Ex-employee: Mismanagement at Detroit Job Corps is why program pause is justified

Ex-employee of Detroit Job Corps Center says the pause was needed

Former employee Ciara, says the pause was needed because the mismanagement of the operation drove her out.

DETROIT (FOX 2) - All programs like the Detroit Job Corps have been temporarily shut down by the Department of Labor. 

It is calling it a 'pause in operations" and essentially, they say – they’re not getting a return on investment. 

Dig deeper:

One former employee we spoke with, who we'll call Ciara, says the pause was needed.

"It’s bad in there," she said.

The ex-employee of Detroit Job Corps watched like we did as the sad scene of its closure played out last Friday.

Kids with garbage bags full of their humble belongings – some now homeless after Detroit Job Corps shut down, without notice.

FOX 2: "Where are your parents?"

"One is in jail and the other is dead," said Cameron, a member of the job corps who previously spoke to FOX 2. 

About 200-plus students lived on campus getting an education, and learning a job skill.

"I was hurt to be honest," said Carleton Davis, another student.

FOX 2: "This is your future."

"Yeah," he said.

The Department of Labor paused operations at all job corps centers they partner with across the country, citing financial troubles – like a $140 million deficit in 2024 with an average graduation rate of about 39-percent.

"We already knew it was going to shut down," said Ciara. "I wasn’t shocked we already knew."

The Detroit Job Corps technically had until June 30th to close but did it a month early. 

Former employee Ciara, says the pause was needed because the mismanagement of the operation drove her out.

"Numbers (are) very important in job corps," she said. "That’s how they get their money., that’s all it’s about."

The Department of Labor released startling statistics of what it said went on inside these facilities:

-Nearly 15,000 serious incident reports nationwide 

-More than 1,700 for acts of violence.

 -About 2,700 for drug use.

The department says there was no hard deadline for transferring students out of their living quarters, especially when their well-being is concerned. It happened anyway.

"It was a sad scene (from) what I saw," said Ciara. "It was very sad because most the students that do come there are homeless or their parents don’t want them."

In Flint – their job corps facility will shut down sometime this month too, but parents and students were given warning. ahead of time. 

The Detroit Job Corps wouldn’t answer when FOX 2 asked them why its shutdown was so abrupt.