On September 11, 2026, Governor Josh Shapiro announced that, as part of a coalition of 23 attorneys general and two governors, Pennsylvania has secured a settlement that stops the Trump Administration from dismantling AmeriCorps without warning in the future. AMeriCorps receives critical funding Pennsylvania relies on each year to respond to natural disasters, teach our children, and support our seniors.
The deal resolves a lawsuit brought by Governor Shapiro and a multi-state coalition in response to the Trump Administration’s repeated attempts to gut the nation’s volunteer service programs. On behalf of Pennsylvania, Governor Shapiro sued the federal government over their unconstitutional decision to abruptly dismantle AmeriCorps funding, and as a result of the lawsuit, the Trump Administration was forced to reinstate nearly $400 million in terminated AmeriCorps programs and agreed to release over $184 million in funds owed to service programs across the country, including Pennsylvania. The settlement protects the funding and participants of those programs for Fiscal Year 2026 as well.
The current AmeriCorps programs in Pennsylvania have already made substantial contributions across the Commonwealth and are the driving force behind dozens of community services. In fact, 209 schools have benefited from direct AmeriCorps support, including tutoring, mentoring, and 40,146 children and youth received supportive services.
AmeriCorps supports national and state community service programs by funding and placing volunteers in local and national organizations that address critical community needs. Organizations rely on support from AmeriCorps to recruit, place, and supervise AmeriCorps members nationwide.
Operating under the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I), PennSERVE is the grantmaking partner of AmeriCorps in the Commonwealth and operates as Pennsylvania’s state service commission. PennSERVE distributes around $16 million annually in federal money from AmeriCorps to 28 vital programs including the Boys and Girls Club, City Year, and Teach for America, among others.
Under the terms of the settlement, AmeriCorps states that it does not anticipate that, during Fiscal Year 2026, it will terminate grants en masse as it did in Spring 2025, conduct reductions in force of union employees beyond certain previously planned cuts, or dismiss AmeriCorps service members en masse. Should AmeriCorps take any of those actions, or make a material change to its delivery of volunteer services, it must provide the coalition states with written notice at least 30 days in advance and identify the legal authority under which it is taking the action.
The settlement pauses the litigation through February 1, 2027, at which point the coalition will voluntarily dismiss the case without prejudice, provided AmeriCorps has complied with its commitments. Should the coalition determine that AmeriCorps has not complied, it may move the court to lift the stay and resume litigation. The coalition also retains the right to challenge other unlawful conduct by AmeriCorps, whether through an amended complaint during the stay or a new action during or after the stay.
The coalition initiated the litigation in April 2025, after the Trump Administration moved to eliminate nearly 90 percent of AmeriCorps’ workforce, cancel its contracts, and close $400 million worth of AmeriCorps-supported programs.
The settlement, co-led by the attorneys general of Maryland, California, Colorado, and Delaware, is joined by the attorneys general of Arizona, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Hawaiʻi, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin, and the governor of Kentucky.