Job Corp Elimination Blocked

NEW YORK CITY—U.S. District Judge Andrew Carter (Manhattan) issued a temporary restraining order to block the Trump Administration’s effort to eliminate Job Corps, the largest U.S. job training program for low-income youth. Carter ordered the government not to terminate Job Corps contractors or stop work until a further ruling and ordered the federal Department of Labor to appear at a hearing on Tuesday, June 17. The lawsuit, filed by a trade group representing Job Corps contractors, alleges that the DOL violated federal law and its own regulations by abruptly shuttering the program. The administration claimed that Job Corps is not cost-effective, has a low graduation rate and has suffered from thousands of instances of violence and drug abuse. Job Corps was created by Congress in 1964 and allows 16- to 24-year-olds from disadvantaged backgrounds to obtain high-school diplomas or equivalents, vocational certificates and licenses, and on-the-job training. It currently serves about 25,000 students at 120 centers nationwide. New York has Job Corps centers in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Callicoon, Glenmont, Medina, Cassadaga and Oneonta.