Reader’s Comments: Clearfield Utah Job Corps and Knoxville Job Corps

-VS Regarding Utah Clearfield Job Corps…

“There are many forms of corruption and injustices that happen at Utah Clearfield Job Corps while the management continues milking the Federal Government at the expense of youth. Many crimes: rapes, assault, theft ( including theft by staff blamed on students), misappropriation of youth funds and punishment or threat to punish youth for reporting crime on the centre to outside authorities are on the cleanest pages of Utah Clearfield Job Corps.

The youth centre I am talking about is west of I-15 North on Antelope Drive.

I recall human resources calling me into the office because they were worried that I was going to write about ” something that might violate centre policy”.

When I came to the facility, a girl had just been raped. This was not in the news. While I was there, a girl was raped. This was not in the news. While I was there a girl was sexually abused/harassed, had reported to management. When I asked them about the issue, they said it was being handled. The girl was still looking for help when I left.

A colleague was almost beaten to death. I came to work and saw his face with dark black bruises. He was playing with his front teeth that had been knocked out in an attack by a student. The same student who had threatened me and promised that he would get with his buddies to ” remove me from the centre”. The same student now almost killed a staff member and a war veteran. This story was not in the news.

A colleague shared stories about his sexual activities in front of youth. One of the students said to him once, ” ….she is listening”, alerting the staff caller who was intimate with his lover back East. I reported to the management. It did not matter.

Ultimately, the same staff got angry with me in the office, pointing his finger a few inches into my face. I ran out of the office and that was my exit from job corps. I can handle this. But the management knows very well that the students from whom they get numbers for pay by the US Federal Government have very little to say.

Many times I told the students that their own constitution allows them to report rape to police or to anyone as they chose, but many were afraid they would be ” termed”.” Clearfield Utah Job Corps Center is operated by Management and Training Resources

-DA Regarding Knoxville Job Corps Center…

“I attended the Knoxville Job Corps Center from 91 to 94. I was lied to by my recruiter who told me that I would qualify for the Transportation Communication Union program, so I applied myself to the fullest. One year later, I was informed by the representatives from TCU that I was ineligible because I was on probation. After presenting these facts to both my probation officer and recruiter, I was blamed for their oversight. I witnessed horrible crimes and behavior in this place, many of which went unnoticed by the staff.”

Filed under: Clearfield Utah Job Corps Center, crime, Job Corps, Job Corps Centers, Management and Training Corporation, Reader's Comments, Clearfield Utah Job Corps, corruption, crime, Job Corps Assaults, Knoxville Job Corps Center, Management and Training Corporation, rape, Transportation Communications Union

Assaults, Arrests and False Alarms at Oneonta Job Corps (2008)

Read the Article from the Daily Star Here:

“In the last six months, Otsego County 911 operators fielded two assault complaints, two harassment complaints and six reports of fights at Job Corps, Otsego County Sheriff Richard Devlin said Monday.”

“There were also 27 calls to 911 that were hang-ups or turned out to be otherwise unfounded, he said.”

Oneonta Job Corps Center is operated by Education and Training Resources (ETR)

Filed under: Arrests, Contractors, crime, Education and Training Resources (ETR), Job Corps, Job Corps Centers, Newspaper Reports, Oneonta Job Corps Center, arrest, Education and Training Resources, Job Corps Assaults, Oneonta Job Corps Center, Sherrif Richard Devlin

Oneonta Job Corps Boon or Burden?

As usual, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) paints a different picture of Oneonta Job Corps… Boon or Burden? Depends on which news source one believes.  The polished propaganda from Job Corps or Federal Audit results…

Excerpts from The Daily Star, read the article here:

“Student behavior was poor and marked by the use of profanity, cutting classes, horseplay and disrespect, according to the evaluation.

The Department of Labor also found that after a staff member was assaulted by students and hospitalized, police were not contacted for more than two days as OJCA conducted an internal investigation.

By the time the police were involved, all leads were reportedly lost and the police were said to be stymied in their investigation, the federal report states.

On Sept. 17, the day the Department of Labor assessment team arrived on campus, a baby powder container containing 12 “dime bags” of marijuana was delivered to a student by the U.S. Postal Service, the report indicates.

Rather than call the police and have the student arrested in front of the staff and student population, he was terminated and sent home without police intervention,” the report states.”

