State Cuts Force Youth Charities to Scale Back

Youth programs across the country are shedding staff members and scaling back services as state spending cuts slice into their budgets, according to USA Today.

Groups such the Beaufort, S.C., Boys and Girls Club and the Substance Awareness Council of Indian River County in Florida have laid off employees, moved to smaller offices, and instituted fees for services after losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in state funds that represented major chunks of their budgets.

Mary Lee Allen of the Children’s Defense Fund said state governments should maintain their investment in “the workforce of tomorrow,” but John Williams of the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council said states needed to focus on balancing budgets and keeping taxes low.

“Lowering taxes will create more jobs, which will lead to more revenue for programs like these,” Mr. Williams said.