as the federal government continues to scale back its funding of programs the latest cut would slash funds for the JobCore program across the country now JobCore is a free job training program run through the US Department of Labor that helps young people ages 16 to 24 develop job readiness skills for vocational careers the labor secretary said the funding cuts came after a surge of quote serious incident reports alleging problematic behavior among program participants raven Santana spoke to some current students in the program about the impact it's had and what these funding cuts would mean to them it's just a whole lot of frustration with all these kids here especially because none of them have no place to go they don't have no homes they don't have no jobs like they put all their efforts into coming here 19-year-old Grace Simmons says she was only 37% of the way through her certified clinical medical assistant training when she learned the US Department of Labor would be officially shutting down the JobCore program nationwide simmons now joins fellow students at program sites across the country who are feeling frustrated and uncertain about their futures before I got here I was actually homeless out on the street so like JobCore saved my life on most on on a different type of level i just now got my certifications yesterday for carpentry as a matter of fact my fear now is that a lot of students don't have places to go at all like soon as we heard the news there were students crying in their dorms not knowing what to do what their next move is going to be i was genuinely devastated i am 67% done with my trade and now it's it's it's honestly very upsetting because I can't get that career that I came here for jobcore is a free education and job training program for low-income and young adults run by the US Department of Labor designed to help young people ages 16 to 24 gain valuable skills for the workforce i had a dream of being a mechanic and you know coming here would have changed that what are you concerned about now i'm just concerned about where I'm going to go after this um fortunately enough I was able to get all my certificates so um you know but a lot of people don't have that blessing some people just came not that long ago some people aren't even at 50% um so they can't get pushed through they can't get all the certificates that they need for working after this the decision is facing backlash from lawmakers and program leaders alike including Ashton Strippling director of the JobCore Academy in Edison one of more than 130 centers operating nationwide we serve annually 417 students a year and how many are now at risk every one of them they are at risk of losing their education at risk of not having shelter at risk of not having three meals hot meals a day at risk of losing health care mental health we we provide wellness care here for our students they are just at risk of going back to the streets where they tried to escape uh they're losing their safe safety net here on April 25th 2025 the US Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration released the first ever job core transparency report which reviewed financial performance and operational cost using the latest data from program year 2023 labor Secretary Lori Chavez Derimer cited a surge in serious incident reports as a key factor behind the decision to shut down the program in 2023 alone nearly 15,000 incidents were reported including cases of violence drug use and inappropriate sexual behavior saying a startling number of serious incident reports and our in-depth fiscal analysis reveal the program is no longer achieving the intended outcomes that students deserve we remain committed to ensuring all participants are supported through the transition and connected with the resources they need to succeed as we evaluate the program's possibilities and I'm a former JobCore student you know I attended JobCore 20 years ago and we're celebrating 60 years of JobCore this year as a former participant in the program himself Strippling points to his own journey as proof of its impact it works look at me i'm a success story i went from an atrisisk student to center director of the same program that helped me and currently working on my PhD degree strippling stresses that JobCore is more than just an educational program it's a vital lifeline for low-income students offering training in high demand careers and a pathway to lasting stability he says advocates are planning a rally at the Edison campus in two weeks to raise awareness and support in the meantime he's calling on community partners to step up and help students navigate the transition as a program winds down for NJ Spot News I'm Raven Santana [Music]