students that we serve go? That's the question --
traditional schooling -- many of them had trouble in
traditional schooling, and they turned to Job Corps as an
alternative for their education.
And so one of the things that is a platform for Job Corps
is primary credentials. CTT training, ensuring that you leave
with a high school diploma. And not looking for a job, leaving
with employment.
So certainly it's beneficial. The spend of dollars for
students moving through the program to obtain these credentials
and to complete their trades and moving right into work, it
absolutely makes sense to continue to fund that.
Mr. Takano. Yeah. I was just getting at -- there was a
comparison being drawn to the number of students that are
served with CTE funding versus the number of students that are
funded through Job Corps. But I was trying to make the point
that it was maybe an unfair comparison, it's apples and
oranges, because you have a more holistic complete wraparound
that you serve with the students, not supplemental funding with
CTE. And it's quite remarkable you actually are -- these
students are leaving with the ability -- your program with the
ability to go straight into the job. That is quite remarkable.
Mr. Barton, you were an academic manager for a Job Corps at
one point. Can you speak to where many students are
academically when they arrive into the program?
Mr. Barton. Sure. Certainly.
Speaking for Earle C. Clements, the majority of our
students enter with a reading and math level at about the 8th
grade level, 8th or 9th grade level. So certainly, that's a
challenge from the very beginning. And again, wraparound
services, offering tutoring, day and evening programs. Can't
stress that enough. That is when there is idle time. And we
need to capture that time with tutoring, structured programs to
ensure that students are leaving with reading and math gains
which is essential for high school diploma achievement. And --
Mr. Takano. A lot of developmental educational work is
developing their reading skills, developing their math skills.
How intensive is the student-to-instructor ratio? I mean, is it
a small ratio? Is it 10 to 1? 20 to 1? As far as the number of
instructors per -- or students per instructor.
Mr. Barton. Right. So in most our classrooms, academic and
CTT, it's about 12 to 1.
Mr. Takano. Yeah. That's what I was thinking. It's pretty
intense. And that's -- that can be expensive. But it's
necessary with intensive developmental education that's really
going to perform and deliver results.
Mr. Barton, you state in your written testimony that many
Job Corps students have been unsuccessful in a traditional
education system and have learned maladaptive behaviors for the
classroom or workplace. Can you speak to how Job Corps responds
to youth under these circumstances and works to ensure that
these young people can thrive academically? And you've already
mentioned some of them in your early response?
Mr. Barton. Right. I think it starts with residential
living, making sure that students know how to take care of
their home, which, in Job Corps, is their room. But waking up
on time, dressing for success, wearing your uniform, showing up
on time, being attentive in class, being attentive to work-
based learning opportunities or internships in the local and
not-so-distant area, and showing that work ethic to their
supervisor and on-the-job training that they go every day, that
they have the ability to come in, follow directions, and have
the foresight to do the job well.
Mr. Takano. So in your written testimony, you speak to how
your center has improved in its efforts with regard to high
school completion and credential attainment. Can you speak to
those efforts and what it has meant for the center and its
students?
Mr. Barton. Oh, I think it's just -- the placement rate
over 90 percent is phenomenal. And what a good feeling it is to
watch a student walk across the graduation stage, knowing
they're leaving with their high school diploma, their trade,
multiple credentials, and a job. And as I've stated before, for
many of our students, they're first in their family. And so the
primary credential is the graduate placement. All of those
things are attained because students feel welcome, safe,
secure, and it's in an environment for learning.
Mr. Takano. That 12-to-1 ratio -- I just want to go back to
that. I just remember visiting Duke University in North
Carolina and asking what they do for their freshman writing
class. And it's a 12-to-1 ratio. And that kind of, I think,
intensity and expenditure and attention to young people, I
think, is -- you know, is requisite.
Madame Chair, I'm over my time. I yield back.
Mr. Barton. Right. I just need to add, that may vary in
some class at some times on centers.
Mr. Takano. Thank you.
Thank you.
Chairwoman Foxx. The gentleman's time has expired.
Mr. Grothman, you're recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. Grothman. Right. I want to dance around between all of
you here, but I -- Mr. Barton said something that offended me a
little bit, and I'd like to ask him to elaborate on it.
Somebody asked what would happen to these folks if they
were not in Job Corps, and you responded they might have to
take a low-paying job. I will tell you, I wish we had all the
Congressmen around here. Maybe next time Chairman Foxx can go
around the table and see how much the first job that every one
of these Congressmen -- had how much it paid.
