Job Corps was established as a national employment and training program in 1964 to provide severely disadvantaged youth with a wide range of services, including basic/remedial education, vocational training, and social skills instruction, usually at residential facilities. It remains one of the few federally run programs, unlike many other employment training programs that are federally funded but are operated by state or local governments. Job Corps centers are operated by public or private organizations under contract with Labor. Recent legislative proposals to consolidate much of the nation’s job training system into block grants to the states has produced debate on the relationship between Job Corps and the states, including whether responsibility for Job Corps should be delegated to the states. A 1995 Senate-passed bill retained Job Corps as a separate federally administered program; a 1995 House-passed bill was silent about the Job Corps’ future as a separate entity. A conference committee is currently attempting to resolve the differences between the two bills. The Senate bill proposes several changes to better integrate Job Corps with state and local workforce development initiatives, including requiring center operators to submit operating plans to Labor, through their state governors; requiring center operators to give nearby communities advance notice of any center changes that could affect them; and permitting the governor to recommend individuals to serve on panels to select center operators. Labor officials stated that the program is already playing a proactive role in ensuring that the National Job Corps program works more closely with state and local employment, education, and training programs. According to Job Corps officials, the program has received funding to open nine additional centers—five in program year 1996 and four in program year 1997—all of which will be located in states with existing centers. Job Corps’ nine regional directors are responsible for the day-to-day administration of the program at the centers located within their geographic boundaries. Included among their responsibilities are the recruitment of youth for program participation and the assignment of enrollees to one of the program centers. Recruitment is typically carried out by private contractors, the centers, or state employment services under contract with the regional directors. The Job Corps legislation provides some broad guidance with respect to assigning enrollees to centers. It states that participants are to be assigned to the center closest to their residence, except for good cause. Exceptions can include avoiding undue delay in assigning participants to a center, meeting educational or training needs, or ensuring efficiency and economy in the operation of the program. The program currently enrolls participants aged 16 to 24 who are severely disadvantaged, in need of additional education or training, and living in a disruptive environment. Our June 1995 report contained an analysis of characteristics of those terminating from Job Corps in program year 1993 showing that over two-thirds of the program’s participants faced multiple barriers to employment. Enrollments are voluntary, and training programs are open entry, open exit, and self-paced, allowing participants to enroll throughout the year and to progress at their own pace. On average, participants spend about 8 months in the program but can stay up to 2 years. In addition to basic education and vocational training courses, each of the centers provides participants with a range of services including counseling, health care (including dental), room and board, and recreational activities. Skills training is offered in a variety of vocational areas, including business occupations, automotive repair, construction trades, and health occupations. These courses are taught by center staff, private contractors, or instructors provided under contracts with national labor and business organizations. In addition, Job Corps offers, at a limited number of centers, advanced training in various occupations including food service, clerical, and construction trades. This training is designed to provide additional instruction to participants from centers across the nation who have demonstrated the ability to perform at a higher skill level. One feature that makes Job Corps different from other youth training programs is its residential component. About 90 percent of the participants enrolled each year live at the centers, allowing services to be provided 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The premise for boarding participants is that most come from a disruptive environment and, therefore, can benefit from receiving education and training in a new setting where a variety of support services are available around the clock. Participation in Job Corps can lead to placement in a job or enrollment in further training or education. It can also lead to educational achievements such as earning a high school diploma and gaining reading or math skills. However, the primary outcome for Job Corps participants is employment; about 64 percent of those leaving the program get jobs. Job Corps program capacity differs widely among the states because the number of centers in each state differs, and the size of individual centers within the states varies substantially. Job Corps centers are located in 46 states and the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico (see fig. 1). Among states with centers, the number ranges from one center in each of 19 states; to six centers each in California, Kentucky, and Oregon; to seven in New York State. In-state capacity differs according to the number of centers in each state, the size of individual centers, and the average time participants spend in the program. For example, Kentucky’s centers can serve 6,373 participants annually, nearly double the number that can be served by centers in either California (3,477) or New York (3,252); Idaho has only one center and a capacity of about 200. (See app. IV for a listing of the capacity within each state with a Job Corps center.) As shown in figure 2, Job Corps centers in 9 states had the capacity to serve over 2,000 Job Corps participants annually, whereas centers in 10 states could serve fewer than 500 participants annually. Nationwide, 41 percent of the approximately 64,000 program year 1994 Job Corps participants (about 44 percent in program year 1993) who lived in states with Job Corps centers were assigned to centers outside their home state. Openings at centers located in their states of residence were often filled by participants from other states. Those participants assigned out of state travel greater distances than those who are assigned to an in-state center. Yet, even when assigned out of state, participants tend to stay within the Labor region in which they reside. Regardless of where they are assigned, participants tend to be employed in their state of residence. Considerable variation existed among the states in the extent to which Job Corps participants were assigned to out-of-state centers (see fig. 3). In program year 1994, the majority of Job Corps participants from 15 states were assigned to centers outside their home state. For example, more than three-quarters of the Job Corps participants from Colorado, Illinois, South Carolina, and Wisconsin were assigned to centers in states other than the one in which they lived. On the other hand, less than a quarter of the youths in 16 states were assigned to out-of-state Job Corps centers. For example, less than 15 percent of the Job Corps participants from Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, and New York were assigned to centers outside their home state. (App. V lists the states included in each of the percentage groupings shown in fig. 3.) Percentage of Participants Assigned Out of State While substantial numbers of participants are assigned to out-of-state centers, the vast majority of all participants are assigned to centers within the Job Corps regions in which they reside. Nearly 95 percent of program year 1994 participants (92 percent in program year 1993) were assigned to a Job Corps center that was located in the same region as their residence. In 7 of Labor’s 10 regions, over 90 percent of Job Corps program participants were residents of the regions in which they were assigned, and in the remaining 3 regions, over 80 percent were regional residents. A portion of the remaining 5 percent who were transferred outside their region were assigned under agreements between regional directors to send participants to centers in other regions. For example, the director in region II said that he has an agreement to send approximately 150 youths to region I and 250 youths to region IV. The director in region IX assigns 400 to 600 youths to the Clearfield, Utah, center in region VIII and another 200 youths to region X. Job Corps participants assigned to centers outside their state of residence were sent to centers that were, on average, over 4 times as distant as the in-state center closest to a participant’s residence. For the approximately 26,000 youths leaving the program in program year 1994 who were assigned to out-of-state Job Corps centers, we compared the distances from their home to (1) the center to which they were assigned and (2) the in-state center nearest their residence. In 92 percent of the cases where participants were assigned out of state, there was an in-state Job Corps center closer to the participant’s home. On average, participants assigned to out-of-state centers traveled about 390 miles, whereas the closest in-state center was about 90 miles from their residence. For example, about 2,200 Florida residents were assigned to Job Corps centers in other states, traveling on average about 640 miles to attend those centers. In contrast, these participants would have traveled, on average, only about 70 miles had they been assigned to the nearest Florida center. We noted that while residents in many states were being assigned to out-of-state centers, a substantial number of nonresidents were being brought in and enrolled at in-state centers. For example, in program year 1994, of the approximately 1,000 Arkansas residents in Job Corps, about 600 (or 60 percent) were assigned to out-of-state centers. Yet, about 600 nonresidents were brought in to centers in Arkansas from other states. Similarly, in Georgia, 1,300 residents from that state were assigned to Job Corps centers located elsewhere, whereas about 1,900 individuals residing in other states were brought in to centers located in Georgia. Figure 4 shows states with large numbers (500 or more) of residents sent to out-of-state centers while large numbers of nonresidents were brought in-state. (App.