After being ordered to close their doors by the Department of Labor, the Wind River Job Corps in Riverton, Wyoming, and 98 other Job Corps across the nation, will remain open.
However, it is only a brief reprieve for the programs.
U.S. District Judge Andrew Carter of Manhattan, New York, issued a temporary restraining order against the closure on Wednesday that was upheld Thursday morning. A court hearing will be held on June 17 to determine if the federal program can remain open beyond the original deadline of June 30.
U.S. Sen. John Barrasso sent a statement to Cowboy State Daily in support of both the Department of Labor’s actions and the work that has been done by the Wind River Job Corps, which is the state’s lone job corps program.
“The Trump administration is right to audit the effectiveness of all taxpayer funded programs – including Job Corps Centers,” Barrasso said. “While I do not believe this is the case in Wyoming, other Job Corps Centers across the country are no longer achieving the goals that students deserve.”
Founded in 1964, Job Corps serves disadvantaged youth, between the ages of 16 to 24, to improve their education and skills so that they can become a viable part of the workforce. In Wyoming, the focus has been on the trades, especially big equipment operators and mechanics.
The “Pause”
The temporary restraining order against the Department of Labor was issued after they had announced the phased pause in operations at contractor-operated Job Corps centers nationwide, which includes the Wind River Job Corps in Wyoming.
The Labor Department said this pause they initiated is as a direct result of a 2023 report that revealed, on average, a low graduation rate, high costs and thousands of serious incident reports.
Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said that the “startling” number of serious incident reports and their in-depth fiscal analysis revealed that the Job Corps program is no longer achieving the intended outcomes that they say students deserve.
“Job Corps was created to help young adults build a pathway to a better life through education, training, and community,” said Secretary Chavez-DeRemert of the Department of Labor. “We remain committed to ensuring all participants are supported through this transition and connected with the resources they need to succeed as we evaluate the program’s possibilities.”
Temporary Stay
Jerri Prejean, the Wind River Job Corps community liaison, said that the Wind River Job Corps has a higher graduation rate and higher wages for graduating students than other Job Corps and that should be considered by the Labor Department.
She also cautions this is only a temporary measure and the federally funded program is still facing closure.
“We are able to operate under normal circumstances and keep the students that are here working towards their graduation,” she said. “Basically, all it has done is prolonged us for a couple weeks to allow the students to continue to try to complete their studies.”
She said that staff at Wind River Job Corps met with students Wednesday night to tell them about the temporary restraining order. Prejean said that they encouraged the students to stay while the issues were worked out in the court.
“We informed the students that if they do not want to leave, they do not have to,” she said. “However, any students that leave Job Corps will not be able to come back until all this is over.”
The majority of the students chose to stay.
Prejean said that the staff are remaining proactive and are working with Central Wyoming College and Wyoming Work Service to expedite placing the remaining students in other programs.
“We're still going in the motion of closing so that if something crazy happens and we get shut down, our students are still prepared and have a place to go,” she said.
Staff are putting in overtime and working late to help the students with their studies.
“We are doing all we can to help these kids get their diplomas and get their trade done so they can get certifications,” Prejean said. “We’re not out of the woods yet.”
At the federal level, Barrasso also advocates helping these at-risk students as the future of Wind River Job Corps remains uncertain.
“The Department of Labor must work closely with the Wind River Job Corps Center to support Wyoming students and ensure continued education and employment opportunities are available,” Barrasso said.
Jackie Dorothy can be reached at jackie@cowboystatedaily.com.
