Office of the Inspector General Report Minact Corporation August 2010

Read the entire OIG report here:

Mold, non compliance with safety and health inspections and retention of potentially violent students… the continuing saga of Job Corps and its “for profit” corporations who place greed before its public trust…

The newest Office of the Inspector General Report published August 10, 2010, found that Minact Corporation did not follow the requirements for reporting financial expenditures and managing safety and health programs at its Excelsior Springs Job Corps Center in Missouri.

The questionable expenditures amounted to $203,921 and in addition to not performing safety and health inspections as required, Minact did not follow federal disciplinary procedures nor convene all the Fact Finding boards (FFB’s) for level I and II infractions committed by students.  These level infractions include acts of physical violence committed upon others or threats of violence towards others. Non compliance with the regulations could expose staff and students to violent acts and unsafe conditions on centers. Readers may remember that I reported on this in this blog about Shriver Job corps retaining students who should have been separated because we needed the numbers in order to improve our OBS (On board Strength).  See article here:

Of particular interest to me are the photos of the mold growing on the ceiling of the culinary storage area, exposed ceiling tiles in a classroom, and protruding electrical outlet boxes on a classroom floor (Excelsior Springs Job Corps, page 13 and 14 of OIG report).  Would you want to send your child there… further… you are paying for this program through your taxes, are you satisfied that your tax dollars are being put to good use?

Minact Corporation operates the following Job Corps Centers:  Batesville Job Corps, Dr. Benjamin L. Hooks Job Corps, Gulfport Job Corps, Quentin Burdick Job Corps, Shreveport Job Corps, Excelsior Springs Job Corps, Gerald R. Ford Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers, Hubert H. Humphrey  Job Corps, St. Louis Job Corps

Filed under: Batesville Job Corps, Contractors, Dr. Benjamin L. Hooks Job Corps, Excelsior Springs Job Corps, Gerald R. Ford Job Corps, Gulfpot Job Corps, Improper billing, Job Corps, MINACT, OIG Reports, Quentin Burdick Job Corps, Quentin Burdick Job Corps Center, Shreveport Job Corps, Shriver Job Corps Center, St. Louis Job Corps, Batesville Job Corps, Dr. Benjamin L. Hooks Job Corps, Excelsior Springs Job Corps, financial expenditures, Gerald R. Ford Job Corps, Gulfport Job Corps, Minact Corporation, Office of the Inspector General, Quentin Burdick Job Corps Center, safety and health violations, Shreveport Job Corps, Shriver Job Corps

Reader’s Comment About Little Rock Job Corps Center

-from Z

Today August 11, 2010 in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette there was an article about the Little Rock Job Corps posting a hearing for a charter school in Little Rock on Sept. 2, 2010 at the center. My question is how can the Little Rock Job Corps hold a hearing to become a charter school when they can not help or educate the youth they serve currently. The youth that come into the program at this center can not even fill out an application for employment. They come into this program not educated and they leave still not being educated. The people in this community need to make a stand and not allow this to continue. These poor youth are being taken advantaged of.

The management staff is not interested in educating these poor youth. Someone somewhere please take a stand and say no to another poorly run school system that is not educating the youth of Arkansas. This is the reason why employers and companies do not want to come to this state because they feel they can’t get a quality educated employee. This is true because of places like the Little Rock Job Corps. Someone somewhere say no just say no more poorly run school systems.

Little Rock Job Corps is operated by Adams and Associates

Filed under: Adams and Associates, Job Corps, Job Corps Centers, Little Rock Job Corps, Newspaper Reports, Reader's Comments, Arkansas Democrat Gazette, charter school, Job Corps Reader's Comments, Little Rock Job Corps

How the Caroline Center Tackles Job Readiness

Read the entire article here:

In this interesting comparison between this Baltimore, MD program vs Job Corps, the author, Douglas P. Munroe, PhD from the Calvert Institute insists the following about Job Corps:

