Last year things looked bleak for the Job Corps program, but this week Senator Schumer has announced a restoration in funding to help keep Job Corps Centers open. As a county legislator, I see firsthand the impact Job Corps has on our community. It is not only a major employer, but a place where young people are given the opportunity to learn, grow and build a future for themselves.”

Sullivan County District 5 Legislator Cat Scott

CALLICOON – On Tuesday, February 3, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer released a statement saying that new legislation will protect Job Corps, a national employment program with 119 centers nationwide and 7 across New York State. According to Schumer’s press release, the recently passed Fiscal Year 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education funding bill provides $1.76 billion in federal funding to keep Job Corps centers open.

The program took a hit last May when the Department of Labor paused Job Corps operations across the country. The pause was reversed when the U.S. District Judge Andrew Carter ordered the government to resume operations until a lawsuit brought on by Job Corps contractors had reached a verdict. 

“Job Corps is one of the best bang for your buck programs we have to boost our local economies, which is why I fought hard to protect it from Trump’s proposed cuts. I’m proud to announce that, following my advocacy, we have preserved funding for Job Corps, ensuring the continuation of one of America’s largest and most effective workforce training programs,” said Senator Schumer.

Sullivan County District 5 Legislator Cat Scott applauded Schumer’s efforts: “Last year things looked bleak for the Job Corps program, but this week Senator Schumer has announced a restoration in funding to help keep Job Corps Centers open. As a county legislator, I see firsthand the impact Job Corps has on our community. It is not only a major employer, but a place where young people are given the opportunity to learn, grow and build a future for themselves.”

Scott continued to praise the program, saying it provides students with real skills in critical fields like healthcare, construction trades, culinary arts, and security services, and offers a pathway out of poverty for low-income participants. “These programs are preparing young people for good, in-demand jobs while strengthening our local and regional workforce,” said Scott.

On the ground in Callicoon

Despite the new influx of monies into the program, the local center’s enrollment has suffered from the stop-and-go dynamics. Delaware Valley Job Corps Executive Assistant T.K. Keokham said enrollment at the Callicoon location was currently at 72. 

“It’s increasing slowly, but it’s been a struggle since the shutdown,” they said.

Keokham cited both the COVID shutdown and the government’s temporary halt on operations as impediments to enrollment growth and described an atmosphere of insecurity in which students weren’t sure if the center was closing or not. 

When asked to further explain the situation, Keokham encouraged the Democrat to contact Center Director Jim Dannic, who has not responded by presstime. 

The current enrollment at Job Corps is on the radar of Delaware Town Supervisor Scott DuBois, who expressed trepidation of losing the Callicoon location at Delaware’s reorganizational meeting on January 14. 

“The big question mark is what the government’s going to do with the Job Corps because they’re the largest user of the [sewage] plant and they’re the largest contributor of revenue,” DuBois said.

The political inertia and the influx of nearly $2 billion dollars from the new legislation may bolster the enrollment at Delaware Valley Job Corps and secure its place in the local economy and sewer district, but only time will tell.