Filed under: Arrests, crime, Job Corps, Job Corps Centers, Newspaper Reports, OIG Reports, Oneonta Job Corps Center, Department of Labor, Job Corps Assaults, Job Corps Propoanda, OIG, Oneonta Job Corps Center, The Daily Star

Salem Man Charged With Setting Fire to Co-Worker at Northlands Job Corps Center (2008)

From the Salem Observer

Read the Story Here:

“A local Job Corps participant and a Connecticut man were arrested in Vergennes, Vt., on charges they set another teen on fire in a bathroom.

Deputy State’s Attorney Christopher Perkett said Vergennes police arrested Joshua Bonifas-Kelly, 18, of Salem, on Monday, March 31, and Jason Eagen, 22, of Waterbury, Conn., on felony charges of aggravated assault.

Police responded to the Northlands Job Corps Center on Monday, March 24, following a report that Ryan Coy, 19, had first- and second-degree burns from a fire set to his shirt, Perkett said.”

Filed under: Arrests, Job Corps Centers, Newspaper Reports, Northlands Job Corps, Deputy States's Attorney Christopher Perkett, felony, Jason Egan, Job Corps, Joshua Boniufas-Kelly, Northlands Job Corps Center, Ryan Coy, Salem Observer

Management and Training Corporation in the News, again…

As readers may already know, Management and Training Corporation (MTC) of Centerville, Utah operates 26 Job Corps centers throughout the United States.  MTC also operates fee for service correctional institutions in various states.

A listing of MTC’s locations are here:

MTC has had problems with its correctional staff in the past when it was…

“…ordered to pay back $485,990 in back wages to 262 current and former security guards at its Raymondville Texas corrections facility.”

“An investigation by the Wage and Hour Division from Oct. 1, 2003, to Sept. 30, 2005, determined that Management & Training Corp. failed to pay the correct fringe benefits and failed to pay for meal breaks when employees worked beyond their schedule due to briefings. These additional hours resulted in the non-payment of proper overtime, the department stated.”  ” (excerpts from BNET)

MTC’s most recent faux pas involves the Willacy County Regional Detention Facility where 11 corrections officers were fired for allegedly refusing to sign false statements against fellow employees.

According to the Brownsville Herald,

The lawsuit seeks back pay, future pay and compensation for mental anguish, and punitive damages for what the lawsuit alleges was “intentional, unlawful employment practices.”

You won’t find this newsworthy event in any major newspapers or front page articles, MTC’s public relations department does an admirable job of ensuring that only positive press about the corporation abounds. It sounds like MTC’s law-breaking management style is replicated throughout all of its centers… no matter if it’s a Job Corps Center or a prison.

Filed under: Contractors, Employees, Job Corps, Lawsuits, Management and Training Corporation, Newspaper Reports, wage and hour investigations, BNET, Brownsville Herald, correctional, lawsuit, Management and Training Corporation, Raymondville Texas corrections, Wage and Hour division, wage and hour violations, Willacy County Regional Detention Facility

Shooting Supsects in San Diego Job Corps (2005)

Excerpts from the San Diego Union Tribune

Read the article here:

Program kicks out students after arrests in teen’s death:

By Janine Zúñiga
STAFF WRITER November 2, 2005

“IMPERIAL BEACH – The two men arrested in connection with the shooting death of a South County high school student last week were enrolled in a federally funded job-training program for low-income teens and young adults.

The shooting took place about 9:30 p.m. Friday in the parking lot of the South Bay Recreation Center, 1885 Coronado Ave. The victim, Donna Hernandez, was in a car with two friends after the homecoming football game at Southwest High.

After Samson Mendoza, 21, and Basilio Bernard, 22, were arrested, Job Corps officials immediately kicked them out of the program, Elias Vazquez, Deputy Director said. Job Corps has a zero-tolerance policy regarding drugs and violence, and the men were kicked out when they did not show up for classes Monday.”

San Diego Job Corps is operated by Career Systems Development Corporation

Filed under: Arrests, Career systems Development Corporation, crime, Job Corps, Newspaper Reports, San Diego Job Corps Center, Basilio Bernard, Career Systems Development Corporation, Donna Hernandez, Elias Vazquez, Samson Mendoza, San Diego Job Corps, San Diego Job Corps shooting, San Diego Union Tribune

Sacramento Job Corps Refuses to Bargain with American Federation of Teachers (2009)

It seems that some Job Corps contractors think they are above the law regarding bargaining with unions.  Why did Horizons Youth Services, contractor for Sacramento Job Corps, think it didn’t have to recognize the American Federation of Teachers Union Local 4986 when it became the center’s operator in 2009?

