Overview

• On June 25, U.S. District Judge Andrew Carter extended an injunction halting the planned pause of Job Corps operations and ordered the program to run during the lawsuit.
• The Labor Department’s May decision to pause all contractor-run centers by June 30 cited budget deficits, low graduation rates and thousands of safety and security incidents.
• Plaintiffs led by the National Job Corps Association and backed by 20 state attorneys general argue that only Congress can terminate a program it established and funded.
• Established in 1964, Job Corps serves about 25,000 disadvantaged youth at 120 residential centers with a $1.7 billion budget for education, vocational training and health services.
• Contractors warn that closing the program would displace vulnerable participants, risk homelessness and disrupt critical training and support services.