A Generation at Risk: What We Lose When Youth Programs Are Defunded
GLG Insights | Verônica Grigoletto | August 19, 2025
A Leadership and Equity Wake-Up Call
This summer’s closure of the Job Corps Alternative Program (Job CORPS), a federally funded vocational training and residential program serving court-involved and at-risk youth, displaced hundreds of young people across the country overnight.
For years, Job CORPS provided housing, job training, and educational services to help young people avoid deeper involvement with the justice system. Now, with its doors closed abruptly and no immediate replacement in place, Detroit, New York, Chicago, and Florida join a growing list of some of the U.S.’s most populous and vulnerable cities struggling to sustain critical infrastructure for vulnerable youth.
Nationally, essential youth justice and intervention programs are being eliminated or left chronically underfunded, often with little public discussion about the long-term societal cost.
The impact of the decision to defund and deprioritize these programs goes far beyond workforce development. For many communities, these programs have been key to improving public safety and upward mobility, increasing the possibility of a safer and more prosperous American future, but that future is beginning to feel further and further away for many.
A National Trend: What’s Falling Through the Cracks
Job CORPS closure comes at a time when:
State and federal budgets for education and youth development are shrinking
Cities across the U.S. are closing juvenile detention alternatives and community-based programs
Federal policymakers continue to propose cuts to arts and cultural funding, echoing past National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) budget threats
Each of these decisions disproportionately affects low-income youth and communities of color, eroding the programs designed to prevent long-term justice system involvement.
The timing of Job Corps campus closures is especially concerning given the growing national trend of states moving to prosecute 16- and 17-year-olds as adults. Across the country, legislation is being introduced or expanded to lower the age at which teens can face adult charges, even for nonviolent offenses.
This shift, combined with the loss of youth-focused alternatives, creates a dangerous convergence: fewer support systems, harsher sentencing pathways, and widening structural gaps for young people already at risk.
The Bigger Picture: Why This Matters for All of Us
This isn’t just about one national program and its effectiveness or one policy shift in a few states. What we’re witnessing is a structural unraveling of support systems designed to help young people avoid cycles of incarceration and economic instability.
When funding for youth justice alternatives and career and technical training programs disappears, the ripple effects reach every part of society, from workforce pipelines and community trust to public safety and long-term economic growth.
For public sector leaders, corporate partners, funders, and community stakeholders, this is a critical moment for advocating for smarter policies, funding proven workforce development programs like YouthBuild USA, which provides education and job training for low-income youth, or revisiting how your institution supports youth opportunity pipelines. The responsibility is shared.
When we invest in these programs, we’re not just helping individual young people; we’re protecting the future health, stability, and prosperity of our entire society.
If you're an organization impacted by workforce development, this is the perfect opportunity to explore how to align your giving, partnerships, and engagement strategy with an urgent need that impacts your bottom line and the communities you live in. We’d love to hear your perspective.
Has your institution been talking about supporting youth opportunity and preventing long-term community harm? Drop a comment below and let’s continue the conversation.