A Message to Readers

As of today this website will no longer be open to comments from readers.  Its original intention was to publish little known facts about Job Corps mismanagement and initiate dialogue from persons who know it best: those who have worked/are working there or those who were/are students.  Another goal was the hope that someday an investigative report would be initiated by a reporter who would bring these problems to light to the American public in order to begin the process of needed improvement to Job Corps.

A reporter’s best arsenal includes verifiable facts and validated testimonies from people therefore, I believe the purpose of this site would best be served to include verifiable facts without commentary.  Changing the site in way is keeping it more true to its original goal of being an agent of change.

A thank you to all the readers who have left insightful comments or dialogue.  Please check back as there will be continued factual updates about Job Corps performance ratings and news reports that are not widely carried by the press.

Andrea for Job Corps Fraud

Filed under: Comments, Job Corps, Reader's Comments

Reader’s Responses to a Student’s Question

-Jenn’s question

where would be a place that i can report a missing highschool transcript thati never got from them? i went to guthrie oklhomas jb corps tpget my highschool diploma but it says everywhere i go that i never got one when i was there taking the reuired curriculum to get it.

-from Howard

“Call your state Department of Education, Office of GED Administration, and ask them to see if there is a transcript on file for you. Go to the internet for the phone number.

What do you mean by “It says everywhere I go that I never got one”? Did you take the Official GED test? If you didn’t take the Official GED test, then there will not be a transcript for you anywhere.

Did you contact the Records and Academic Depts at Guthrie Job Corps? They would have a record of you taking the Official GED test.

You will need to have the date of test that you took it, or dates, if you took the sub-tests at different times if you talk to the Oklahoma Dept of Ed.

Just because you were taking classes in Academics doesn’t mean that you were awarded a high school equivalency diploma. The high school equivalency diploma would be issued by the state of Oklahoma if you passed the Official GED test, according to the Oklahoma state standards.

You can check Oklahoma’s standards on-line by googling the Oklahoma Dept of Education or by going on-line to the American Council On Education, which publishes the GED test, and check out the standards for Oklahoma.

Again, if you never took the Official GED test at an Official Test Site, you will not have a transcript on file anywhere. By the way, if you did take the test then your Academic Dept at the Job Corps should have given you the transcript with your grades on the sub-tests. Did you get such a transcript?

You can contact me by responding to this post if you need further help.”

Filed under: Comments, complaints, Guthrie Oklahoma Job Corps, Job Corps, Questions from a Student, Reader's Comments, Guthrie Job Corps, high school diploma, missing high school transcript

Question for our Readers from a Job Corps Student

-from Jenn

where would be a place that i can report a missing highschool transcript thati never got from them? i went to guthrie oklhomas jb corps tpget my highschool diploma but it says everywhere i go that i never got one when i was there taking the reuired curriculum to get it.

-also from Jenn

at the guthrie jobcorps center in oklahoma, i witnessed numerous gang fights and race wars inside there walls, i left before it got to dangerous the fact that i hadto leave this place because of safety issues and becuse the staff wasnt doing anything about it was rediculous, i was hit in the face when i was attending a meeting by a male student that was working psi during that time, staff embers witnessed it they even caught it on tape but sadly when i tried to do something about it i was harrased by (name removed by Job Corps Fraud) an emplyee, constantly yelling at me and telling me what do u want me to do about it, i told him that i wanted it handled and he kept asking me how i wnted it handled , my reply was im not an emplyee at this center im just a female student here but hes a hugeguy and he hit me in he face, i cried running into a friends arms because when i walked out of this employees office id felt violated by this employee, and when i tried to report the employee i got into even more trouble because his bos said he would never do anything like that, if theres one job corps that should get shut down its guthrie, personally ive seen many decidated emplyees here , one ofwhich that became like a father to me, sadly i was told that he would be on the verge of bing fired if i ever contacted him again.

Guthrie Job Corps Center is managed by ResCare, Inc.

