Job Corps centers at risk with proposed Workforce Investment Improvement Act

GUEST EDITORIAL

MOSES LAKE - I am writing to call attention to and oppose H.R.4297, the Workforce Investment Improvement Act of 2012 that proposes to consolidate the Job Corp program with 26 other programs, into a block grant, which would effectively end the Job Corp program.

Job Corps is the premier federal dropout recovery program, which provides education and training to help young people learn specific skills to develop a career, earn a high school diploma or GED, and find and keep a good job.

H.R. 4297 will result in the immediate closure of at least 30 Job Corps Centers, and the loss of 40,000 plus jobs nationwide.

The benefits that Moses Lake and others in Grant County have received from the Columbia Basin Job Corps CCC are and continue to be astonishing.

Columbia Basin Job Corps CCC volunteers more than any other organization in our community. When community groups and service organizations need a helping hand, Columbia Basin Job Corps CCC has always been there. Quite frankly, if Columbia Basin Job Corps did not assist in the various projects that take place throughout our community, many of those organizations would cease to exist.

I am proud to say I have worked side by side with many of the Columbia Basin Job Corps CCC students and staff throughout the years. It has always been a positive, productive and rewarding experience. Their professionalism, and willingness to learn and assist in whatever the task, is truly refreshing.

H.R. 4297 only allows for the continued operation of Job Corps centers if the Secretary of Labor transfers the deed and title for a Job Corps center to a Governor. There is no provision for continuing to fund these centers under H.R.4297 even if the Governor desires for the centers to continue operations.

H.R.4297 will cause every state to suffer private sector job losses and a loss of local economic activity if this proposal is enacted. The impacts of this proposal would be catastrophic to local communities across the nation, to thousands of young Americans desperately in need of the program's services, and to the American economy.

I encourage you to visit Columbia Basin Job Corps CCC, learn more about Job Corps including its intensive services and performance evaluation system and see for yourself how Job Corps works.