Automatic Federal Budget Cuts To Impact Baltimore City Job Programs

BALTIMORE (WJZ)--The Mayor's Office of Employment Development says automatic federal spending cuts caused by the sequestration imposed by Congress will have a negative impact on workforce development services.

"Sequestration is a meat-cleaver approach to spending reduction with a real impact that will be felt by vulnerable families in Baltimore," said Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake in a statement. "If the sequester is sustained, cuts to workforce development—as well as those to public safety, housing and education—will have an adverse effect on Baltimore and cities throughout the country."

It is projected that Baltimore's employment and training agency will lose nearly half a million dollars for workforce services.  More than $350,000 for adult job training services could be cut from funding provided through the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), and an additional $150,000 could be eliminated from WIA's formula-funded youth programs, which serve eligible low-income youth.

The city receives more than $192 million in federal grants and funding, representing 12 percent of the city's total operating budget.