“The truth is, for the most part, federal job-training efforts have been a dismal failure. Costly and bureaucratic, such programs are impersonal and have little impact on the earnings potential of participants. As is its wont, the government has done little to examine the efficacy of its own multi-billion dollar expenditure over the years. Indeed, former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich himself has said as much: “There are many areas where little thorough and reliable evaluation evidence is available.” Certainly the government’s fiscal watchdog agency, the General Accounting Office, has harshly criticized both the Job Corps program and the training schemes housed under Title II-A of the Job Training Partnership Act for underreporting the proportion of funding going into administration instead of services. In terms of that service, the Title II-A programs have been found: (a) to have no statistical impact on the average earnings of adult men; (b) to have no statistical impact on the average earnings of young women; (c) to be correlated with a decrease in young males’ average earnings (-7.9 percent); and (d) to be correlated with a minor increase in the average earnings of adult women (3.4 percent).“

“Conservative analyst Mark Wilson is correct in his observation that federal training programs “do not achieve their primary goal – better-paying jobs – because there is little, if anything, the government can do to alter the effect of neglecting the first 12 years of school. What is needed are more fundamental changes aimed at reducing illegitimacy and encouraging individuals to complete high school.” In short, if training programs do not address values, they are doomed to failure. Though fancy program names may camouflage the fact, most job-training programs consist mostly of government-provided remedial education. If the public sector – in the form of the public education establishment – was unable to inculcate the necessary values and skills for productive workplace involvement early in a client’s life, there is no reason to suppose that the public sector can do any better later in life. This may be where institutions such as the Caroline Center come in.”

The big difference between Job corps and the Caroline Center?

“Perhaps the most crucial difference between the Caroline program and federal programs is this: The Caroline Center asks for something in return. While the center’s services to the women are free, the latter must give back some service time – in the form of cleaning duties, clerical tasks or staffing the reception desk. This gives the women a sense of investment in the program, says Sister Pat, and is based on the same self-help concept as the successful Habitat for Humanity house-building operation.”

Filed under: Newspaper Reports, Performance, Douglas P. Munroe, General Accounting Office, Job Corps, Mark Wilson, PhD, Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, The Caroline Center, Title II-A of the Job Training Partnership Act

Readers Comments from a Job Corps Student

-from TC in RE: Chicopee Residents Complain About Westover Job Corps Center (2009)

I’ve brought this story up between Pittsburgh Job Corps students, along with various stories from this site as conversations of the program. There are a lot of students who know this program is badly managed and doesn’t set examples of the way a Nation should run. We see how Job Corps is run, and we see how the Government is run. There are students, most probably who would never guess the amount of corruption this program has.

Most of the students who are 18-over would agree that they shouldn’t place a curfew on those students who are adult age. Why would they need to treat us like children? At Pittsburgh, a curfew is 11:00pm for Sun-Thur & 2:00am for Fri-Sat, but then again the MAC sheet doesn’t get displayed until 6:00AM and you wouldn’t be AWOL until the training day starts.

I understand a curfew for certain students, such as all minors, students on CSIO probation, & perhaps C-Prep Kids. I believe that Job Corps doesn’t live up to the “Independant Living” it says it does. Not only would I support lifting a curfew for adult students, I wouldn’t be angry if they didn’t have an RA wake us up to make sure we’re not AWOL/late for class. Tell these kids to wake themselves up at their own responsibility, even if it means buying an alarm clock or going to bed early.

To all those staff/Pro Job Corps people who would oppose a curfew lift: How can you have “maturity” ever be a reason? Would these staff members think it’s fair a 24 year old Job Corps student gets to party on Friday but has to stop drinking just in time to be back and sober (possible?) at 2:00am but have a 18-year old Pitt University student party all Friday night even though he’s underage but has no curfew time to be back on center?

-from TC RE: Readers Comments About Roy Adams and Shriver Job Corps Center

As I’ve been at Pittsburgh Job Corps’ Centre for six months I have had disputes with about six different staff members. One RA, which I figured was a smaller issue, 3 OCT staff members (Pre-Co instructor, My Pre-Co counselor, & OCT Supervisor) & I have issues with the centre director & his accomplice 2nd in charge admin.

