Job Corps Center Closings Will Hit Kentucky Hard

The budget cuts to Job Corps, which announced it will close 99 of its 123 centers across the country, will hit Kentucky hard, wrote Jason Bailey in the Courier-Journal:

Job Corps, which began as part of the War on Poverty in 1964, provides free education, job training and a place to live for low-income [people] ages 16 to 24. The closings shutter three rural Kentucky locations that serve over 500 students: the Carl D. Perkins Job Corps Center in Prestonsburg, the Earle C. Clements Job Corps Academy in Morganfield and the Muhlenberg Job Corps Center in Greenville…

The now-closed Kentucky centers were putting students on paths to becoming welders, computer technicians, certified nursing assistants, pharmacy techs, culinary arts employees, automotive mechanics and more.

And just as importantly, Job Corps reaches those who face the biggest problems entering career-track employment. A recent report notes that Job Corps often draws from youth who have tried multiple times to earn a secondary or postsecondary credential but dropped out under the demands of low-wage jobs and financial, family or mental health challenges.