Trump administration shutters Job Corps: What it means for Michigan

• Trump administration pauses Job Corps programs from low-income youth in Detroit, Flint and Grand Rapids
• Federal officials cited low graduation rates, high costs and safety issues
• Democratic lawmakers criticized the abrupt move  and are organizing support while urging reversal

A federal program that offered housing and job training to young adults in three Michigan cities was halted late last week by the Trump administration, prompting outcry from local lawmakers and fundraising efforts for youth forced to leave the facilities. 

The US Department of Labor called it a “phased pause” of Job Corps, a decades-old program started by then-President Lyndon B. Johnson that offers residential vocational training and education to low-income or at-risk young people ages 16 to 24. 

Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said the decision aligned with the Trump administration’s sweeping cost-cutting measures across federal agencies, saying in a statement that a recent analysis suggested Job Corps “is no longer achieving the intended outcomes that students deserve.”

The department ordered all operations at Job Corps locations to wind down by June 30, though program participants in Detroit, Grand Rapids and Flint were reportedly instructed to leave immediately.  

Critics of the decision argue that Job Corps plays a critical role for at-risk Michigan youth and urged the administration to reconsider. 

“Job Corps became a home away from home that restored hope, vision, and direction for a lot of young people who felt like prisoners in their hopeless situations,” said Pastor Janard Lakes, who previously worked at the Flint Job Corps center. “Generations of students from our community avoided a dangerous path thanks to this program.”

Here’s what to know about the pause and how it impacts Michigan residents.

Who is affected? 

Nationwide, about 25,000 youth are currently enrolled across 99 contract-operated Job Corps centers, according to federal data. 

The latest Department of Labor analysis of Job Corps participation showed 760 students from Michigan were enrolled as of program year 2023: 321 in Detroit, 231 in Flint and 208 in Grand Rapids. 

The Detroit and Flint Job Corps centers are operated by the Tucson-based Serrato Corporation, while the Grand Rapids center is operated by the Atlanta-based company Human Learning Systems.

Since the announcement, local Job Corps websites have been replaced by  a “Beyond Job Corps” page directing prospective applicants to other resources.

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Existing students “will be connected with the resources they need to succeed as this transition takes place,” including potential transfer to other job training programs, support services and other educational opportunities like Pell grants, the Department of Labor said in a press release.

At least some program participants who were residing at the facilities were told to leave on short notice without time to line up new accommodations. One 18-year-old participant told Fox 2 Detroit that he was seeking alternative housing, but had found “nothing that’s solid ground.” 

Mariyah Louis, a Detroit business owner who graduated from Job Corps in 2017, started a Facebook group and fundraiser for current students who need immediate assistance.

Being part of Job Corps “literally saved my life,” Louis said, crediting the program and its staff for helping her get her high school diploma and put her on the path to becoming a successful business owner. 

The suddenness of the decision concerned Louis, who said she was all too familiar with the housing uncertainty many of the participants now face. 

“When you talk about the children, the young adults facing homelessness, I too was in a situation similar, where I was so dependent on Job Corps,” Louis said. “It’s just a lot of pressure.”

The administration’s rationale

In announcing the pause on Job Corps programming, the Trump administration cited an April “transparency report” auditing costs, success rates and infractions by program participants. 

Nationally, the report found the average graduation rate of Job Corps participants was 38.6% with an average total cost of $155,600 per graduate.

The report tallied 14,913 serious infractions by participants over the course of the program year, including inappropriate sexual behavior, acts of violence, safety or security breaches or drug use.  

Here’s how the three Michigan centers compared, according to Department of Labor figures:

• Grand Rapids: 23.8% graduation rate, $338,232 average cost per graduate, 121 total infractions
• Flint: 47.8% graduation rate, $157,937 average cost per graduate, 78 total infractions
• Detroit: 42.9% graduation rate, $139,503 average cost per graduate, 105 total infractions

Job Corps was operating at a $140 million deficit in program year 2024, with a projected deficit of $213 million in program year 2025. 

Michigan lawmakers call for reversal

Several of Michigan’s Democratic members of Congress are urging the administration to reconsider. 

In a June 2 letter to Labor Secretary Chavez-DeRemer, four federal lawmakers representing the three impacted regions — Kristen McDonald Rivet of Bay City, Hillary Scholten of Grand Rapids and Rashida Tlaib and Shri Thanedar of Detroit — wrote that the abrupt disruption of Job Corps services has “destabilized our communities.” 

The group acknowledged that Job Corps’ cost efficiency and long-term effectiveness could be improved, but said “an unplanned and abrupt pause in all operations does not support these goals” and asked for clarification on how the administration plans to address immediate needs of current students. 

The decision “derails the lives of thousands of young people and dedicated staff committed to strengthening our country’s workforce, at a time of great worker shortage across the state,” they wrote in the letter. 

Though some congressional Republicans opposed the pause on Job Corps operations, others have defended the administration’s stance. 

US Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Tipton, told the Detroit News in a statement that Job Corps “is supposed to help young people, but it is clearly failing at that task.” 

Community response 

In the absence of federal support, local officials and community members are exploring ways to secure alternative resources for current participants. 

Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley proposed a $25,000 emergency fund for the 147 students who were involved in the Genesee County Job Corps program at the time of closure. 

Kent County Commissioner Robert Womack hosted an “emergency town hall” on the Job Corps pause and other issues impacting the Grand Rapids community, calling the closure “an assault on the future of our youth” that will hurt the city’s working class.

In the city of Detroit, city officials and residents are working to help young people impacted by the closures. 

Louis, the Job Corps graduate, has a goal of raising $12,000 — an amount strategically calculated to account for home goods, supplies, hygiene products and immediate needs of any program residents facing homelessness — and is rallying fellow alumni to the cause, stressing that the fundraiser is “for us, by us.” 

“We’ve got people who are put in a position to help the American people, and they are doing us a disservice right now,” Louis said.