AG Jennings co-leads lawsuit to save over $1M in AmeriCorps grants

April 30, 2025 1

Attorney General Kathy Jennings announced Delaware is co-leading a group of 24 states and the District of Columbia in a lawsuit to block the Trump Administration’s dismantling of AmeriCorps.

AmeriCorps, an independent federal agency tasked with engaging the nation in meaningful community service that directly address the country’s educational, public safety, and environmental needs, provides service opportunities to more than 200,000 Americans every year. The Trump Administration has moved to effectively incapacitate the agency by reducing that workforce by nearly 90%.

“It’s getting harder by the day to see anything but cruelty motivating the Trump Administration” Attorney General Jennings said in a press release. “There is no debate here. These grants make a life-changing difference in kids’ futures, and they cost a fraction of a penny to Delaware taxpayers. No serious adult believes that teaching kids to read hurts America. These cuts are senseless, destructive, and illegal. We’re not letting this happen.”

– Advertisement –

“Communities up and down Delaware and around the country depend on AmeriCorps members who serve on the front lines of natural disasters, in overcrowded classrooms, and at veterans’ resource centers,” Senator Chris Coons, co-Chair of the Senate National Service Caucus, said. “The Trump administration’s illegal actions are ripping away help from cities and towns that need it. I’m fighting back in Congress urging the administration to reverse its reckless actions, and I’m proud that Attorney General Jennings is leading the fight to defend AmeriCorps in the courts.”

“AmeriCorps taught me that leadership is about service, not status, and the Trump Administration’s assault on Delaware’s programs is as un-American as it is immoral,” Governor Matt Meyer said. “AmeriCorps members don’t ask for praise or profit — they ask for the chance to serve their communities with dignity and purpose. I fully support this lawsuit and Attorney General Jennings because defending AmeriCorps means defending the values that make our nation strong: community, compassion, and the belief that service to others is the highest calling.”

AmeriCorps support national and state community service programs both through direct service opportunities and through grants to local and national organizations. These organizations and agencies use AmeriCorps funding to recruit, place, and supervise AmeriCorps members nationwide. AmeriCorps members and volunteers have connected veterans to essential services, fought the opioid epidemic, helped older adults age with dignity, rebuilt communities after disasters, and improved the physical and mental well-being of millions of Americans.

In Delaware, those organizations include West End Neighborhood House, Children’s Beach House, and Reading Assist, among others.

“On Saturday, Reading Assist was devastated to learn of abrupt federal cuts to one of our AmeriCorps grants,” Caroline O’Neal, CEO of Reading Assist, said. “This decision immediately impacts 17 Fellows serving Delaware students — including military veterans, single parents, a Fellow battling cancer, and a Fellow who planned to use their education award to pursue a master’s degree in education. These individuals answered the call to serve and now face the loss of more than $15,000 in promised education benefits.”

John Sullivan, executive director of the Governor’s Commission on Community and Volunteer Service, said, “As the Executive Director of the Governor’s Commission on Community and Volunteer Service, I am saddened by the termination of the AmeriCorps grants that directly support our devoted AmeriCorps members and the essential nonprofits they serve throughout Delaware. This decision inflicts a devastating blow on our communities, striking at the very heart of the support system that so many rely on. In response, we are uniting with our AmeriCorps members and nonprofit partners to navigate this challenging period and explore every possible solution. Even in the face of this hardship, our commitment to community service and the spirit of volunteerism burns brighter than ever.”

In early February, the Trump Administration issued an executive order directing every federal agency to plan to reduce the size of its workforce and prepare to initiate large-scale reductions in force. AmeriCorps has placed at least 85% of its workforce on administrative leave immediately and notified employees that they would be terminated effective June 24, 2025.

In the complaint, Jennings and the coalition argue that dismantling AmeriCorps effectively precludes the states’ abilities to support its programs within their borders. AmeriCorps’ few remaining staff will not be able to process grants and ensure the flow of funds to states, which will harm organizations and agencies that receive these grants.

The coalition states that the Trump Administration has acted unlawfully by gutting AmeriCorps, violating both the Administrative Procedures Act and the separation of powers under the U.S. Constitution. Congress created AmeriCorps and the programs it administers, and the President cannot unilaterally incapacitate the agency and its ability to carry out its mission. Further, by dismantling AmeriCorps and its programs the Trump Administration has violated the Executive Branch’s obligation to take care that the law is faithfully executed.

The AmeriCorps cuts impact more than $1 million in grants to nine Delaware organizations:

– Advertisement –

Reading Assist ($305,370)
Children’s Beach House ($283,500)
WeProsper Family Organization ($132,300)
Leading Youth Through Empowerment ($130,941)
Literacy Volunteers Serving Adults Northern Delaware ($129,330)
West End Neighborhood House ($120,879)
TeenSHARP ($49,140)
Family Promise of Northern New Castle County ($40,721)
Spur Impact Association ($40,720)

Delaware is a lead state on this lawsuit, along with Maryland, California, and Colorado. They are joined by the attorneys general of Arizona, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia, along with the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania.