Job Corps and the Forty Million Dollar Question…

A forty million dollar Job Corps center in St. Petersburg, FL sits empty and… the Department of Labor refuses to tell the taxpayers what is going on.  Sound familiar?

From 10Connects.com: Read the story here:

“…the facility, which was supposed to be open last year, sits empty and the company that is acting as the care taker for the building doesn’t want you to see what is going on.”

“… the Federal Government…seems more concerned with keeping a lid on the problem than getting it up and running…”

Filed under: Department of Labor, Job Corps, Newspaper Reports, 10Connects.com, Department of Labor, FL, Job Corps St. Petersburg, taxpayers

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

Bedbugs, Secrets, Flint/Genesee Job Corps Center and the Media or, Two Versions of an Event

While trolling the internet for buried stories about Job Corps mis-management I found a Facebook Page called The Scupper. This is no ordinary page mind you, its author is apparently a student/staff who wanted to share the truth behind the bed bug infestation at Flint/Genesee Job Corps Center… The Scupper’s site is replete with pictures and information that has so far been successfully white-washed by its “business community liaison ” Verona Terry.  She/he did a great job downplaying the seriousness of the situation and minimizing the size and scope of the infestation.

Excerpt from the Flint News:

“We’ve had some cleaning solutions in the rooms, and we’ve had some exterminations brought in,” said Verona Terry, business community liaison at the Job Corps Center. “Rooms with bedbugs are being sanitized. We’re keeping it under control.”

And, another quote from an “expert” who is downplaying and minimizing the situation (from the same article)

“County Health Officer Mark Valacak said the Job Corps infestation is the first he’s heard of a reappearance of bed bugs in Genesee County.

The bugs were eradicated in most developed countries with the use of DDT after World War II, according to the Mayo Clinic Web site, which says the return of the parasites to this country may have been spurred by increases in international travel.

He compared the insects to mosquitos — usually more of an aggravation than a dangerous health concern. “It’s a nuisance,” Valacak said of the itchy red welts the bug’s bite leaves as its calling card.”

However, if we compare the “The Scupper’s” contentions about this event apparently, Flint/Genesee Job Corps officials decided to write letters to the parents of the students five (5) days after the sanitized version of the bed bug eradication attempts were published in the media.  Why wait five days?  Why bother to inform anyone at all? Would Job Corps officials have notified anyone if the occurence were not published? Who knows. Oh, I forgot to mention… the bed bug news was published on January 8, 2010 and, according to the Scupper, staff still hadn’t been notified of the situation as of  January 22, 2010.

Alutiiq is the operator/contractor for the Flint/Genesee Job Corps Center.

Filed under: Alutiiq, Flint/Genesee Job Corps Center, Job Corps, Newspaper Reports, Alutiiq, Flint News, Flint/Genesee Job Corps, Job Corps bedbugs, Mark Valacak, The Scupper, Verona Terry

Topix and 760 responses to Job Corps Expels Four Students

For some very interesting reading please visit Topix to read the 760 responses readers had to the story, “Job Corps Expels Four Students…”

Some excerpts:

“The program is a cesspool of business arrangements between Dept of Labor and private companies. I am involved with 2 in Maryland. At Woodland and Woodstock. The vendor who operates both is Adams and Associates. I have uncovered so much corruption, crime and coverup its unbelievable.”

“I do not want to list the outrageous negative things going on at Woodland for fear of being found out and getting fired. Fear is the operative word here. George Bush could get lessons from Woodland management in how to keep people fearful.”

The 760 comments contain negative responses for Job Corps and also some praises. What makes the reading so interesting is the remarks from employees who work at Job Corps centers, it appears that only a few “insiders” sing praises of the inner workings of their Job corps center, most of the rest talk about corruption and greed.

It makes sense to me that students would not be afforded the opportunity to know what was happening behind closed doors at OMS meetings or Retention meetings where the numbers are manipulated and skewed.  Thus, their experiences might have been different from staff experiences.

Filed under: Adams and Associates, Contractors, Job Corps, Job Corps Centers, Newspaper Reports, number manipulation, Woodland Job Corps Center, Woodstock Job Crops Center, Adams and Associates, corruption, greed, Topix, U.S. Department of Labor, Woodland Job Corps Center

Read About Job Corps in the Urban Dictionary

Wikipedia defines the Urban Dictionary as a “Web-based dictionary of slang words and phrases…”  There are some very interesting Job Corps  posts to read in the Urban Dictionary here: (pardon the language, some may find it offensive). (Thanks to the reader who sent me this tip.)

Filed under: Job Corps, Newspaper Reports, Job Corps, Urban Dictionary