2 federal agencies launch new Salt Lake City program to employ Job Corps students, others

St. Louis, Albuquerque, Memphis and Salt Lake City. All four cities will soon be connected through a new federal program intended to help young people with opportunities to improve their lives and their futures.

Each city will house what is called the CARE Center, an acronym for customer assistance and resident engagement center, a call center that will provide people eligible for programs in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, or Job Corps students a chance to work, help their neighbors and be employed by the federal government.

"The CARE Center is a testament of what we can achieve when we invest in people, collaborate with purpose and pursue excellence in public service," said Kelly Jorgensen, the field office director for Utah HUD. "Today marks an exciting chapter in our ongoing mission to serve the American people with the dedication and compassion that they deserve."

Each year, the general HUD telephone numbers receives "hundreds of thousands" of calls, according to Peter Hunter, HUD Office of Field Policy and Management assistant deputy secretary. People call for a variety of reasons — for example, questions about housing assistance, reports of abuse and fraud, assistance with foreclosures — and the current staff simply cannot handle the number of calls.

Employees at the CARE centers will assist in the call-answering and information-providing process. These workers, who, for now, must be Job Corps graduates or eligible for HUD assistance, will receive training in not only the information needed to answer questions but also learn to understand the federal government process. They will be paid between $30,000 and $40,000 a year plus medical insurance, retirement and vacation days, depending on experience, education, specialized skills, etc.

Currently, three graduates from Job Corps in Utah are the center's first employees. With time, they will have more colleagues as the departments hope to hire a total of 50 advocates, as CARE Center employees are called, in the four sites. Job Corps is a residential program located in every state and Puerto Rico. Students receive career training, often learn a trade, and also receive education help. Students must be between 16 and 24 years old to enroll in Job Corps.

On Friday, department leaders emphasized the benefit of providing a future. Each CARE center employee will receive a federal employee designation between General Service Position 2 — GS-2 — to General Service Position 5. This will allow these employees to learn the ins and outs of what is needed to build a career in the U.S. federal government.

"Having the opportunity to break cycles of poverty by landing a federal job to become a CARE advocate ... that's one way to help change the community," said John E. Hall, Job Corps national director. "Lots of our students come to us in various conditions before the two years when they graduate ... some are homeless ... so we're thinking this is a win-win all around."

Anyone can apply for a job at a CARE Center; you do not need to be connected with HUD or Job Corps to apply. Visit USAjobs.gov to learn about any jobs in the federal government.

Departments in Washington often work in separate bubbles, not always making cross field work possible. For this reason, many federal employees and others at the kickoff event discussed the joy of working together, especially to help young people.

"We're not changing lives. We're changing generations," said Jason Talbot, center director for the Weber Basin Job Corps in Clearfield. "Thank you for the opportunity you're providing our students. I stand here in celebration and admiration for what has been achieved between these two agencies."