Read the story here:

Excerpt from NLRB Region 20 Roundup:

“Washington D.C. – On October 8, 2009, the Board (National Labor Relations Board) adopted an administrative law judge’s finding that horizons Youth Services LLC, dba Sacramento Job Corps unlawfully refused to recognize and bargain with the union representing the employees of the Sacramento Job Corps Center.”

Read the entire transcript of the findings here:

Filed under: Contractors, Horizon Youth Services, Job Corps, Labor unions, National Labor Relations Board, American Federation of Teachers Local 4986, bargain, Horizons Youth Services, Job Corps, National Labor Relations board, Sacramento Job Corps

OIG Report: Job Corps Signature Forgeries and Falsified Placement Reports American Business Corporation (ABC)

U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General

Office of Audit

BRIEFLY…

Highlights of Report Number: 09-06-004-01-370 to Ms. Esther R. Johnson, National Director, Office of Job Corps

Read the Report Here:

WHY READ THE REPORT

The report discusses allegations that placements were falsified in one American Business Corporation (ABC) office and invalid placements were claimed throughout ABC offices. It also discusses allegations that Job Corps did not take timely action to assess liquidated damages or correct placement data when it learned of the invalid placements.

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. One of the reasons this occurred was that the procedures the Atlanta Regional Office used to monitor ABC placement activities were not effective and the placement verification processes had systemic weaknesses. We did find that the Atlanta Regional Office (1) initiated actions to recover liquidated damages from ABC, and (2) identified and reported invalid placements to the National Office, although it could have initiated those actions timelier.

Filed under: American Business Corporation, Contractors, Department of Labor, Fraud, Job Corps, number manipulation, OIG Reports, ABC, American Business Corporation, Atlanta Regional Office, Audit, false reports, Job Corps, OIG Reports, signature forgeries, U.S. Department of Labor

More Negativity About Adams and Associates: What Else is New?

It seems that Adams and Associates of Nevada can’t keep itself out of the negative news.  For those of us who worked at a Job Corps Center run by the notorious numbers manipulator, Roy Adams, we are not surprised.  Roy presently reigns over twelve Job Corps Centers in the US:  Atterbury, Exeter, Gadsden, Glenmont, Grafton, Indypendence, Joliet, Little Rock, Shriver, Treasure Island, & Woodstock. Now, Roy is ignoring the law again and apparently is refusing to bargain with the Treasure Island Job Corps Workers Union AFT Local 6319.

Roy’s latest gaffe has the union rejecting his May 25, 2010 pay scheme which includes a pay for performance clause based on employees performance evaluation scores.

I’m going to side-track a bit here:  I worked at Shriver Job Corps in Devens, MA, for almost two years.  During those two years I was often required forego my lunch break despite my working a 8.5 hour day which supposedly included a half hour unpaid lunch. (My job was advertised  as a 40 hour per week position).  During those two years I often worked many hours overtime without pay in order to get my job done.  I never succeeded.  Despite my recruiting more employers to sign up to partner with Shriver than any of my predecessors, and having excellent references from previous employers my two performance reviews from Shriver claimed that I barely met expectations.  I believe that the raise I received amounted to 11 cents an hour. The center was also short-staffed and ill-equipped to do one’s job properly.  Staff were routinely threatened and coerced into submitting falsified reports to the Department of Labor in order to inflate performance reports.  And, as recently as early this year Adams and Associates was required to pay restitution amounting to thousands of dollars to hourly workers at Shriver who were also forced to work overtime and through their lunches in violation of Federal Law. Posts from credible sources (read the comments section of this article) who worked in Human Resource Departments from a few Job Corps Centers have made similar claims that employees are given very low scores on their performance reviews in order to increase Adams’ bottom line  and in addition, the HR employees were unwilling parties to requiring employees to falsify their time cards to state they took a lunch when they did  not.

Filed under: Adams and Associates, Atterbury Job Corps, congress, Department of Labor, Employees, Exeter Job Corps, Gadsden Job Corps, Glenmont Job Corps, Grafton Job Corps Center, Indypendence Job Corps, Job Corps, Joliet Job Corps, Labor unions, Little Rock Job Corps, Shriver Job Corps Center, Treasure Island Job Corps, Woodstock Job Crops Center, Adams and Associates, Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, Atterbury Job Corps, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, Department of Labor, Exeter Job Corps Center, Gadsden Job Corps, Glenmont, Grafton Job Corps, Indyppendence Job Corps Center, Job Corps, Joliet Job Corps, Little Rock Job Corps, Roy Adams, Senator Mark Leno, Shriver Job Corps, Treasure Island Job Corps, Treasure Island Job Corps Workers Union AFT Local 6319, Woodstock Job Corps