Through an AbilityOne contract between the U.S. Army and SourceAmerica, the custodial and maintenance jobs on the Fort Knox Kentucky Army base are largely awarded to people with disabilities. Subcontractor Global Connections to Employment, or GCE, says thanks to a $3.2 million dollar custodial contract, 81 people with disabilities are employed there.The AbilityOne program provides employment opportunities for people with disabilities by offering fair market-priced services to the government, with professional contract management that saves time and eliminates inconvenience. Per the government’s AbilityOne website, these contracts are federally protected and considered priority programs. (41 U.S.C. §§ 8501-8506) (41 U.S.C. 253)According to representatives at GCE, the current contract between Fort Knox and SourceAmerica for custodial and maintenance work isn’t set to expire until July 2022, but they’ve recently learned the Army base may end the contract a year early in an effort to save money. In December 2020, the Hardin County Fiscal Court notified the public of a Jan. 8, 2021, bid opening for “Fort Knox and Hardin County Grounds Janitorial.” Two months later, the Hardin Fiscal Court approved a resolution to accept the bid of Guar­dian Cleaners for Fort Knox and Hardin County Janitorial Services, and agreed to enter into a one-year contract starting Aug. 1, 2021, in the amount of $3,827,075 with the option to renew for nine additional years. According to Deputy Judge-Executive Daniel London, “a contract does not yet exist and will only come into play if Fort Knox receives approval to enter into an Intergovernmental Services Agreement or IGSA.” London says two bids were received, neither of which came from SourceAmerica. London provided a breakdown of the winning bid by Guardian cleaners:Fort Knox Army Installation janitorial (currently under contract): $2,662,650 Fort Knox Army Installation Child and Youth Services Facilities (not under contract): $1,065,525 Hardin County Government Facilities: $98,900 If a new contract is issued to Guardian Cleaners for the work currently serviced by SourceAmerica, Fort Knox could save roughly $537,000. London tells WLKY that Hardin County would receive a portion of that savings, however, an agreement has not been reached to determine that amount. SourceAmerica has since filed a protest with the Government Accountability Office requesting an injunction. The company’s Senior Director of Communications, Stephanie Millian, issued the following statement: "As a leading job creator for people with disabilities, and distinguished as an AbilityOne® authorized enterprise, SourceAmerica strives to support, maintain, and grow employment opportunities for this talented sector of the workforce. The injunction we requested is aimed at stopping the circumvention of the Javits-Wagner-O’Day Act and the continuation of a valid AbilityOne contract between the Army and a nonprofit agency providing high-quality services by people with disabilities and veterans at Fort Knox."WLKY reached out to Fort Knox leadership to ask about the contract negotiations with Hardin County and whether the base was terminating its contract with SourceAmerica. Fort Knox Media Relations Officer Kyle Hodges issued the following statement. "The Fort Knox installation has a contract with SourceAmerica for such services as custodial, pest control, facilities maintenance, snow/ice removal and debris cleanup/removal. GCE provides custodial services as a sub-contractor to SourceAmerica."At the direction of Congress, the Army is obligated to regularly review its contracts and take prudent measures as part of evaluating and realizing greater efficiencies in an era of reduced resources. As an example, it has been directed that Army installations explore Intergovernmental Support Agreements, or IGSAs, for services where feasible and when cost effective. IGSAs are a public-public partnership where the Army enters into an agreement with a local or state government entity for a service."Whether the Army may at some point enter into an IGSA with Hardin County for custodial services is under review; and as such, it would be inappropriate to speculate on the potential status of any current contracts – be it a renewal, modification, termination or other change."According to representatives at GCE, the company has a satisfaction score of 99%. Senior Operations Executive Jimmy Vickers says an early termination of SourceAmerica’s contract could be devastating for the 81 people with disabilities it helps employ. Vickers says many of those employees have autism or physical disabilities. “We have some employees who have come to us and told us that if they did not have this job they would be homeless. Even if they find a job somewhere else, many have come to us with stories where they have been mistreated at previous employers,” he says, “In fact, one of our people tried to get a job at a fast-food restaurant on base and was told, ‘we don’t hire retards.’”Vickers says these jobs are vital for their livelihood and allow them to be contributing members of society. “They find a way to be successful here, and they are able to go out to the community and be proud,” he says. “A lot of this seems shady and targeted toward people with disabilities because is not going after any other set-aside contracts like small businesses, minority-owned, woman-owned, or service-disabled veteran-owned. It only seems like they’re going after AbilityOne.”Vickers says a similar situation is unfolding at Fort Campbell, where legal action is underway. Vickers plans to travel to Tennessee and Kentucky this week to address the issue.