But you clearly belittled the idea of a low-paying job,
like it was something not worth doing. And I've always felt
that employers, when they look to hire somebody, they're not as
much concerned about the credentialism or -- or something like
Job Corps. Have you done another job? Have you shown that
you're going to show up all the time? Are you courteous, you
know? Do you have an employer who's going to say something nice
about you?
And I assume you're, to a certain extent, a leader in a
community. And I was very concerned that you said that, well,
if they weren't in Job Corps, they might have to have a low-
paying job, like it wasn't worthwhile to work for $8 or $9 or
$10 an hour. Do you want to maybe elaborate on that a little
bit?
Mr. Barton. Yes. And certainly didn't mean to offend you or
anyone else. And it's -- and so let me say this: What we want
for our students is for them to attain their high school
diploma, multiple credentials, and the opportunity to make a --
or to enter into the workforce equipped to take care of their
families and themselves. So certainly, any job that our student
gets, we're proud of them. However, we want to make sure that
they're equipped to get the best employment possible currently
and throughout their working career.
Mr. Grothman. Okay. I think there are probably very few
people in our society who can say their first job paid 15 bucks
an hour or more. And I certainly -- if I was looking to hire
somebody, I would look and see what type of jobs they had
before. I wouldn't want to see a credential. I want to see, you
know, have you shown that you're a hard worker? Have you shown
that you can hang around somewhere for 1 or 2 years. And to
kind of imply that there was something wrong with an 18-year-
old or 19-year-old making 8 or 9 bucks an hour, I think you're
sending entirely the wrong message.
I would be much more likely to hire somebody who was making
8 or 9 bucks an hour and doing a good job at it than somebody
coming out of Job Corps, in part because of the reasons for
this hearing. And I will open it up to Ms. Barnes and Mr.
Turner as well.
I suppose the goal of Job Corps is to wind up with somebody
getting a job. And when you hear these statistics, like 50,000
injuries or illnesses, and -- you begin to wonder how tight a
ship they're running at Job Corps. You know, if I have to pick
at somebody -- if I have an employer and I have to decide
somebody who's been working for -- or at least experiencing Job
Corps and somebody who is working at a $9 or a $10 an hour job
for 2 years, I'm telling you, when I -- when I -- if I was
paying attention to this hearing, I'd take the person who was
working for 8 or 9 or 10 bucks an hour for two years every
time.
Because if that person had been working there for that long
a period of time, I know that man or woman had proven
themselves as worthwhile to an employer out there and would be
much more likely to prove themselves worthwhile to me as
opposed to a program that looks to me kind of loosey-goosey.
Ms. Barnes or Mr. Turner, do you care to respond to that?
Do you think it will make it more difficult or does make it
more difficult for employers to hire Job Corps graduates when
this sort of -- these newspaper articles get out there? I mean,
you can understand, as an employer, why maybe some of these
people would be -- would have been better off just working at a
regular job even if that regular job paid 8 or 9 bucks an hour.
Ms. Barnes. Yeah, I understand what you're saying. But that
was outside of the scope of what we did for this review.
Mr. Turner. It's also outside the scope for us. I think, to
get to your bigger point, it's important that Job Corps clean
up the balance in Job Corps so that the image of students that
graduate, I think, would be more positive.
Mr. Grothman. Okay. Do you know -- and I don't know that
you guys would have it or Mr. Barton would know. Do you know
how many students were unable to get a job after leaving Job
Corps because they failed a drug test?
Mr. Barton. How many students were unable?
Mr. Grothman. Yeah. Does that ever happen? In my district,
one of the problems -- you know, first of all, at this time,
Job Corps is least needed because our -- at least in my area,
the unemployment rate is so low. But one of the problems
employers have in my area is a lot of them say that they don't
want to hire new employees who can't pass a drug test.
And I wondered, is that a problem for Job Corps recipients?
Are you doing constant drug tests to make sure that, when they
leave Job Corps, they at least aren't going to, you know,
stumble the first hurdle because they're flunking a --
Mr. Barton. Right. I can tell you that we have a 90 percent
placement rate. And so that suggests that our graduates are
being hired and are able to pass a test. But I don't have a
specific number for that.
Chairwoman Foxx. Mr. Grothman, you're time has expired. The
Gentleman can submit questions --
Mr. Grothman. Okay.
