Muhlenberg Job Corps
The Muhlenberg Job Corps Center is a Job Corps training center located in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky. It serves around 405 students year-round. Offerings include vocational training at an entry level in the health and construction industries. Students are given breaks of ten training days twice per year, once in summer, and once during the holidays. This center, as well as the Sacramento Job Corps Center, the Charleston Job Corps Center, and the Carl D. Perkins Job Corps Center, are all operated by HORIZONS Youth Services.
Housing and Center Life
There is housing for around a total of around 405 students. The names of the dorms are Clara Barton Hall, George Foreman Hall, John F. Kennedy Hall, Wilma Rudolph Hall, and Martin Luther King Jr. Hall.
The recreation department, as well as the safety and security, department fall under the direction of the Center Life Department. Recreational facilities include a Gymnasium with a weight room, barber shop, and recording studio; and a recreation building with a theater featuring stadium seating, a computer lab, a pool hall, and a large open room for various activities such as video games, and Leisure Time Learning activities as administered by the Recreation Department.
A student leadership system, administered by the Student personnel office and The Department of Center Life, is in place in nearly every facet of life on center. For vocational leadership, see Training Opportunities. Each dormitory has a system of 8 leadership positions, and a captain for each room. There is a President, Two Vice Presidents, and two Sergeants at Arms. Each of these leaders are responsible for issuing Dorm Incident Reports, which carry light sanctions such as extra cleaning. The Vice Presidents of each hall directly oversee the room captains, and the Sergeant At Arms functions as the administrator of the Dorm Court, which arbitrates sanctions for Dorm Incident Reports. In the next tier are the Employability Leader, a dorm coordinator and a MESS leader. All dormitory leaders and room captains are selected by the Dormitory Manager, and approved by the Director of Center Life.
The Recreation department has student workers that clean the buildings each night and staff them daily to streamline services. They are overseen by four Vice Presidents, a records leader, a Sergeant at Arms, and the President. These leaders, as well as the workers, are all selected by the Recreation Supervisor, and approved by their respective dormitory managers.
Phase System
Students are categorized by their behavior as rated by staff of the center from all departments(residential, academic, and vocational) Staff evaluate students on their adherence to Job Corps's Career Success Standards. The student's average score is used to determine their phase. Students carry cards roughly the size of a business card that indicates their current status.
All students begin on Green Phase, and progress on to either Gray, Blue, Red, or Silver Phase, with Red Phase being the acceptable standard. Gray Phase allows the student no privileges beyond attendance of training, and enforces early curfew. Blue Phase, however, does not restrict students to the center; however, it does include the early curfew, and relegates the student to last preference in recreation trips. Red Phase and Green Phase have the same privilege set, allowing standard curfew and utilization of recreational outings. After a second evaluation, students are eligible to progress to Gold Phase (provided they are already on Red Phase or higher). Silver Phase students may leave center more often on shopping trips, and are also eligible to run for Student Government. In addition, Silver and Gold Phase students have extended curfew on weekends. Gold Phase students are also allowed into lunch and dinner 15 minutes earlier than all other phases.
Students who receive disciplinary write-ups surrender their phase card immediately, and the return of their phase card is contingent upon a brief hearing by the Student Personnel Office. Gold Phase students drop to Silver Phase immediately upon receipt of, and a guilty finding from, a disciplinary write-up. Write-ups of a serious nature often cause White Phase, a temporary status of removal of all privileges. White Phase can also be caused by a multitude of minor write-ups. White and gray phase share the same privilege set. See Zero Tolerance for further write-up procedures.
Training Opportunities
Educational
It offers, as other Job Corps Centers do, High School Diploma/GED completion programs, the first with the use of PLATO software.
Vocational/Career Technical
It also offers vocational trades, as follows: Construction Equipment Mechanics, Heavy Equipment Operators, Welding, Commercial Drivers' License Class B, Certified Nursing/Medical Assistant, Pharmacy Technician Training, and Medical Office Support Training. Trades recently phased out include Plumbing, Facilities Maintenance, Brick Masonry, Business Technologies, and Culinary Arts. Trade removals previous to this include Security Officer Training, Painting, and Automobile Mechanics. Also offered is a college program which allows students who have completed all facets of the program to remain in residence and attend Madisonville Community College in Madisonville, Kentucky.
Student Leadership also exists in each vocational class, with a Foreman and a Safety Foreman. The class foreman helps to maintain employability standards such as dress code and order in the class. The safety foreman is responsible for maintaining a safe working environment, with duties such as tool and equipment checks, and instructions to other students who violate rules pertaining to safety. These leaders are selected by the instructor(s) of the trades.
Zero Tolerance Procedures and Disciplinary Write-Ups
If a student is found to be in possession of drugs, tested positive for drugs a second time, arrested for a felony on or off center, or seriously assaults another student sexually or physically, immediate termination occurs. This set of rules is in place in all Job Corps centers across the United States. Offenses such as dress code violations and missing appointments are dealt with by the Student Personnel Office in the same fashion as many correctional institutions utilize, and may cause the revocation of the Students' phase privileges, extra work hours, essay writing, center restriction, or all of the above. A point system exists for incentives towards good behavior, and the discouragement of the opposite A student begins with twelve Behavior Management System (BMS) points. Infractions will deduct these points based on their seriousness, and loss of all or more points will result in possible termination, pending review. As mentioned earlier, White Phase is a consequence of loss of half or more of the BMS points held by a student. Points are awarded back weekly one at a time if a student does not incur any more write-ups. If a student incurs a large number of minor violations, or a violation just short of zero tolerance, such as threats or intimidation, major disturbances, minor fights, arrests for misdemeanors, or theft, the Behavior Review Panel (BRP) determine guilt or innocence of the offense in question, and then will proceed to recommend either termination from the program or retention. The next day, the Center Director will make the final decision on termination of the student in question, and if the student is retained, he or she will automatically be placed on White Phase with heavy sanctions.
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