JACKSON COUNTY, Ohio – The ripple effects of the ongoing partial federal government shutdown are reaching into southern Ohio’s emergency preparedness community, with Jackson County officials announcing this week that two upcoming FEMA training courses have been cancelled.
The Jackson County Emergency Management Agency announced that FEMA has cancelled all agency-related training as a result of the DHS and FEMA funding shutdown. The cancellations include the PER-320 class and an Animals in Disasters course, both of which had been scheduled for local emergency personnel.
JCEMA officials say they hope to reschedule both courses for the fall, though no dates have been confirmed.
The cancellations are the latest local consequence of a federal budget standoff that has disrupted government services and funding streams across multiple agencies. Emergency management training programs, which prepare first responders and local officials for disasters ranging from flooding to hazardous material incidents, are funded and coordinated through FEMA at the federal level — meaning local agencies have little recourse when Washington pulls the plug.