Chairwoman Foxx. -- to the witnesses and gather that
statistic if it is -- if it is out there. And I would encourage
you to do that.
Ms. Adams, you're recognized for 5 minutes.
Ms. Adams. Thank you, Madame Chair. And I want to thank the
ranking member as well and thank you all for your testimony.
This hearing sheds light on some important issues that
affect Job Corps programs and many at-risk youth that it
serves. The hope that -- as we focus on the unacceptable safety
and security lapses that certain Job Corps centers, that we
don't throw the baby out with the bathwater and fundamentally
change the program that serves over 800 students in the State
of North Carolina whose mortality rate for students rests far
below that of the general population.
In fact, we can honestly say that to get rid of Job Corps
would put our students in a far more dangerous position than
they currently find themselves in. So to that end, Madame
Chair, I have a letter from the Henderson Police Department,
which serves the Job Corps center in Kittrell, North Carolina,
that expresses that sentiment. And I'd like to enter it into
the record recovered.
Chairwoman Foxx. Without objection.
[The information follows:]
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. Adams. All right. Thank you.
I want to focus on the great services that Job Corps has to
offer to our communities and the damage underfunding of the
program will do to our local economies.
I also have a letter, Madame Chair, from the Henderson-
Vance Chamber of Commerce that expresses that sentiment as well
and would like to -- get enter this into the record as well.
Chairwoman Foxx. Without objection.
[The information follows:]
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. Adams. Thank you.
Mr. Turner. Let me start with you. You mentioned that your
follow-up report was partially in response to the two student
murders that were conducted in 2015. So considering your prior
report covers the time between 2009 to 2015, would you agree
that Job Corps did not have time to fully implement your
recommendations or improve their program management based on
the initial report before you began to collect data for the
follow-up on report?
Mr. Turner. Well, ma'am, let me just say that those were
two different reports. The first report dealt with student
discipline, and the second report dealt with engagement of law
enforcement, also review a physical -- I mean, physical
security around the centers. And then also what kind of
proactive actions could be taken by the center to mitigate some
of the problems that we identify with law enforcement.
Ms. Adams. Would you -- would it be fair to say that Job
Corps should have time to implement your recommendations before
further judgment of the program safety or effectiveness?
Mr. Turner. No, ma'am, because we actually felt like there
was a follow-on report that was, again, separate but touched on
some of the same themes. But it was a completely different
report. So we stand by our report.
Ms. Adams. Okay. Ms. Barnes, your report mentioned the
number of offsite incidents. Does offsite incidents data
include times when a Job Corps student was not under
supervision of Job Corps?
Ms. Barnes. It does include that. It includes other things
such as supervised program-related activities, like field
trips. I mean, we included those because the Department of
Labor's policy, all incidents are required to be reported that
involve Job Corps students, whether they're onsite or offsite.
Ms. Adams. What about victims?
Ms. Barnes. Victims?
Ms. Adams. Uh-huh.
Ms. Barnes. Victims are included in -- you mean offsite or
onsite?
Ms. Adams. Onsite.
Ms. Barnes. Onsite. Yeah. We do have -- did include
information on victims as well as the perpetrators in the data.
Ms. Adams. Okay. All right. Thank you very much. I have no
further questions.
Madame Chair, I yield back.
Chairwoman Foxx. Thank you, Ms. Adams.
I thank our witnesses again for taking the time to testify
before the committee today. And I recognize Ranking Member
Scott for his closing remarks.
Mr. Scott. Thank you, Madame Chair. And I'd like to thank
the witnesses for testifying today. I want to thank the -- and
thank you for calling the hearing.
We've heard a lot about how the Job Corps is
transformational for the overwhelming number of students who
finish this program. And we've heard that from both sides of
the aisle. We've learned about skills training. We did have a
comment from our colleague from Wisconsin about whether it's
better to be in the Job Corps or just working in a low-skill
job. I'm sure if you're running a shipyard and have a choice
between someone who has been working a low-skilled job or
someone that has their welding certificate and knows how to
weld, there's no question you'd obviously pick the welder for
that nice-paying job rather than the person that had been
working at a low-skill job.
Now, I'm not brushing aside the violent acts that have
occurred at Job Corps centers or as the gentlelady from North
Carolina has just noticed, that you could be, to be in these
statistics, offsite and a victim. It's kind of hard to credit
the Job Corps for that situation. But these are serious
problems, and programs need to continue to work to improve
center safety and implement the inspector general
recommendations.