It seems like that when a student has an issue with a staff member, the student’s complaint is immediately shut down and the staff member who is being accused of something is automatically defended.

For instance, I had a case brought up to HR about the OCT supervisor who tried to get me have a hospital fax a documentation stating information about my grandmother in the ICU. The info he wanted was info such as the hospital’s phone number, my grandmother’s condition & her potential duration at the ICU. ALL of that particular information is ILLEGAL. I reported this all to HR and the Admins did nothing but defend OCT. I had three incidents THIS WEEK ALONE occur over OCT’s staff trying to make me feel outcasted/shunned so I would in their hopes, self-term. I reported this all to the CD & he defends OCT and their “strong, 2 year dedication to Job Corps”.

I’d go to the Regional Office but why bother? Are they any different and less ignorant to student’s complaints?

-from TC RE: Disorderly Conduct at  Keystone Job Corps Center

This seems like an unfair act for the girl who was possibly assaulted. What are students doing at 4:30 in the MORNING rioting and causing a racket. When is their curfew time?

In the Pittsburgh Centre I attend now, you wouldn’t get very far even making yourself visible at this time of the morning. It seems that certian centres are following certain rules more enforcibly than other rules depending on what problems occur within just a particular centre?

Filed under: Adams and Associates, Contractors, Job Corps, Keystone Job Corps Center, Pittsburg Job Corps Center, Reader's Comments, Shriver Job Corps Center, Westover Job Corps Center, Adams and Associates, corruption, curfew, Keystone Job Corps Center, Pittsburgh Job Corps Center, Shriver Job Corps Center, Westover Job Corps Center

How to file a Complaint Against Your Job Corps Center

Did you know that most of the wrong doing bought to light against unscrupulous Job Corps contractors has come about by employees filing Hotline complaints with the Office of the Attorney ?General (OIG)?

Are you aware that the OIG will never give out your name to your Job Corps Center if you file a complaint?

This short article details the best way to file a complaint against your Job Corps Center.

“The OIG operates a hotline to receive and process allegations of fraud, waste, and abuse concerning DOL grants, contracts, programs and operations…”

What to include in your complaint:

• who is involved,
• when the situation you are reporting took place and whether it is still ongoing,
• where the situation occurred,
• what happened that was inappropriate and prompted you to contact the OIG Hotline, and
• how the situation took place.

Your complaint must be specific and factual.  It must also contain names, dates of the occurence and where the OIG Inspector can find the false information.  For instance,

“On June 15, 2009 I was required to place a student on Work Based Learning when the student had already separated from the center.  The student’s name is John Smith, I placed him on WBL from June 15 – August 1, 2009. The leave report is in Citrix and dated the same, enclosed please find a copy of the student’s resignation letter from Job Corps dated June 14, 2009.”

The above is an example of fraud. Because Job corps contractors receive $75 per day for each student while they attend Job Corps or are off center in a legitimate training program the center will continue to receive this amount of money despite that the student has officially resigned and is no longer attending.

Your complaint absolutely cannot contain gossipy suppositions, such as:

“The center director spends a lot of time with students behind closed doors and we are certain he is a sexual predator.”  Or, “The center director drives around in a big, fancy car and we are sure he is stealing Job Corps money to pay for the expensive car… how else can he afford it on his salary?”

In both of these examples, there is absolutely no proof that anything is going on, only a lot of assumptions that can get one into trouble.  Perhaps the center director’s wife received an estate settlement and purchased a new car for her husband? One cannot make empty accusations and expect the OIG to take the complaint seriously.

The OIG is bound by law to investigate every legitimate complaint, however, its powers of prosecution are limited.  It can bring fraud and wrong doing to light but, in and of itself, it cannot prosecute for fraud.  The OIG can suggest fines and request reimbursement for monies obtained illegally but, usually, there is no criminal prosecution involved for the contractors who encourage the wrong doing.

