FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact: Anand Vimalassery (202.618.0217; anand@njcaweb.org)

Statement by Lonnie P. Taylor, President & CEO, National Job Corps Association on President Barack Obama’s FY 2017 Budget and Its Impact on Job Corps Programs

Earlier today, President Obama released his eighth and final federal budget. While we’re generally supportive of the President’s request for $65.4 million in additional funding for Job Corps, this request falls short of addressing the program’s most fundamental infrastructure and staffing needs.

For example, the $12 million requested to modernize curricula and upgrade equipment is inadequate. Job Corps’ 20th century hardware infrastructure and limitations on bandwidth severely restrict students’ access to Wi-Fi and online education resources and must be updated. Further, to fully implement contextualized learning, a widely accepted best practice, Job Corps requires greater investments in its academic and training resources, including staff, training and curricula.

We do applaud the President for positively responding to the Job Corps community’s request to increase funding for mental health staffing to $10 million. Like so many other at-risk students across the nation, Job Corps students are confronted with socio-economic challenges that require comprehensive services and certified experts to address their needs. We also appreciate the President’s call for an additional $30 million for Job Corps center construction, rehabilitation, and acquisition, which will be critical to improving the safety and security of our students, faculty and facilities.

Finally, we are concerned that the President’s request does not address the unprecedented delays in the Job Corps procurement process that are hampering Jobs Corps’ effectiveness and further stretching already limited resources. Greater transparency and oversight is required with respect to the management of Job Corps procurements.

###

For more information on NJCA and its mission, visit www.njcaweb.org