Federal Residential Jobs Program

[Jeppy]

From another post I gather I am not to list the name of any programs, but I am curious if any of you have had experience with this program recommended by my difficult child's counselor:

A residential program (child comes home on weekends in my area) run by the federal government at many different locations throughout the country for teens to learn a trade while completing a high school diploma or getting a GED, all done at no cost to the family.

Students live in a dorm with 1-7 roommates, attend classes/job training, do some chores, have some free time, and have the opportunity to earn money.

I will be trying to set up a visit at the location nearest to me and am wondering if there are any particular questions I should ask.

 

[WSM]

It's a good program, but there are family income restrictions. If the parents make too much money, the child can't participate. Also they do have a college prep course; that's considered a trade too.

 

[klmno]

How on earth do yyou get the kid in there? I've never heard of it but would be interested in finding out more. Could you PM me with the name? I doubt I'd be able to get my son in due to his Department of Juvenile Justice status, but am still interested.

Sorry- I can't answer your original question.

 

[DDD]

I believe that government program names are allowed. Private program names are not. The only program similar to your description that I am aware of is Job Corps. There are differences.

Certainly it is wise to visit a site. It would also be great if they had statistics available on their enrollment sources.
Some programs are primarily court ordered teens which can expose a teen to more street knowledge than most of us would want. It might also be informative to find out the average time of enrollment if it is voluntary. Short stays could indicate issues exist.

I'll look forward to reading your updates although I am very thankful that I am finally past that age group. LOL DDD

 

[Jeppy]

Yes, it is Job Corps. I keep getting sent from person to person - no site visit set up yet, and no one who can answer a question on income guidelines yet either. But I'll keep after them and see what I can find out and update everyone here.

 

[DammitJanet]

We looked into Job Corps but the one problem was that my son had to complete the application which included a handwritten essay telling why he wanted to attend their program. He never would do it.

I cant remember what the exact income guidelines were.

 

[DDD]

This is what I know "secondhand" about Job Corps. A number of easy child/difficult children friends attended the program. There are posters on the walls of the Department of Juvenile Justice offices and at the adult probation and parole departments. That is why his friends ended up going. None of them went 5 days a week. All of them went out of town or out of state. Evidently "some" of the sites are better supervised than others. There are sites in Florida that are known for being rough, rough, rough. One friend traveled (and I think JC paid for the bus ticket) to Tenn because it had a reputation of being safe and laidback. He got a certification to be an electricians helper. He either did not want to use that once he returned or it was not helpful in getting a job because he worked fast food etc. back here. Where he was they were not allowed to smoke but on weekends they had total freedom to go wherever they wanted and he used to walk or hitch a ride to a town nearby and enjoy his cigarettes or ?? whatever.

Alot, it seems, depends on your child's maturity and exposure. Even more depends on which site you attend. Years ago I looked on the JC web site and found it very informative. Good luck. DDD

 

[nodramamama]

A friend's child went through the Job Corps program in our area and it was a wonderful experience. She was a single mom but working and owned a house, so I know that the income levels for acceptance aren't super low. The program in our area was GREAT!!! He'd had struggled with school - kept going from mainstreamed to not and back again, dropped out, etc. At one point he momentarily flamed out of the program, but they took him back - there's lots of structure, which really helped him. He eventually got his GED through the program(?), was trained as a security guard, now has a regular job, got married and is supporting his wife and kid. My friend NEVER thought it would be possible. I remember her being frustrated at the initial run-around too...I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you!

 

[Jeppy]

Found out this afternoon my difficult child is not eligible because our income is not low enough to qualify for Medicaid or Food Stamps, the two rules of thumb they use.