The final state budget has now been approved by the Michigan Legislature, averting some of the biggest cuts that had been proposed by Republicans in the state House, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any cuts.

We’ve reported previously the House budget would have eliminated funding for the Going PRO Talent Fund, which provides job training grants for employers, and Jobs for Michigan’s Graduates, which helps prepare students for the workplace. Kinexus Group spokesperson Mary Morphey tells us while there was a cut to Jobs for Michigan’s Graduates, the program will survive.

“Jobs for Michigan’s graduates were cut by $515,000, but really in a world of survivability, in light of the cuts, we fared well,” Morphey said. “Based on our performance and that we’re diversely funded, we’re good stewards of our resources, all of those things kind of come into play.”

That $515,000 was out of $5.7 million allocated last year for Youth Solutions, which runs JMG.

As for Going PRO, Morphey says its funding was cut by $22 million, down to $33 million. She says that doesn’t mean Southwest Michigan employers will necessarily lose out, though.

“However, this is a competitive grant program, so really it depends. We don’t really know the impact of our local SlingPro funding until we submit our applications for the competitive grants.”

Michigan Works handles Going PRO, securing about $4.5 million in grants for employers across two grant cycles in 2025. In 2024, it secured about $4.6 million.

Morphey says because Going PRO is competitive, the impact of the cuts in the budget just won’t be known until the next grant cycle. All in all, the budget could have been worse for Kinexus and its programs.