The Job Corp’s Demise is Cleveland’s Loss by C. Ellen Connally

In October of 2022, I reported on the Cleveland Job Corp and my positive impressions of the program. As I observed then, not only does the program change the lives of young people, its physical presence on the site of the old Fisher Body Plant on Cleveland’s east side changed a brownfield into a thriving neighbor. The Job Corp created jobs for local residents and a new future for young people attending the program by helping them obtain their high school diploma and job training for meaningful careers in a variety of fields.

Operating since the 1960s, the Job Corp is the nation’s largest residential career training program. Since its inception it has trained more than two million individuals.

Recently the U.S. Department of Labor announced that it will phase out operations of the Job Corp programs nationwide. Citing fiscal problems, the Labor Department records show that the program operated at a $140 million deficit in 2024 and has a projected deficit of $213 million for 2025.

Granted, this kind of deficit spending needs to be corrected. But rather than shut down the program, the Department of Labor should figure out a way to make it more cost effective. And compared to other government spending, this is not a great deal of money. Money that is spent on training programs and education goes a long way to reducing other government spending such as welfare assistance, unemployment and money spent on correctional facilities, where unskilled youths frequently end up.

Educated, productive citizens pay taxes, buy goods and services, have health care insurance so that they are not a drain on our struggling health care system and contribute to the national economy to a degree that cannot be measured. Educated and employed citizens help to break the cycle of poverty that is rampant in many segments of society. Job training programs like Job Corp do just that.

I join with Congresswoman Shontel Brown who condemned the closing of the Job Corp as a “betrayal of the young people of Cleveland who look to the Job Corp for training and a bright future.”

The motto of the United Negro College fund is “A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Waste.” How many minds will be wasted because of the demise of Job Corp?

In addition, what will happen to the space now occupied by the Job Corp? Hopefully, it will not turn into an abandoned property and community eyesore. Can the city, county or state figure out a use for this well-developed complex so that it can continue to serve as a place for education and development for people in this area? If that happens, the cost of maintenance and operation will shift from the federal government to the state and local government. But whatever the cost, the property must be maintained.

Elections have consequences.  The demise of Job Corp is one. We must look to Cleveland City Council and our state legislature to ensure that this unfortunate decision made by the Department of Labor can be turned into something positive for our community.

C. Ellen Connally is a retired judge of the Cleveland Municipal Court. From 2010 to 2014 she served as the President of the Cuyahoga County Council. An avid reader and student of American history, she is a former member of the Board of the Ohio History Connection, and past president of the Cleveland Civil War Round Table, and is currently vice president of the Cuyahoga County Soldiers and Sailors Monument Commission.  She holds degrees from BGSU, CSU and is all but dissertation for a PhD from the University of Akron.

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