Job Corps director says local center weathered shutdown order; enrollment and background checks starting to recover

Jill Zimmer, director of the Hocking Lien Job Corps Center, told the Tahlequah City Council on Sept. 2 that recent federal actions briefly ordered Job Corps centers to empty but that the Talking Leaves center remained open after local and tribal leadership resisted the timeline.

"We got a letter from the government saying that we were to cease and desist, shut down, send all the students home," Zimmer said, describing how centers nationwide were told to empty but some local operators delayed the timeline and later received a reversal. She said the center went from "30 second in the country to twentieth" among Job Corps centers, a shift she attributed to focused local supports and sustained student services.

Zimmer described two parallel responses: litigation and a preliminary injunction nationwide and the start of mediation between center operators and the Department of Labor. "We're also in mediation. That has started this week," she said, adding that congressional offices and local employers have lobbied on behalf of Job Corps centers.

The director described operational impacts: nationwide enrollment stood at about 12,500 students compared with historical totals near 35,000, and background-check processing had paused earlier in the year, which reduced new admissions for several months. "As they open up the background check, there are 18,000 sitting there waiting to go through background," Zimmer said, noting it will take time to process that backlog.

Zimmer outlined services the center provides — residential vocational training for 16- to 24-year-olds, high-school completion support, driver's education and health and mental-health services — and emphasized local workforce connections. She highlighted partnerships with unions and apprenticeship programs tied to federal apprenticeship targets and said staff are working to place students in local employment pathways.

The director invited council and community members to the center's first graduation at Talking Leaves since 2016, scheduled for Friday the 12th, and said the center currently serves about 45 students. Zimmer urged continued local engagement to help stabilize enrollment while litigation and mediation are ongoing.

Council members asked about the center's outreach and presentation history; Zimmer said she had given multiple community presentations and that the center is prioritizing visibility and employer relationships. She also said that reforms discussed in mediation may require centers to be more nimble in switching training programs.

City staff and council did not take formal action on the presentation; Zimmer's report served as an informational update and an invitation to the graduation event.