ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - A Georgia student is among several plaintiffs suing the Department of Labor over its decision to pause operations at all Job Corps centers across the country.

The federally funded Job Corps program has provided free workforce training, education, and housing to low-income and disabled young adults for more than 60 years.

Last month, the U.S. Department of Labor announced it would suspend operations at all centers by June 30, citing poor performance and financial losses.

In a statement, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said an internal fiscal analysis found the program was “no longer achieving the intended outcomes that students deserve.”

According to department data:

• The program lost $141 million last year
• 38% of students graduated
• Thousands of infractions were reported in 2023
  • 372 instances of inappropriate sexual behavior and sexual assault
  • 1,764 acts of violence
  • 1,167 breaches of safety or security
  • 2,702 reports of drug use
  • 1,808 hospital visits

Despite these issues, students like Saebra Thompson say the program has been life-changing.

“I was so welcomed. it didn’t feel like I was going into a school. I felt like I was going into a home,” said Thompson, who transferred from a traditional high school to the Brunswick Job Corps center under a disability waiver. She said mentors at the center helped ease her debilitating anxiety.

Her mother, Melissa Thompson, acknowledged the program’s challenges, but believes they can be fixed.

“People are not policies,” she said. “These are humans trying to do better with their lives.”

The Southern Poverty Law Center signed on to represent six students, including one from Albany, Georgia, in the lawsuit.

In a statement, the Georgia student called Job Corps a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” and said,” I joined this lawsuit to fight for more time and support so that all students, including myself, can have a fair chance at completing their programs and building better lives."

Attorney Scott McCoy with the SPLC argued the shutdown violates the Economic Opportunity Act, which established the Job Corps as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty.

“Congress has consistently funded Job Corps,” McCoy said. “It’s unfortunate that a program like this is not being judged on its merits, but is instead getting caught up in ideology and politics.”

McCoy said they are pursuing class-action status to include the more than 25,000 students currently enrolled nationwide.

Attorneys have asked a judge to halt the pause in operations while the case is heard in court.

Copyright 2025 WANF. All rights reserved.