Vermont officials warn AmeriCorps cuts imperil Serve Learn Earn programs, members lose benefits

Montpelier — Kate Bluffman, director of Serve Learn Earn, told the Vermont House Committee on Commerce & Economic Development on Feb. 9 that recent federal cuts to AmeriCorps and related grant streams have already reduced funding for Serve Learn Earn partner programs by about $1 million and could bring total losses to roughly $2.324 million if other tentative reductions materialize.

Bluffman said the cuts have immediate effects on individual members and program capacity. “Serve Learn Earn is not AmeriCorps,” she said, explaining that the state service commission, Serve Vermont, administers AmeriCorps funding in Vermont and that Serve Learn Earn programs received only a portion of their support from that federal source. Bluffman added that members are losing benefits tied to AmeriCorps, most notably the Segal Education Award: “For a full‑time member, that’s over $7,000.”

The Segal Education Award, health insurance eligibility tied to living allowances, housing placements that had been available to some members, and other supports will not be covered if the federal money is not restored, Bluffman said. She said some partner organizations — including Vermont Youth Conservation Corps (VYCC) and organizations supported by the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board — have opted to reclassify some AmeriCorps members as short‑term, stipended employees to preserve positions, but that change does not recreate the lost benefits and may reduce the appeal of serving.

Why it matters: Serve Learn Earn is a statewide collaboration of paid service‑and‑training programs that connect people to workforce entry and apprenticeships in sectors such as conservation, housing, construction and food access. Committee members were told that the collaborative model the legislature previously supported helped buffer the immediate impact of federal reductions, but state appropriations and philanthropic support will be critical to sustaining programs and participant numbers in the near term.

Details and funding figures presented at the hearing included:
• Bluffman said roughly 100 AmeriCorps members within Serve Learn Earn partners were affected by the federal cuts this year and that, since 2021, about 565 of 1,400 participants in the Serve Learn Earn network had served as AmeriCorps members (figures stated by Bluffman in testimony).
• She said one partner saw about $450,000 in AmeriCorps funding cut for the current year.
• The conference committee had approved $750,000 for Serve Learn Earn in the current state budget: $250,000 in one‑time appropriations and $500,000 in ongoing base funds, a reduction from roughly $2 million in state support the prior year, Bluffman said.
• Bluffman summarized current estimated program losses as about $1,000,000 to date with an additional potential loss of about $1,000,000 tied to pending federal/state actions, producing a stated total loss figure of about $2.324 million (figures provided by Bluffman and described as approximate).

Programmatic impacts: Serve Learn Earn supports 14 paid programs with industry‑recognized curricula and service or work‑based experience. Bluffman said some planned geographic and sector expansions — for example Vermont Works for Women’s Trailblazer expansion into advanced manufacturing and VYCC expansions into timber framing and pre‑apprenticeship — are paused or scaled back. She said the network expected roughly 600 participants this year but now anticipates at least a 25% reduction in participation, noting the estimate is preliminary.

Bluffman and committee members discussed mitigation strategies. Philanthropic partners such as Ascendium (a multi‑year, $1.8 million grant mentioned by Bluffman), the Vermont Community Foundation and the McClure Foundation have offered flexibility and additional support. Bluffman said partners are exploring shared staffing, training and fee‑for‑service revenue models, and some organizations are converting living allowances to stipends to preserve roles. Committee members suggested exploring expanded partnerships with school districts and private employers, since AmeriCorps rules had previously limited some types of for‑profit partnerships.

No formal committee action or votes were taken at the hearing. Bluffman asked the committee to preserve state funding where possible and to monitor federal developments; committee members asked to receive updates by email and signaled a willingness to advocate if further reductions occur.

Context: Bluffman emphasized that Serve Learn Earn programs are funded from multiple sources (federal AmeriCorps grants administered in Vermont by Serve Vermont, state appropriations, and philanthropic grants) and that the loss of federal streams exposes program vulnerability. She also highlighted that AmeriCorps funding operates on multi‑year grant cycles and that some grant decisions are still pending.

Looking ahead: Committee members and program leaders said they will watch the federal grant landscape and the final legislative budget closely; they noted potential avenues such as federal workforce grants that may be available in coming months.