What you need to know:
- A federal judge in New York issued a temporary restraining order Wednesday blocking the U.S. Department of Labor from shutting down the residential Job Corps program, including the Don Young Job Corps Center in Palmer.
- The order is part of a lawsuit claiming the closure is illegal. It states that any shutdown must first receive congressional approval. A hearing is set for June 17 in New York.
- The Palmer center serves 160 students, most from rural Alaska, and employs 110 staff members. It is the only Job Corps location in Alaska.
PALMER – The residential Job Corps center in Palmer will remain open for now, with students continuing classes following a court order issued by a federal judge Wednesday.
U.S. District Judge Andrew Carter in New York issued the temporary restraining order as part of a lawsuit alleging that a Department of Labor directive to shut down the program is illegal.
The restraining order blocks the government from removing Job Corps students, terminating jobs, or halting the contracts that operate about 100 Job Corps centers nationwide. Any shutdown must first gain approval from Congress, the order states. The program is currently funded through June 2026, Job Corps officials said.
A hearing in the case is scheduled for June 17 in New York, according to the court order. The suit was filed Monday by the National Job Corps Association, several Job Corps contractors and a student enrolled at a Job Corps center in New York.
The U.S. Department of Labor announced a nationwide “pause” for the program last week, effectively ordering an end to all operations. Students were to be sent home, staff laid off and centers closed by the end of the month, according to the announcement.
The Don Young Job Corps Center in Palmer opened in 1994 and currently serves 160 students between the ages of 16 and 24, most of whom live on the 19-acre campus. About 80% of the program’s students come from rural Alaska villages, where no similar educational programs are available, officials there said. Job Corps students earn high school diplomas, receive technical training or both.
The Palmer program employs about 110 people and is operated under a contract with the Chugach Corp, officials said. It is the only Job Corps location in Alaska.
The Labor Department said it wants to halt the program because it is expensive to operate at about $80,000 per student and has a low graduation rate.
Officials at the Palmer center said their location costs about $37,000 per student and had a completion rate of about 70% last year. The Chugach contract is valued at about $9 million annually, they said.
-- Contact Amy Bushatz at contact@matsusentinel.com
