The DOGE Impact Tracker
The human toll of Trump-Musk's 'efficiency' initiative
DOGE Cuts Impact Job Training, Small Biz Programs in Arizona
Funding cuts at the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Job Corps program are having a real-world impact in Arizona, resulting in the closure of programs to help small businesses and provide vocational training to low-income youth, reports the Phoenix Business Journal.
The state’s attorney general Kris Mayes said in a statement: “The Trump Administration’s slash-and-burn approach to federal grant funding has left Arizona communities scrambling to pick up the pieces. From infrastructure projects to job training programs to research at our universities, these cuts are devastating and unlawful.”
Among the impacts:
The Arizona MBDA Business Center, which strives to accelerate the growth and competitiveness of small businesses, is set to cease operations on June 30 “following the termination of our federal funding,” according to a message on the center’s website. The future of the program remains uncertain, pending separate litigation.
Other cuts were not explicitly listed in the most recent lawsuit joined by Mayes, including the closure of Jobs Corps programs. Last month, about 143 people were laid off at the Phoenix Jobs Corps Center, along with 124 staffers at a Tucson location of the federally-funded vocational training program for low-income youth.
Job Corps Center Closings Will Hit Kentucky Hard
The budget cuts to Job Corps, which announced it will close 99 of its 123 centers across the country, will hit Kentucky hard, wrote Jason Bailey in the Courier-Journal:
Job Corps, which began as part of the War on Poverty in 1964, provides free education, job training and a place to live for low-income [people] ages 16 to 24. The closings shutter three rural Kentucky locations that serve over 500 students: the Carl D. Perkins Job Corps Center in Prestonsburg, the Earle C. Clements Job Corps Academy in Morganfield and the Muhlenberg Job Corps Center in Greenville…
The now-closed Kentucky centers were putting students on paths to becoming welders, computer technicians, certified nursing assistants, pharmacy techs, culinary arts employees, automotive mechanics and more.
And just as importantly, Job Corps reaches those who face the biggest problems entering career-track employment. A recent report notes that Job Corps often draws from youth who have tried multiple times to earn a secondary or postsecondary credential but dropped out under the demands of low-wage jobs and financial, family or mental health challenges.