Filed under: Comments, Guthrie Oklahoma Job Corps, Job Corps, Questions from a Student, ResCare, Guthrie Oklahoma Job Corps, high school diploma, high school transcript

Howard’s Newest Comment About Angell Job Corps and its Murders

-from Howard

Interesting that on this site there is an account of a murder committed by Angell Job Corps students and another account of an attempted murder by an employee of the center ten years later. What other Job Corps center has that kind of history? Yes, Job Corps students have murdered other people, but usually not while they are students at a center. This center sounds like a magnet for psychopaths.

Also interesting, is the fact that the center never reported the student missing, even though he was a minor at the time, until weeks later. This student was AWOL and was not designated as such until the next morning when he was listed as not being present at bed-check. It was too late by that time. However, he did not have a pass to leave center and should have been noted as off-center almost immediately because most dorms have meetings in the evening hours. Sometimes two meetings: one right before or after dinner, and one before bed-time and lights out. Attendance is taken at those times for student accountability purposes. If people are missing, then a search should have been made. His life might have been saved.

Also, the staff who should have known something was amiss, were, in my opinion, highly negligent. They sound like a group of incompetents who were not aware of this population’s penchant for this kind of trouble, and in particular, were unaware of advanced indicators that were probably “out there” regarding the murderers.

They were probably not too street smart in their questioning of these and other students – if they ever did question anybody. In a Job Corps center, staff have to keep their eyes and ears open and have relationships with students who can give them information when it is needed. Staff on this center were just covering up for themselves, by not reporting him missing and giving conflicting information to his family.

Filed under: Angell Job Corps, Comments, crime, Job Corps, Job Corps Centers, Reader's Comments, Angell Job Corps murder, cover up, incompetent staff

More Reader’s Comments from August 24, 2010

-from Howard to Trevor,

Here is my take, this coming from a former Residential Living Manager and Center Director:

All dorms on center should have had cleanliness standards in force to begin with. When the Evans dorm supervisor decided to enforce the rules, she should have given the students a reasonable amount of time to get their rooms in order – let’s say three days and a definite time and date when the students would be held accountable for their rooms. If someone had some extenuating circumstance that would have prevented him from cleaning his room in time, that should have been taken into consideration.

Filed under: Comments, Job Corps, Job Corps Centers, Pittsburg Job Corps Center, Reader's Comments, dorm cleanliness, Job Corps, Pittsburg Job Corps

More Comments from a Former Student

-from P

Have you been to one of these centers? I attended the one in Pittsburgh. The conditions were horrible. You are constantly stressed and they will warn you of potential gang fights in the lunch room. Maybe if the 25k per student (based on only 8 months or attendance?) were put towards hiring quality instructors and putting together actual libraries, computers, and other tools needed for the students, it wouldn’t be such a failure.

Almost 8 years after completing the Culinary program there, I am now enrolled in college for Photography. I can tell you that Job Corps is about the people contracted to run them making the most profit. They do almost nothing for those of us who are actually living in their little hell holes.

If it really costs that much, perhaps they should offer that 25k to people who meet the requirements as a grant for higher education? Maybe they should put together a better program? I agree, it is a waste.

-from Job Corps Fraud

For those of us who actually worked at a Job Corps Center WE KNOW what are you talking about. First of all, the “good” teachers don’t stay. They find out very soon that it’s not at all about the “quality of education” one gives the students, it’s who can most effectively manipulate the numbers in order to reach required monthly goals. And, most of the people in management who were setting the unattainable goals had little or no professional education or even knew what it mean to “educate”. Please read the section on “Our Stories” to see how I tried to cope without proper tools or facilities to teach. It was enormously frustrating to have no one listen when you asked for the minimum to get by in order to do your job.

