Nevada Attorney General Aaron D. Ford has announced that he is co-leading a coalition of attorneys general from 20 states in filing an amicus brief supporting the Job Corps program. Job Corps, which operates nearly 100 residential campuses across the United States, provides career training and housing for young people from low-income backgrounds.
Attorney General Ford stated, "The Job Corps program is a phenomenal and successful tool that has helped millions of young, vulnerable Americans from low-income backgrounds. The president’s attempt to destroy this congressionally funded program simply because he dislikes it is not only cruel, it is illegal. The president does not have the power to decimate this program through an order and is simply playing political games with the futures of some of our most vulnerable Nevadans. I am proud to stand alongside my colleagues in opposing this action.”
According to the amicus brief, “in the sixty years since Congress created Job Corps, millions of young Americans from low-income backgrounds have been served by the program’s unique combination of education, training, housing, healthcare and community.” The brief argues that ending the program would affect tens of thousands of current participants nationwide who rely on its services for both vocational development and stable housing.
One example cited is the Sierra Nevada Job Corps Center in Reno, which graduates about 500 vocational students each year. Many participants were either unhoused or in foster care prior to joining and could face homelessness if they lose access to housing provided by the program.
The coalition’s filing asserts that maintaining an injunction against termination of Job Corps protects state residents and supports state goals related to education and workforce development. It also contends that ending a congressionally mandated initiative without proper authority violates federal law and constitutional principles.
The legal brief was submitted in National Job Corps Association et al. v. Department of Labor et al., a case before the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Attorney General Ford co-led this effort with Washington Attorney General Nick Brown; other participating states include Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, New Jersey, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, Oregon and Vermont.