ST. LOUIS — Shayne Reeve never liked school. His autism made it hard to read and pay attention to his teachers. He’d agonize over writing papers. And no amount of tutoring seemed to help.
So when it came time for Reeve, 21, to enter the workforce, he wasn’t sure what to do.
After Reeve bounced from job to job, his mom suggested he try Job Corps. The federal workforce development program has helped millions of low-income youth and young adults develop specialized skills and find jobs in its 60 years.
The ºüÀêÊÓƵ Jobs Corps Center is located at 6388 Stratford Ave. in Pine Lawn.
Reeve enrolled in a pre-apprentice painting program at the ºüÀêÊÓƵ Job Corps Center located on the border of north ºüÀêÊÓƵ and Pine Lawn four months ago. He loved it. The hands-on instruction clicked with him, he said. He said he finally found something he was good at. He lived in Job Corps’ dorms and made friends.
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But recently, Reeve said he’s been worried. He and other Job Corps students and supporters are uncertain of the program’s future as the second administration of President Donald Trump works to eliminate Job Corps amid sweeping budget cuts.
The U.S. Department of Labor announced May 29 it would phase out all contractor-operated Job Corps, which includes ºüÀêÊÓƵ’ facility in north ºüÀêÊÓƵ and a satellite location in the Central West End.
Government officials cited low graduation rates, high costs, violence and drug use, which Job Corps supporters have pushed back on. The government said the 99 contractor-run Job Corps centers would shutter by June 30.
Reeve “cried every night†after the announcement was made and ºüÀêÊÓƵ Job Corps students were told to move out, he said.
“It’s just overwhelming for me,†Reeve said. “This is literally my future.â€
Two court battles challenging the closure of Job Corps will determine the program’s future. On Wednesday, a federal judge in New York sided with National Job Corps Association, a trade organization that represents Job Corps campuses, and granted a preliminary injunction to stop the planned
The injunction lasts until a federal class-action suit filed by seven students against the closure is resolved.
In the meantime, Job Corps operations can continue, but it won’t be quite back to normal.
Some students didn’t return to the center after the government’s announcement in May. The tenuous status of the program has some students and parents feeling uneasy.
“I’m scared because we don’t know how long this will last,†said Reeve’s mother, Erica Reeve. “I’m just praying to God my son can finish the program and graduate and be able to get a job.â€
‘Last-ditch effort’
Job Corps graduates leave with credentials in fields ranging from bricklaying, carpentry and plastering to culinary arts, office administration and pharmacy tech. The majority of students live in Job Corps facilities where they receive meals, living allowances, medical care, counseling and career training — at no cost.
Congress established the program in 1964 to foster “responsible citizenship†and help 16- to 24-year-olds who struggled in high school to find work.
This 2010 file photo shows masonry students laying brick on a gate to a new hydroponic facility on the local Job Corps campus.
Many of the students who go through Job Corps are poor, homeless, victims of physical or sexual abuse or in foster care.
The ºüÀêÊÓƵ center currently has about 130 students.
A’cher Jackson, a counselor at ºüÀêÊÓƵ Job Corps, said some ºüÀêÊÓƵ students were sent to homeless shelters after the government’s announcement in May. Others were sent to homes where “they weren’t welcome.â€
“My students, they need the program,†Jackson said. “Sometimes, for many of them, this is a last-ditch effort.â€
Jackson said no other organization in the ºüÀêÊÓƵ area could fill the hole Job Corps would leave. None have residential options or operate 24/7, she said.
Connie Johnson runs the ºüÀêÊÓƵ Agency on Training and Employment, or SLATE. She said other organizations have been trying to prepare in case Job Corps closes.
On Wednesday, SLATE hosted a “rapid response†hiring fair for Job Corps students. They also started collecting hygiene products and dry food items to give to anyone who may be displaced.
“Our phone lines have been jammed with people from Job Corps looking for not only jobs, but housing and other resources,†Johnson said.
When they announced the decision to close Job Corps, Labor Department officials said they were “collaborating with state and local workforce partners†to connect students to other training and employment opportunities.
That was a surprise to Johnson. She said SLATE, the city’s workforce center, had received no word, and only learned about the attempted shutdown through a press release.
“Now we have extra people, but no extra resources,†Johnson said. “The Department of Labor has not indicated whether they would provide training workforce dollars to the states that can then be funded to the workforce centers.â€
In March, the Labor Department stopped running background checks on Job Corps applicants as required by statute, which effectively prevented new enrollment, court records show.
ºüÀêÊÓƵ Job Corps is run by Distinction, a Mississippi-based limited liability company that contracts with the Labor Department to operate Job Corps centers, according to the company’s .
Shayne and Erica Reeve.
USA Spending, a government-run online spending tracker, shows the Department entered into a five-year, $116.5 million contract with Distinction to operate ºüÀêÊÓƵ Job Corps on April 1, about two months before the government decided to close the center.
Distinction’s president and CEO, Korey Adams, declined to comment when reached by phone Wednesday.
Erica Reeve said she noticed a difference in her son after he started at Job Corps.
He had more confidence, she said. He was more positive about his future.
“I just hope others see how valuable it is,†Reeve said.
Post-Dispatch photographers capture hundreds of images each week; here's a glimpse at the week of June 8, 2025. Video edited by Jenna Jones.