But let's be clear. As we've heard from both sides, these
young people -- some of the hardest-to-serve young people are a
lot better off in the program than continue on the trajectory
that they would have been in had it not been for the Job Corps.
Mr. Scott. And society is a whole lot better off with young
people getting jobs, rather than being on the way to jail.
The OIG and GAO reports do not provide a context or even
comparisons to what happens to Job Corps population compared to
similar demographics that do not get into Job Corps. And I
think when you compare those two data sets, we'll find the Job
Corps is a good deal for these young people, but of course
there is always room for improvement.
And we need to make sure that all the improvements that can
be made are made. I would like to thank the inspector general
for the long list of recommendations that need to be
implemented.
I am disappointed, as you've indicated Madam Chair that the
National Office of Job Corps is not here. They would have been
able to better illuminate the steps they are taking to make Job
Corps more safe and secure, while confirming the testimony of
Mr. Barton showing the change in the young people in terms of
employment rate, reduced crime, reduced teen pregnancy and
other improvements in their life options.
I know Madam Chair that you have sent an oversight request
and I hope you'll share the results of that request with our
office, but we need to still hear directly from the office of
Job Corps.
Meanwhile, Madam Chair, I ask unanimous consent to enter
into the record the response to the IG report from the
employment and training administration.
Chairwoman Foxx. Without objection.
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Mr. Scott. Thank you, Madam Chair. And I hope soon we are
going to work together to try and improve the program, because
it does provide successful options for thousands of young
people across our Nation.
Thank you and I yield back.
Chairwoman Foxx. Thank you, Mr. Scott. I want to clarify
for the record a couple of issues that came up in the testimony
that we did not get facts in.
Job Corps received approximately $1.7 billion in the fiscal
year 2017 omnibus, which included a $15 million increase to be
used specifically for improving the safety and security of the
program. The fiscal year 2016 omnibus spending bill directed
the Department of Labor to review and address student safety
concerns throughout the program in order to maintain a safe and
effective learning environment.
As was mentioned by Mr. Lewis, each student participation
cost is $32,960 for the most recent program year for which data
is available.
And in the President's fiscal year 2018 budget request,
it's approximately $1.4 billion for Job Corps. It requested no
reduction in the program construction or administration
accounts but would reduce program operations funding by
approximately 237 million. The budget includes proposals to
close chronically low performing centers and giving priority to
enrollment of students age 20 or older.
This hearing was established to discuss the safety and
security of Job Corp programs, that was the emphasis. However,
many of my colleagues have talked about why we need Job Corps
programs. And as I sat here and listened, I thought it is a
commentary on our culture that we are comparing murder rates
and assault rates in Job Corps with the larger culture. And
it's the larger culture that creates the needs.
What we're doing is continuing to put Band-Aids on the
problems of the larger culture and that is very troubling to
me, that we do not look at what creates the need for a Job
Corps. We are not putting the emphasis on the fact that we have
a dysfunctional culture. These young people should feel safe
and secure in their home community and not have to be taken out
of their home community and placed in a setting like Job Corps.
I realize that people feel that they should promote this
program because it serves students who need help, but I'm
appalled at the dismissal of the safety concerns that we've
heard today. It's quite obvious, despite what some people are
saying, that safety and security are not paramount in these
centers or we would not be seeing the horrific number of deaths
and violent behavior that we've heard about today. And these
numbers are just the minimum numbers of these incidents.
We can see safety is a concern of students. One in five
students think about leaving because of safety concerns, based
on the research. But we have ongoing work to delve deeper into
the issue and something we cannot gloss over.
Both the Department and the contractors have a lot of work
to do and importantly that work must persist and continue to be
enforced over the long term.
Bottom line, these numbers are alarming and cannot be
tolerated in a program that uses taxpayer dollars and it's a
lot of money.
I thank our witnesses again for being here. I thank all the
members who came and were engaged.
There being no further business, the committee stands
adjourned.
[Additional submissions by Ms. Barnes follow:]
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[Additional submission by Chairwoman Foxx follows:]
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[Additional submissions by Ms. Fudge follow:]
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[Additional submissions by Mr. Polis follow:]
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[Additional submissions by Ms. Wilson follow:]
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[Whereupon, at 12:08 p.m., the committee was adjourned.]
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