ST. LOUIS – FOX 2 has been outside the St. Louis Job Corps Center for hours, and what we’re seeing is heartbreaking.

Students are being escorted off campus by security—many with all their belongings—while concerned families rush to meet them.

Security told FOX 2 we aren’t allowed on the property without regional approval, and employees can’t speak on camera. 

But the emotional toll playing out outside the gates is impossible to ignore.

By June 30, The U.S. Department of Labor is pausing operations at all contractor-operated Job Corps Centers—including here in Missouri. The department says this is due to a $213 million deficit, rising safety concerns and low graduation rates. 

The move puts nearly 200 jobs at risk and displaces hundreds of students who rely on this facility for stability, training and a future.

One of those students is Ralphetta Wiggley’s grandson. She left her daughter’s hospital bedside to come pick him up.

“It hurts me because he can not finish his career! He’s a good boy! He don’t do none of that,” she said. “All he does is go to school and try to, you know, learn and get a career so he can get a scholarship and a good job!”

Inez DIckerson dropped her granddaughter off just three weeks ago, with hopes of her becoming a nurse. Now, she says her granddaughter may have to find a job instead of pursuing that dream. 

“I don’t understand that! This is what they need to keep themselves out of trouble,” Dickerson said.

Her granddaughter was months away from heading to a nursing program.