Federal court temporarily blocks Trump Administration efforts to close Job Corps centers in Grafton and Devens
Photo | Eric Casey
Grafton Job Corps Center
A federal judge had ordered the President Donald Trump Administration to stop its attempts to shutter Job Corps centers across the country, including locations in Grafton and Devens.
Judge Andrew Carter of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York issued a temporary restraining order on Wednesday barring the Trump Administration from taking steps to eliminate the 61-year-old program meant to increase the employability of young adults. The ruling forbids the administration from taking any further action to eliminate Job Corps without first seeking congressional approval.
Subcontractors working at the Grafton site had received notices of termination of their contracts on Wednesday, Joscelyn Young, vice president of the Blackstone Valley Hub for Workforce Development, wrote in an email to WBJ. Young said campus staff are attempting to call students who left the site to have them return, but efforts to resume normal operations have been impacted by conflicting information.
“The frequency of changing information, dates, etc. is a prohibitive issue as we try to transition kids or keep them on center. Basically, any stability continues to elude the situation,” Young wrote. “We have found housing and jobs for our BV Hub advanced manufacturing students in the past week with our partners Omni Technologies, MassHire Central YouthWorks (CommCorp), and the Aurora Project in Worcester. Other partners have stepped forward to offer assistance including Open Sky Community Services, Clark University, Sen. Michael Moore (D-Millbury) and Sen. Ryan Fattman (R-Sutton).”
WBJ first reported on the pending closures of the Grafton and Devens centers on May 28, one day before the announcement of the closures was made by the U.S. Department of Labor. The rapid closures led local officials to scramble to attempt to find housing for students who were unable to return home.
The Department of Labor described the move as a pause, but did not share details on how or when the pause might end, and cited the Trump Administration's fiscal 2026 discretionary budget request calling for the Job Corps program to be eliminated.
The Trump Administration cited the program’s graduation rate, listed at 32% in the 2025 Job Corps Transparency Report issued by Department of Labor in April, as one reason for the decision, while also citing incidents of violence and high costs.
The Grafton Job Corps Center had a traditional graduation rate of 42.7% in 2023, while the Shriver Job Corps Center in Devens had a rate of 89.6%, according to data from the Department of Labor report.
Local supporters of the program have criticized the Trump Administration’s rapid shuttering of the program as chaotic and unnecessary, saying the program has problems on a national level but the local centers play an important role in both helping disadvantaged youth and local employers.
“To just blindly cut a program that is so meaningful and is helping these young adults become good citizens, good employees, and good taxpayers, is ridiculous,” Jeannie Hebert, president and CEO of Blackstone Valley Chamber of Commerce, told WBJ in May. “It's throwing the baby out with the bath water, and to have no plan for where these students can go is unconscionable.”
Eric Casey is the managing editor at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the manufacturing and real estate industries.
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