Skagit County Commissioners issued a public letter on June 17 urging the U.S. Department of Labor to reverse its decision to shut down Job Corps centers, including the locally operated Cascades Job Corps in Sedro-Woolley, emphasizing that recent federal court action does not erase the harm already done.

The statement follows a temporary restraining order issued June 12 by U.S. District Court Judge Andrew L. Carter, which blocked the federal government’s plan to close 119 Job Corps sites across the country. The order allowed operations at Cascades and other centers to resume, but the commissioners warn the threat remains — and so does the damage.

“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,” the letter states, “leaving some of them without housing or support of any kind.”

The commissioners’ response highlights a significant shift in tone from initial reports that focused on the court’s intervention and the resumption of classes. While early news coverage noted the abrupt closure announced May 29 by the Department of Labor and the subsequent lawsuit by the National Job Corps Association, it also reassured students they would not be discharged.

The June 17 letter paints a more sobering picture: students displaced with little notice, some just days from completing certifications, and a community scrambling to provide housing and services to fill the sudden gap. The commissioners describe the closure as “abrupt” and “without transitional support,” adding that its timing — just weeks before the end of the school year — has left students and staff vulnerable.

Cascades Job Corps has served more than 10,000 low-income and at-risk youth over the past four decades. The center provides not just education and vocational training, but housing, meals, healthcare, and counseling — a suite of supports the commissioners call “an integral part of the network that provides essential services to our youth.”

In the letter, commissioners reinforce Cascades’ strong performance metrics. According to the most recent Career Transition Services Report Card:

• Cascades ranks in the top 10 nationally for median earnings of students post-program.
  
• More than 83% of graduates between July 1, 2024, and April 30, 2025 are employed, enrolled in college, in apprenticeships, or serving in the military.
  

They also link the center to Skagit County’s broader North Star initiative, which provides housing and services to vulnerable populations. Shuttering Cascades, the letter argues, would remove a critical component of the region’s social infrastructure.

“Closing Job Corps centers will have harmful, irreparable consequences for our young people, workers who support the program, and our community as a whole,” the commissioners wrote. “We urge the Department of Labor to reverse their decision … we cannot afford to lose this vital pathway to the workforce.”

While legal proceedings continue in federal court, the commissioners’ statement makes it clear that local leaders see the temporary reprieve as only a short-term solution. They are now calling on the broader Skagit community to stand in support of Cascades Job Corps and the youth who depend on it.