Sen. Umu Verbatim asked the Senate Committee on Jobs and Economic Development on Feb. 17 to approve Senate File 12‑78, a workforce-appropriation request to expand services at Ujamaa Place.

Ujamaa Place interim CEO Michael Belton told the committee the organization serves primarily African American men aged 18 to 30 and has used prior state funds to expand coaching, a GED requirement for participants who lack a diploma, and mental-health and chemical‑health services. “With these additional funds, we will be able to enhance our programming, offering opportunities to young men who may need them,” Belton said.

Joshua Thomas, a program participant who began at Ujamaa Place in summer 2024, described the program’s effects on his housing, mental health and basic needs: “Being at Ujamaa has helped me a lot mentally. It has helped me a lot physically and it has helped me with a place to stay, a place to eat.”

The bill request, as presented by the author, is for $2.5 million in fiscal 2026 and $2.5 million in fiscal 2027. Committee fiscal staff advised the author that previous appropriations included $800,000 in FY22–23 and $2,000,000 in FY24–25 from the Workforce Development Fund; they also noted the current draft contains no one‑time language and recommended adding it if that was the intent.

Committee members pressed Ujamaa Place for outcome data tied to past funding. Chair Champion said the Jobs and Economic Development Committee focuses on employment results and asked for numbers showing how many people received job training, how many obtained employment and wage levels. Belton said the organization can provide the data but did not have the figures at the hearing. He described program expansions funded with earlier appropriations—additional coaches, staff and expanded meal service—but did not provide the employment totals on the record.

Senators asked for a clearer breakdown of how new funds would be allocated between direct programming (coaches, education, mental‑health staff) and organizational capacity costs; Belton said much of the requested increase would pay for additional coaches and licensed mental‑health providers to serve more men and to improve service quality.

Senate File 12‑78 was laid over for possible inclusion. The committee requested follow-up information on program outcomes, head counts served today, and projections for how many additional people the proposed funds would allow Ujamaa Place to serve.