Senate committee hears expansion request for Cairo Center workforce program

Sen. Mark Putnam introduced Senate File 2505 on March 19, asking the Committee on Jobs and Economic Development to renew and expand state funding for the Cairo Center for African Immigrants and Refugees’ Gateway to Growth workforce program.

The bill requests $2,000,000 for the biennium (the sponsors clarified the request is $2,000,000 total over the 2026–27 biennium, not $2,000,000 per year). "This program will connect people with opportunity ... ensuring job placement and career mobility in high-demand industries like information technology, cybersecurity, health care, and commercial driving," Putnam told the committee.

Why it matters: Witnesses described concrete outcomes from prior state support. Abiqaadir Bashir, founder and executive director of the Cairo Center for African Immigrants and Refugees, said the program has enrolled 80 participants and produced 52 credentialed graduates so far; he told the committee Cairo had met 85 percent of recruitment goals with six months still remaining in the funded period. Testifiers described the program’s culturally responsive supports and employer partnerships that aim to translate training into placements.

Program details and questions from the committee: Testifiers and the committee’s fiscal analyst said the center previously received $1,000,000 for the 2024–25 biennium (reported as a one-time appropriation of $1,000,000, which fiscal staff clarified was $500,000 per year for that biennium). Fiscal staff described the SF 2505 request as an ongoing general fund appropriation in draft materials, and Senator Putnam and the Cairo representatives clarified that the present ask is for $2,000,000 over the biennium (an additional $1,000,000 over the prior appropriation of $1,000,000). Committee members asked for more detail on outcomes: which credentials were awarded (CNA, CDL, IT certificates, etc.), the employers who hired graduates, and wage outcomes.

Testimony from program beneficiaries: Several people who said they completed Cairo training described how the program helped them obtain credentials and jobs. Hajakebe said the program helped her obtain CNA licensing and avoid eviction during a difficult period; Abdulazak said the IT training allowed him to build marketable skills he could not otherwise afford to acquire.

Next steps and committee action: After questioning, the committee laid SF 2505 over for possible inclusion. The bill record shows the committee took no formal vote to adopt policy language; the recorded procedural outcome was "laid over for possible inclusion."