Cardinal News: Then & Now takes a look back at the stories we brought you over the last 12 months. Through the end of the year, we’re sharing updates on some of the people and issues that made news in 2025. This installment: the fate of the Job Corps center in Marion, which was targeted for closure.
Six months ago, in June, students and staff at the Blue Ridge Job Corps Center in Marion didn’t know if they would have a home or a job for the holidays after the federal government halted the program’s operations and pushed to shutter the 61-year-old initiative.
In December, the center in Marion continues to hold classes and go about business as usual although with a significantly smaller number of students and staff, said Heather Goodpasture, who leads outreach and admissions as well as career transition services at the center. The future of Job Corps remains uncertain for 99 contracted centers across the country as a case that could decide the fate of the federal program makes its way through the courts.
“About as ‘usual’ as operations can be, I suppose, with quite a few staff vacancies,” she said in an email. “EVERY center has struggled because of the ‘pause’ in operations.”
Goodpasture noted that, prior to the pause in operations, the Blue Ridge Job Corps Center was home to roughly 90 students. Now, six months later, its student count is roughly one-third of that number.
“Some didn’t return after they left during the initial announcement [regarding the pause in operations], some have finished their programs, and we have gained some new students, as well as transfers from other centers,” Goodpasture said.
Job Corps was launched in 1964 by President Lyndon Johnson as a part of his War on Poverty domestic reform. It’s a U.S. government-sponsored residential education and job training program for low-income youth between the ages of 16 and 24 who come from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The program is administered by the Labor Department through funding appropriated by Congress. Its aim is to provide the vocational training that young people will need to secure employment, for those who may not have access to resources. The program has trained millions of youths and young adults across the country since it started.
The federal Department of Labor under the Trump administration announced at the end of May that the federally contracted Job Corps sites would be shut down amid spending cuts.
A lawsuit was filed June 3 by Job Corps contractors to halt the federal agency’s effort to end the program. An injunction was granted that allowed the centers to remain open while the case makes its way through the court system. That case is ongoing.
“Job Corps programs have helped thousands of young people get the skills they need to find good-paying jobs,” Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said in a statement. “I’m glad the courts have mandated that Job Corps programs stay open for now, but it’s crucial that the Trump Administration commit to ending its illegal attempts to cut off this lifeline for Americans and our economy.”
The office of Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, declined to comment on the status of the Job Corps program and the ongoing court case.
Virginia has two Job Corps centers, the one in Marion and one in Amherst. About 308 students arrived at Virginia’s two Job Corps centers between July 2024 and April 2025. The program served roughly 35,000 students annually at more than 120 centers across the country and more than 12,500 employees worked at Job Corps centers nationwide, according to the organization, prior to the federally mandated pause in operations.
Goodpasture said that her department is working to revamp outreach efforts and strategies but that the public is having a hard time putting faith in the program again after the government’s attempt to shut it down.
“Our online information submissions have dropped drastically in comparison to before the pause, and we get calls every day from parents asking if the program is going to be shut down, if we have funding, and a lot saying ‘I didn’t know you were still open!’” she said via email.
Staffing has been another struggle for the center over the past six months.
Many staff members sought out other employment opportunities following the pause in operations, including Goodpasture. She left on the program on July 31 but returned on Aug. 29, she said.
“We all need to have stable employment. Some, like myself, chose to come back, but many did not,” she said. “With staffing shortages, especially in hard-to-fill positions that require an advanced degree (like Finance Director), it is extremely difficult to find someone in our area to take on a position that they fear may not be stable. If this administration makes sweeping cuts, as they have proven they can and will do, it’s hard to accept a position that one fears may not be in existence in the coming months.”