Make sure to read the link here:

And, when you are ready to file your complaint, the phone number or the address is as follows:

Telephone: 202-693-6999 or 1-800-347-3756

Fax: 202-693-7020

Mail Address:
Attention: Hotline
Office of Inspector General
U.S. Department of Labor
200 Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Room S-5506
Washington, D.C. 20210

This is the link for the online form: (In the scroll down window, select Job Corps as the agency)

You can also send an Email to the Hotline Department

hotline@oig.dol.gov

If anone has any questions, you can also Email me at:

jobcorpsfraud@yahoo.com

Filed under: complaints, Contractors, Fraud, Job Corps, OIG Reports, Hotline, Job Corps complaints, Office of the Attorney General, OIG

ABC Georgia Overstated Job Corps Placement Outcomes (2006)

What OIG found

The OIG found that placement outcomes reported by ABC for program years 2003 and 2004 were not reliable and a significant number of invalid placements were claimed. We found unsupported job and educational placements; inadequate documentation of compliance with Job Corps requirements; and confirmed cases of signature forgeries on educational placement verification forms.

We specifically recommended the National Director, Office of Job Corps immediately assess $214,992 in liquidated damages and review reported placements on all ABC contracts for potentially invalid placements.

Read the OIG Report here:

 

 

Filed under: Job Corps, number manipulation, OIG Reports, Oversight, ABC Georgia Overstates Job Corps Placement Outcomes, Job Corps, OIG Reports, signature forgeries

Job Corps: One of the Most Wasteful, Least Effective Programs in Federal Government (1998)

In publishing this Congressional Testimony from Congressman John Duncan (TN) (1998) I ask my readers, “What has changed about Job Corps since this speech was given before Congress?”

1. The cost of participation for each Job Corps student has increased yearly to $28,000 per student and $1.7 billion per year.

2. Even more proof of fraud and mismanagement of funds by contractors and Job Corps has been exposed by the Office by The Office of the Attorney General in the past twelve years. The fines and repayments have increasingly amounted to the millions of dollars since this was published.

3. Much of Job Corps evidence of success has been based on flawed, unscientific studies that subsequently were proved to be number manipulation by the federal contractors and center operators.

4. It should have made national front page news when actual scientific studies proved that Job Corps had little or no influence on students earning power or increased the success of its attendees.

See this blog for the 2008 outcome study and David Mulhausen’s PhD 2008 report here:

It is important for us to learn the history of Job Corps and to read the older reports in order to see how the proof of wrong doing  in Job Corps is increasing, not lessening. Job Corps’ “truth” is well hidden by the media and sophisticated communications and public relations specialists in order to present a positive image to the public.

excerpts from Mr. Duncan’s testimony:

“However, one of its programs has become one of the most wasteful and inefficient in the entire Federal Government and should either do much, much better or be abolished. Yet this agency, because on the surface it appears to be one for young people, seems to believe it should be immune from criticism and simply get one increase after another.

I am speaking of the Job Corps. Today, it costs over $26,000 per year per Job Corps student, according to the GAO. We could give each Job Corps student an allowance of $1,000 a month, send them to some expensive private school and still save money.

The GAO reported in testimony before the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight this past July 29 that only 14 percent of program participants completed the requirements of their vocational training.
*An  earlier report found that only 4 percent end up in jobs for which they were trained, unless one does, as the Job Corps has at times done, and grossly distorts and exaggerates the figures and counts as a success about any former student who has gotten any type of job.”

*-Andrea from Job Corps Fraud-

When I worked at Shriver Job Corps in 2009 as an employment coordinator, I saw this practice still being carried out for instance, if a student completed automotive trade and got a job in their uncle’s repair shop as a part-time janitor it was considered a “trade match.”

Filed under: congress, Contractors, Fraud, Government Accounting Office, high costs, Job Corps, Legislative and Congressional Reports, number manipulation, OIG Reports, outcome study, Congressional Testimony, Congressman John Duncan, David Mulhausen, Job Corps Fraud, Job Corps number manipulation, Shriver Job Corps

Management and Training Corporation and Sexual Discrimination (2006)

Michelle Davis was an instructor at the Charleston West Virginia Job Corps managed by Management and Training Corporation (MTC).  She and her husband, Mervin filed a lawsuit against MTC alleging sexual harassment, discrimination and creating a hostile work environment.

