WNEM: Flint students impacted by halted Job Corps contract
FLINT, Mich. (WNEM) - Job Corps is pausing operations after action was taken by the U.S. Department of Labor.
The department halted contracts with 99 Job Corps centers nationwide on Friday, including the one in Flint. TV5’s James Felton spoke with U.S. Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet on Monday, June 2 about what she’s doing to try to keep Job Corps open.
Job Corps was created to help young adults build a pathway to a better life through education, training, and community. At the Flint Genesee Center, it serves 147 students.
Most of them live on site and rely on the program for housing, meals, and access to high school equivalency classes, trade certifications, and job placement assistance.
“There are 15 kids who don’t have anywhere else to go immediately,” said McDonald Rivet. “The direction from the federal government, send them to a homeless shelter.”
On May 29, the department halted contracts at the 99 operated centers nationwide, including those in Flint, Detroit, and Grand Rapids. Center operators began implementing transition plans to move students safely to their home of record and stop program activities.
“I’m working with the members of Congress from those areas,” said McDonald Rivet. “We are scheduling meetings with the Department of Labor. In the short term, we are pushing to make sure that there’s a plan for each and every kid in the program. Minimally, let’s make sure they’re someplace where they are safe. And secondly, we need to understand why the timeline was pushed up, and see what we can do, in the long term, to keep the program open.”
According to the Department of Labor, in 2024, the Job Corps program operated at a $140 million deficit, requiring the Biden administration to implement a pause in center operations to complete the program year. And in 2025, Job Corps is projected to have a $213 million deficit.
A Department of Labor official said the Flint Genesee Center has a graduation rate of 48%. For context, high schools below 67% are considered low performing under federal law.
The average cost for a Flint Genesee graduate is around $153,000. Those same graduates earn, on average, about $12,500 annually. But McDonald Rivet points out that the 147 kids and young adults who were shown the door on Friday are trying to make their own path on the road to success that just got bumpier.
“They are learning new job skills. They are getting career training. They are doing everything we ask them to do. And to have the rug pulled out from under them so quickly, and in such a cruel way, it’s just not who we are. Those are not our values, and we need to stand up and say no,” said McDonald Rivet.
McDonald Rivet said she’s hoping to have some preliminary answers on what can be done to get Job Corps reopened in about a week. Meanwhile, the Department of Labor said it will arrange transportation and cover costs to transfer students back to their home of record by June 30.
The Department of Labor said its decision aligns with President Trump’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget proposal, and that it reflects the administration’s commitment to ensure federal workforce investments deliver meaningful results for both students and taxpayers.