Welcome to Skagit County

June 17, 2025
 

Skagit County Commissioners Statement on U.S. Department of Labor's Decision to Close Job Corps Centers

We are incredibly dismayed by the U.S. Department of Labor’s decision to close Job Corps centers nationwide, including our locally operated Cascade Job Corps in Sedro-Woolley.

 Job Corps is the largest residential career training and education program for low-income young adults ages 16 through 24 in the country. In addition to helping young adults build a pathway to a better life through education, training, and community, it offers tuition-free housing, meals, basic health care, a living allowance, and career transition assistance.

Completing the program at Cascade Job Corps can lead to various outcomes, including entry-level jobs, registered apprenticeships, military services, or enrollment in college. According to the Career Transition Services Report Card the median earnings of our local graduates exceed national goals and Cascades Job Corps ranks top ten in the nation in terms of the median earnings of students and former enrollees after leaving the program. Additionally, over 83% of students who graduated between July 1, 2024, to April 30, 2025, are currently employed, enlisted in the military, or have continued their education at a college program or registered apprenticeship.  

We have always been proud to support our local Job Corps community and are thankful for the positive impact it has on our youth in Skagit County. Our work under the North Star initiative is to provide supportive services and housing to people who need it most. Cascades Job Corps is an integral part of the network that provides essential services to our youth, helping them reach their goals, discover their purpose, and guide them along their journey to a brighter future.  

 Though we are thankful for the recent court action to temporarily keep Job Corps centers running, many Cascade Job Corps students were forced to leave campus, leaving some of them without housing or support of any kind. The abrupt closure of Job Corps centers, just a few weeks prior to the end of the school year, with no transitional support or clear next steps for vulnerable youth, is concerning. While we are deeply troubled by this, we are grateful for partners across the community working to find alternative housing and support services for young people during these uncertain times.

Closing Job Corps centers will have harmful, irreparable consequences for our young people, workers who support the program, and our community as a whole. We urge the Department of Labor to reverse their decision to suspend Job Corps operations and encourage our community to stand up and support Job Corps and our students, as we cannot afford to lose this vital pathway to the workforce.