Filed under: Comments, Job Corps, Job Corps Centers, Pittsburg Job Corps Center, Reader's Comments, gang fights, Job Corps, Pittsburg Job Corps, Readers comments

Reader’s Comments About Roy Adams and Shriver Job Corps Center

These are the responses a reader had about the post, Greed Never Takes a Holiday Meet Roy Adams of Adams and Associates:

-from Tim

“I’ll never forget the summer dress code memo Roy Adams sent out. There was a question on what was appropriate attire when the students were gone and the staff were attending required trainings, or clean-up work in preparation of the next round of student arrivals. Capri pants were forbidden for the women, although I previously worked in two Fortune 500 companies where they were allowed unless the employees were out in the field meeting customers or dealing with the general public. Ties were required year-round for the male employees, although the manager in the office next to mine never wore one, and seemed to get away with it. The memo ended with the statement “No tie, no job”. As if an additional clothing accessory in the heat of summer would lead to greater productivity or increased funding from Congress.

-from Tim

Another dress code situation at Shriver that wasn’t an issue but should have been was the summer attire of one of the program directors. She had this yellow baby-doll pajama outfit that she called a “sun dress” that had a hemline that practically reached her hip line! She neither had the body stature nor figure for an outfit like this, but she strutted around like a supermodel and appeared to enjoy the attention. This resulted in a lot of remarks by other staff members as to the definition of what was acceptable in the workplace. The male students had previously nicknamed her “Milkshake” after the song by Kelis Jones, so it’s a good thing that she had the sense not to wear this when school was actually in session. The center director saw absolutely nothing wrong with wearing an outfit like this, yet the men would be chastised if they did not wear a tie when it was 90 degrees in the shade and none of the students were present. I was lucky enough to have an office in one of the few air-conditioned buildings, but it was still difficult to do the required clean-up work in preparation for the next school session if you felt like you had a noose around your neck.

This same center director put another program director on a 90 day corrective action plan without telling Human Resources. This meant that the monthly HR reports I had to send to the regional corporate office were incorrect for three months in a row. After I left, she fired yet another program director who was able to appeal her termination to the corporate office and get her job back. This is the only incident I was aware of in two years of employment where a termination decision actually got overturned. With the exception of this and a high level director who had been fired shortly after 11 years of employment, all of the center director’s direct reports were puppets. The only managerial authority she allowed them would be to take their word as gospel if a situation arose where mediation or objectivity could have been offered by a second party to make a fair and rational decision.

My final dialogue with the center director involved a situation where it was my word against one of her direct reports. When she indicated that I could have met with her privately to discuss the problem before it escalated, I didn’t even respond. I knew it would have been pointless. The decision was already made seconds after the incident happened.

On my last day I participated in the quarterly new hire orientation program. It was held in my office. The center director gave her required welcoming introduction to the new employees, gave a brief but thorough history of Adams and Associates, and explained all policies and procedures, including the Job Corps mission of preparing students for and assisting them in finding jobs in the workplace. When one of the new hires stated that the present economy was so bad that there were no jobs out there and that college graduates were currently having difficulty finding employment, she abruptly replied “I don’t want to hear that!”

Their priorities are screwed up beyond repair. It’s a shame, because the Job Corps program was founded with the best intentions. It’s the contractors who are damaging it.

Filed under: Adams and Associates, Comments, Contractors, Job Corps, Job Corps Centers, Shriver Job Corps Center, Adams and Associates, dress code, Job Corps, Readers comments, Roy Adams, Shriver Job Corps Center

A Reader’s answer to a Job Corps student

-from A Job Corps student re: Job Corps an Unfailing Record of Failure

I am currently attending a Job Corps and am very disappointed. I feel it is below standards.

-advice from Howard:

Of course it’s below standard. Compare your Job Corps facility to any high school, junior college or vo/tech school that you know of.

Is the Job Corps any where near as clean? How well maintained is the facility? How clean are the bathrooms in the academic and vocational buildings? Are the toilets continually stuffed, is there enough toilet paper?  What about graffiti on the buildings and walls? Is there any landscaping to brighten the grounds?  What about the library?  Do you even have one?  How many computers are there and what kind of hardware and software is there?  What about the academic books and other learning materials?  Are your teachers certified? Is the administration staff certified in educational administration? What about the food in the cafeteria?  If you don’t have a culinary arts program as a trade, I’ll bet your food is full of fat, sugar, harmful additives, without any fiber or bulk, and highly processed – all things that are not healthy for you. And what kinds of activities are available after classes? How bored are you when classes are over? What is the ratio of staff to students after classes and on weekends?

