Buchholz: I came to Job Corps to have a career and to be something in life.
Romero: I enrolled because I was getting into a lot of trouble and no other place would
accept me.
Higgins: Job Corps has definitely changed my life, 100% on the turnaround.
Laborin: It’s a second chance for a miracle.
Mageehon: Students coming out of Job Corps are giving back to the community that is giving
to them when they go into the program.
Student: This is awesome!
O’Halloran: It’s one of the few programs that the federal government gets involved
with, with youth, that really shows a return on the investment.
Deen: It’s good to kind of get away from the city and find myself in the middle of
nowhere.
Film narrator: This is about a war on poverty…
Jack Deinema: It was in 1964, President Johnson’s “War on Poverty” program.
And they wanted it patterned after the CCC program.
NARRATOR: The Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930’s gave jobs, housing and training
to Americans who were put out of work by the great depression.
Camps under the so-called “Three C” program were built on public lands, and dozens of
successful conservation projects were the result.
In 1964, this legacy was the model for the new Job Corps – created by the Economic
Opportunity Act signed by President Lyndon Johnson.
The program’s first director, R. Sargent Shriver, made visits to many of the first
Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers operated by the USDA Forest Service.
Jack Deneima led the Forest Service’s early efforts.
Deinema: Getting those young people out, working with their hands, with an axe and a saw, in
the fresh air and seeing the scenery, it gave them a work ethic.
They knew how to survive in a group environment and work together
NARRATOR: Doug Leisz, one of the first Center Directors for the Forest Service, saw results
quickly.
Leisz: They learned work skills and they ended up being hard workers.
We began to get them, also, involved in community activities.
And it made a very positive relation for them with local people.
NARRATOR: Today, the US Forest Service manages 28 Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers
on 22 National Forests and Grasslands in 18 states.
Dixon: Civilian Conservation Centers were developed to help solve the unemployment issues
that we were dealing with and the degradation of our natural resources.
Those things haven’t changed.
We’re giving young people a variety of opportunities to become gainfully employed.
And our students are participating in natural resource conservation management on our National
Forests.
So we serve the public as well.
NARRATOR: Funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, these CCCs are educating more than
6,000 students, age 16-24.
They receive free housing, high school diploma or GED, and training in one or more of some
30 trades.
After graduation, students receive help with job placement.
About 80% of graduates pursue a career, higher education or military service.
NARRATOR: So, what’s it like during a typical stay at a Forest Service Job Corps Civilian
Conservation Center?
See for yourself.
NARRATOR: The secret to Job Corps success is never standing still.
Forest Service Civilian Conservation Centers are keeping up with changing employment options
by focusing on a “green” curriculum, and on training that complements U.S. Department
of Agriculture priorities such as “People’s Gardens,” “Know Your Farmer, Know Your
Food,” and many others.
Group: One nation, under God, indivisible…
NARRATOR: The Forest Service Job Corps program produces graduates with a variety of work
skills, many of which are in demand throughout the private sector, and particularly on National
Forests and Grasslands across the country.
Entry level jobs in office automation, information technology, facilities maintenance and other
areas are helping the Forest Service achieve its mission of “Caring for the Land and
Serving People.”
O’Halloran: This environment gives these kids an opportunity to get off the streets,
to change their lives around, to focus themselves.
They’re responsible citizens and they’re paying taxes back, so it’s a great return
on the investment, in my feeling.
Garcia: Before Job Corps I was walking around, living on the streets.
I’ve really improved in my life.
Ridley: Out here in the country you just kind of find yourself again.