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New Jersey Youth Corps

New Jersey Youth Corps offers a rigorous military type program for young people ages 16-25 who have not completed high school. It includes Community Service/Work Experience, innovative education with some individualized instruction, personal development activities and job readiness skills. The focus is on changing attitudes and behaviors. Our motto: "It's attitude, not aptitude, which determines altitude," is what distinguishes the New Jersey Youth Corps from other programs. As distinctive as the uniforms which our Corps members wear, Youth Corps is a program uniquely suited to helping young people develop practical skills as well as instilling positive values and attitudes.

New Jersey Youth Corps is a state-administered, locally operate program that combines five essential elements: community service; academics; employability and life skills; career and personal counseling; and, transition services to employment, further education or training. It is part of a national system of youth service and conservation corps that have their origins in the Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930's. It is the fifth largest corps program in the nation. In its integrated approach to employment and education, New Jersey Youth Corps offers a highly structured environment. It is a full-time, year round voluntary program, operating twelve months a year, five days a week. It is a multi-site program that breaks the cycle of limited opportunity by providing youth with a second chance to develop employment skills through meaningful community service while improving their academics. The five essential components of New Jersey Youth Corps provide a continuum of services throughout the Youth Corps experience. They are the following: community service projects, personal and career counseling, employability and life skills, education development, continuing support services.