Mak sure to read about this lawsuit here:

Filed under: Charleston Job Corps Center, Contractors, Job Corps, Job Corps Centers, Lawsuits, Management and Training Corporation, Newspaper Reports, Charleston Job Corps, hostile work environment, Job Corps discrimination, lawsuit, Management and Training Corporation, Michelle Davis, MTC

Reader’s Controversial Comments About Martin Gross’s Statements

These are few comments from yesterday’s post about Martin Gross’s interview and “Job Corps  and the Government Racket”.  I remain fascinated that Job Corps supporters and detractors are so passionately polarized.  Having worked in two different Job Corps Centers: Shriver in Devens, MA and Kittrell, NC I feel aptly qualified to say I saw for myself the waste, inefficiency and focus on numbers to the detriment of the students. I am thinking that Job Corps most passionate defenders have never worked inside a Job Corps Center? I can’t believe that anyone would have been an employee and still wholeheartedly defend its purpose.  Only an outsider, not privy to the inner workers of these contractor cash cows would make a statement such as the following:

-from Marianne

So many good kids take advantage of the Job Corps opportunity, do the hard work, follow the rules, get their GEDs or HS diplomas and tech certifications. Any good program has its failures, detractors and disappointments. But Job Corps is just about the only safe place left for youth who have fallen through the cracks of school & society.

Even on the most poorly-run center – and there are some, as well as superbly-run centers – the program works for kids who take it seriously. And on every single center there are dedicated staff who love the kids, believe in them, and love their jobs. Why? Because the program works, the opportunity is there, and it’s a great second chance for tens of thousands of kids each year.

Win some, lose some. At Job Corps there are more winners than losers by far. I dare you to prove otherwise!!

-from Andrea, Job Corps Fraud

We do not dispute that there are success stories from Job Corps. However, there are two sides to every story and the “other side” of Job Corps must be told. There is too much propoganda and illusions about this program in the press today. Please, I urge you to click around this site and read research studies done by scientists and reputable economists who have studied Job Corps extensively. Instead of challenging me, read the factual reports on this site. Thanks so much. I think the site speaks for itself. Andrea for Job Corps Fraud

-from Nancy

Exactly whose butt are you trying to KI##,  the Job Corps have had historically SUCH a LOW %%% of success that it DOES NOT make any of them worth the money that spent on them.  Stop drinking the Kool Aid, and WAKE UP.  And STOP most importantly condoning STEALING from honest tax payers by this program.

-from Harold

Marianne,

“I dare you to prove otherwise!!” ? Just look at the statistical reports, the OMS10, which is bogus anyway, and you will see the proof right there. If the statistics weren’t manipulated for that report, the results would be even worse.

Andrea is correct – unless you have worked in the system, as I have for many years, you have no idea what is really going on.

“Only safe place left” – I’ve been on centers where students rioted, assaults and beat-downs were common, gang activity flourished, drugs were rampant, and even a death occurred. These centers are not as safe as you might want people to believe. They are understaffed, especially after class and on week-ends, when most of the negative behavior happens. If you knew where to look for student accounts of what goes on “after hours” you would see the truth.

Marianne, you seem to be someone who wants to present a different picture of Job Corps to the public. Be honest, are you a contractor, a parent or a naive employee who doesn’t see the forest for the trees? Maybe you have a job at a Job Corps because you have a political patronage job and are protected for awhile anyway. If you are an employee, save your money – chances are your day will come and you will be unemployed too like so many others.

Filed under: Employees, Job Corps, Job Corps Centers, Kittrell Job Corps Center, Reader's Comments, Shriver Job Corps Center, Job Corps, Job Corps Employees, Kittrell Job Corps, Martin Gross, Readers comments, Shriver Job Corps