How many graduates have gone on to college or some other institution of higher learning where you have to compete with the general public – not another Job Corps and other Job Corps students. How many have been able to join the military?

Of course it’s below standards – the contractors who run these centers are only interested in how much money they can make and not your well-being. They don’t care if the program is up to standard or not – Job Corps is a world unto itself. It’s the goose that laid the golden egg for these shysters.

-comment from Sandra

Let’s face it, Job Corps is a government run poverty program.  It’s not Harvard or Yale.  It’s not even your local community college. If the people who went there were very wealthy, the facilities wouldn’t look the way they do, and the programs wouldn’t be run as they are. It’s our government’s (a.k.a wealthy elite’s) way of keeping lower socioeconomic people from moving up the economic ladder while ostensibly  purporting to educate and train economically disadvantaged or handicapped (that’s a whole other story) students. “They’re poor, they won’t know that this is an inferior program, they don’t know any better. They don’t have any reference points to compare it to. They don’t deserve any better – they’re poor. If we give them nice things, they’ll just ruin them anyway.”  I’ve heard it all.

If this was privately funded, things would look very different. Look up Bill Strickland’s programs in Pittsburgh and elsewhere. They are privately funded and things are very different for his organization which delivers the same things as Job Corps alleges to do.

Job Corps is a ghetto created by the government that has fed on itself for the last 45 yrs. Kind of like inner city public housing.

Filed under: Comments, Contractors, Job Corps, Reader's Comments, below standards, graduates, Job Corps, Job Corps an Unfailing Record of Failure, Job Corps contractors

Reader’s Comments 7/20/2010

-from Nancy RE: Treasure Island Union files unfair labor practice charge against Adams & Associates

So true ALL of it, wouldn’t you think that something that is “suppose to be monitored ” by the DOL, it the last place you would see “discrimination”. Well guess again, because in the Job Corps, particularly one’s run by ETR, discrimination is WORSE than ANY where else in the United States. Trumped up, FALSE reviews, Lies about people that “arent’ SLIME BUCKETS, because they are the only one’s that survive there any length of time at all. Falsified documentation. I spoke with a young man name (removed by Job Corps Fraud), who worked at Oneonta. He’s from the United Emerites, and has “dark skin”. Wouldn’t you think he wouldn’t be discriminated against?????? Well guess again, short of calling him every thing but the N word, that is the treatment he said he got working as and ILA at the Job Corps.

-from Josephine RE: Treasure Island

He was probably discriminated against, not because he had “dark skin”, but because he was perceived as an “Arab” and therefore, a terrorist.

-from Edward RE: Treasure Island

Yes it is definitely a disadvantage to be a salaried employee at Iroquois. Some of them work twelve hours a day and come in on weekends and yet are not allowed to take time off when needed
Regarding the performance evaluations, you cannot attain above a “good” rating. It does not matter anyhow because the raises are so miniscule. Most staff will not receive a raise more than 2%. This enables ETR to have money left over to pay the huge quarterly bonuses to upper management. They get rewarded for manipulating the numbers.

-from Nancy RE: Treasure Island

What difference does it make, ISN’t IT still discrimination.

-from a Job Corps Student on Job Corps An Unfailing REcord of Failure

I am currently attending a Job Corps and am very disappointed. I feel it is below standards.

Filed under: Adams and Associates, Comments, Contractors, DOL, Education and Training Resources (ETR), Iriquois Job Corps, Job Corps, Labor unions, Oneonta Job Corps Center, Reader's Comments, Adams and Associates, below standards, DOL, ETR, Iroquois Job Corps, Job Corps discrimination, Oneonta Job Corps Center, Treasure Island Job Corps, unfair labor practice