6.1.2025
Save Job Corps and Save Lives
Dear Members of Congress:
Late last week, the Department of Labor abruptly closed all Job Corps locations by issuing a press release of all things (always so thoughtful).
As I have written to you, before, Job Corps provides education, job/trade training, food, and housing to young adults between the ages 16 to 24, who would otherwise be at high risk for becoming unhoused/homeless adults who would be forced to rely on public assistance were it not for Job Corps. Prior studies have shown that Job Corps is “the ‘only federal training program that has been shown to increase earnings for this population,’ leading participants to go further in school, reducing their criminal activity, and increasing their average earnings for several years after the program, although the earnings gains were only sustained by older participants.” [Emphasis added].
Job Corps literally saves life. How do I know? Because it saved my adopted son’s life, and, likely my own life, as a result.
In 2020, my ex-husband and I adopted a 14 year old from foster care. The state of Florida and the adoption agency contracted by the state of Florida’s Department of Children and Families (“DCF”) failed to disclose to us our son’s past struggles with mental health which included severe violence and aggression towards caregivers and foster family members resulting from the tremendous amount of trauma he endured as a child and the state of Florida’s and DCF’s continued failure to provide him with the mental health treatment he needed.
According to the various therapists and doctors we took him to, he suffers from a severe attachment disorder as a result of early life trauma, which for him, tends to trigger violence aimed at anyone who attempts to provide parental love and care for him, which in our case, meant that such episodes were directed primarily at me, as a proxy for his biological mother.
Because his mental health struggles and violent tendencies were hidden from us by the state of Florida and DCF, we did not know that by trying desperately to provide him with a loving, supportive home, we were actually triggering increasingly frequent and escalating episodes of uncontrolled rage and aggression. It was as if his heart needed to eliminate anyone who tried to show him the love that his biological parents should have. The more he acted out, the more we tried to love him, help him, and support him, as any parents would. This did not bode well with his psyche, and every ounce of love we gave him only escalated his mental health crises and the severity of his aggression, creating a dangerous environment for him, for us, and anyone with whom he interacted with.
Ultimately, upon the advice of therapists and doctors, he went into residential psychiatric care. Because of the repeated failures of DCF and the agencies it contracted with, we were only able to get him this help through the involvement our elected state legislators because, surprise, DCF and its contractors refused to help us even though it put us into this dangerous situation, and actively covered up his violent past. (Ultimately, they were forced to help us once our state representative applied pressure). The school system tried to assist, placing him in a 1:1 supervised classroom, but that proved not to be enough, and the local police did nothing except place him on 72 hour mental health holds because any violence towards me was considered a “domestic” issue by the local police, which they tried very hard not to be involved with. My son literally had to tell the police officers the violence he planned to inflict upon me several times before they would even do that.
Once our state member of the Florida House of Representatives got involved, we were finally able to get him the residential treatment he needed, but it was too late for us to help him integrate into our family. In a structured, therapeutic environment, he was able to stabilize and live a somewhat normal life until he aged out at 18 years of age. Unfortunately, it does not appear that it will ever be safe for him to live with us again, due to the severity of his attachment disorder.
Upon the advice of therapists and doctors, when he turned 18, he decided to go to Job Corps. He had shown during his residential treatment, that he does well in the type of structured environment that Job Corps provides with group dormitory living, education, and job training.
There are (were) many kids and young adults in a similar situations in Job Corps. Many were homeless before arriving and are now once again homeless with no warning. First, they were told they had another year before any centers would close, then they found out late last week that they had to leave immediately.
Without Job Corps, these kids and young adults have no other options and many will be homeless.
In our family’s case, it is not safe for us to have continued contact with our adopted son. It is not safe for him, or us, for him to return to us, nor has he expressed a desire to do so.
Job Corps was the first really positive thing he had in his life. He was near completion of the first step of his chosen trade and had plans to complete additional training in that trade from another Job Corps location, so that he would have a higher chance of getting a job upon completion of the program. That opportunity has now been taken from him by the Department of Labor and the Trump regime, just like everything else has been taken from him in his young life, many times by government agencies and institutions.
It’s not fair. The state of Florida and the federal government failed him over and over again. His therapists said that DCF never should have placed him for adoption with a family due to the type and severity of attachment disorder that he suffers from, and, that they should have provided him with mental health treatment when he began showing symptoms when he was 6 years old. They should have provided him a safe and structured environment in a group home setting with therapy. We were later advised by lawyers that the state of Florida and Governor Desantis entered into a multimillion dollar settlement with another family who went through something similar with the children they adopted from Florida foster care because of the coverup by DCF and its agencies. We were not looking for money though, we just needed help for our son.
Instead of providing therapy and mental health treatment, they just prescribed him meds that did not work and transferred him to a new foster home each time he had a violent episode (each of which indicated he needed serious and significant help). They then lied to us to get us to adopt him without disclosing the true nature of his history and mental health. In fact, in our application forms, we identified specific severe behavioral issues we did not feel equipped to address in our adoption, each of which our son had, and which were not disclosed to us. We tried everything to help him, but the nature of his disorder made us into triggers rather than the support system he needed.
Job Corps was his only chance to transition into an independent adult living situation, and he worked hard for that. Now, that opportunity is just gone. Stripped from him and the 1000s of other kids like him, because the Trump regime is cruel, always attacking the most vulnerable first. The core belief system that has distorted our adopted son’s heart and brain, first instilled in him as an infant by abusive adults, that people (especially parents) are bad and cannot be trusted or depended upon, has once again been reinforced by the government’s bad actions.
I do not know what will happen now. I know that he was safe, and, we were safe, and, I know that may no longer be the case. It’s not fair to him or any of the other kids/young adults who were depending on Job Corps for access to brighter futures. It’s actually disgusting that the centers were closed so abruptly by a garish press release. Only congress has the actual constitutional authority to end Job Corps. But, once again, republicans in congress have failed to uphold their oaths to uphold and defend the constitution, and Trump has once again trounced upon it, trampling the most vulnerable among us in his wake. It’s shameful and republicans in congress must bare that shame because of their repeated refusal to act.
Whatever happens to my son, my family, and me, as a result of this callous disregard for human life via press release chaos, it’s on you, republican members of congress. I am desperate, but have no options. I wish you mercy, but, more than that, I wish you would just grow a damn conscience, and a back bone, and honor your oath to protect, defend, and uphold the constitution.
*I encourage all Americans to contact their elected officials every day. To help save Job Corps, visit savejobcorps.com/ Apps like 5calls make calling your federal electeds incredibly easy with scripts and easy access to contact information. Please feel free to copy and paste any of my letters to congress in your own emails to your electeds, as well. Find your federal elected officials’ contact information here. Also, please plan to attend the No Kings Protest on June 14, 2025.
Sources:
https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/osec/osec20250529
https://thehill.com/business/budget/5325826-labor-department-job-corps-centers/