Judge Temporarily Blocks Effort to Cut Delaware Valley Job Corps: “You Can’t Close This Down in 30 Days”

The U.S. District Court for New York’s Southern District temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s effort to suspend Job Corps centers on June 4. The pause would have included pausing operations at seven centers across New York State, including the Delaware Valley Job Corps Center in Callicoon, N.Y.

Last week, the U.S. Labor Department announced it would pause operations at 99 Job Corps centers by the end of June as part of Trump’s efforts to shrink the federal workforce. A U.S. district judge has since issued a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against any efforts to eliminate the Job Corps program without Congressional authorization.

New York District 19 Representative Josh Riley wrote in a social media post he was glad the courts stepped in, adding that Job Corps is “a lifeline for young people in Upstate NY.”

Job Corps is the largest free residential education and job training program for young adults ages 16-24 in the U.S. The Delaware Valley Job Corps Center in Sullivan County hosts 177 students and 101 workers, according to Laura Quigley, Commissioner for Sullivan County Division of Community Services.

Many Job Corps students have already left Sullivan County after being told they had to leave by June 12. But some still don’t know what to do next, Quigley explained at a June 5 economic development committee meeting.

“There will be roughly about twenty students left that are homeless or are in position where they cannot go back home,” said Quigley. She added that her department is working with New York City and Orange County to arrange transitional support.

Quigley said the sudden closure disrupted both students’ and workers’ lives, and urged that the government proceed “in an orderly manner” if it decides to eliminate the program altogether.

“You can’t close this down in 30 days. It just doesn’t happen that way,” she said.

The federal court ordered the U.S. Department of Labor to appear at a court hearing on June 17.

Image: Building exterior of the Delaware Valley Job Corps Centes in Callicoon, N.Y. (Photo Credit: Delaware Valley Job Corps)