The entrance to the Atterbury Job Corps Center near Camp Atterbury is seen June 2 in Edinburgh. A federal judge has ruled that 99 contractor-managed Job Corps centers must remain open, including Atterbury. Daily Journal File Photo
A federal judge has ruled that Job Corps centers nationwide must remain open, including the one near Camp Atterbury.
U.S. District Court Judge Dabney L. Friedrich, of the District of Columbia, issued an order last Friday prohibiting the U.S. Department of Labor from closing Job Corps centers across the country — including the Atterbury Job Corps. The court granted a motion filed on behalf of seven Job Corps students and a nationwide class seeking to stop the planned closures pending final resolution of the case. The plaintiffs are represented by the Public Citizen Litigation Group and the Southern Poverty Law Center, or SPLC. This is the second lawsuit filed to challenge the DOL’s May decision to close Job Corps centers.
Friedrich also ruled “the record unequivocally demonstrates that DOL unlawfully ‘closed’ all 99 privately operated Job Corps centers,” in violation of requirements imposed by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. Because of this, Friedrich granted the students’ request for a stay of the DOL’s directive to close the 99 centers.
Attorneys representing the students were pleased with the court’s decision.
“The Department of Labor’s decision to abruptly close Job Corps centers across the country, ignoring legal requirements and literally putting vulnerable young people on the street, was callous, and as the judge today agreed, illegal,” said Adam Pulver, an attorney with Public Citizen Litigation Group and lead counsel for the plaintiffs, in a news release. “The department’s ludicrous argument to the court, that in shutting down 99 Job Corps centers it was not actually closing those centers, was a naked attempt to evade clear law.”
The SPLC applauded the court’s “recognition that the Trump Department of Labor exceeded its authority and unlawfully shuttered the Job Corps program, which plays an essential role in strengthening Southern communities,” said Scott McCoy, deputy legal director of the SPLC, in the news release.
“This program has consistently reduced unemployment and homelessness, empowered underserved communities—especially for Black and Brown youth—and breaks the cycle of poverty through education, training, and opportunity,” McCoy said. “Now is the time to double down: Job Corps is a direct investment in our nation’s future, which must be protected, expanded and fully funded to deliver on its promise of equity and upward mobility.”
Congress established the Job Corps program in 1964 to provide young people with education and vocational training. Enrollment is currently limited to low-income individuals between the ages of 16 and 24 who face barriers to employment, including homelessness. Participants in the programs receive education and training, as well as housing, a biweekly living allowance, and medical, dental and mental health services. The program serves about 25,000 people at 120 sites.
At the start of this year, there were 99 Job Corps centers throughout the country operated by contractors pursuant to two-year contracts. But on May 29, the DOL announced the suspension of the Job Corps program and that all 99 Job Corps centers would be closed by June 30, court documents show.
Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said the department decided to pause contractor-operated Job Corps around the country after “a startling number of serious incident reports” and fiscal analysis revealed the program is no longer achieving its intended outcomes. A news release from the DOL at the time said the decision aligned with President Donald Trump’s budget proposal and “reflects the administration’s commitment to ensure federal workforce investments deliver meaningful results for both students and taxpayers.” The DOL cited a 38.6% graduation rate and “significant financial challenges under its current operating structure.”
Chavez-Deremer also said that in 2023 alone, more than 14,000 serious incidents were reported at the Job Corps centers, “including cases of sexual assault, physical violence, and drug use.”
However, the National Job Corps Association says these statistics are misleading. In a news release rebutting reporting on the data, the association states the current graduation rate is higher than 38.6%, and enrollment and graduation rates in recent years have been lower because of the aftermath of COVID-19 policies. Historically, the graduation rates have been above 60%. There were also changes to requirements that led to some students leaving the program.
As for serious incidents, the association said serious incidents could include power outages, inclement weather, athletic injuries that require treatment, and adult students leaving campus without prior approval.
A New York federal judge put the Job Corps Center closures on hold last month in a lawsuit filed by the association, issuing a temporary restraining order prohibiting the DOL from terminating jobs, removing students, or eliminating the Job Corps program without authorization from Congress. However, the court did allow the closures to go into effect for 63 of the centers last Thursday, except for those operated by those who were plaintiffs in the lawsuit, including Adams and Associates Inc., which operates the Atterbury Job Corps.
Regardless, the order from the D.C. District Court issued Friday — stemming from a different lawsuit — orders all centers to remain open.
Atterbury Job Corps has 275 students and 215 staff members. Officials were relieved and hoped things could get back to normal when the New York judge issued a temporary restraining order last month, Atterbury Job Corps staff said last month. The campus director was unable to be reached for comment on the latest court decision.
When the Department of Labor’s decision was first announced at the end of May, staff believed they had until June 30 to unwind operations. But one day later, they were told that students should begin leaving within days, staff said at the time.
Multiple students the Daily Journal spoke to were concerned that both their job training would be paused, but also that many of their classmates would be suddenly homeless. Many students come to the program as a “last resort” and for a chance to lift themselves and their families out of poverty. In addition to job training, students reported they gained confidence, found hope, and met friends and instructors who had become like family.
Staff members were scrambling to find resources for the students and places for them to stay. While staff did this, they were faced with their own impending job losses.
Federal lawmakers also expressed concern about the pause at the time. Others requested more information, including U.S. Rep. Jefferson Shreve, R-Indiana.
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