Read the full stored bill text
As Introduced
136th
General Assembly
Regular
Session
H. B. No. 216
2025-2026
Representatives Williams, Jarrells
Cosponsors: Representatives Brennan,
Brewer, Click, Daniels, Denson, Isaacsohn, Miller, K., McNally,
Mohamed, Piccolantonio, Russo, Sims, Thomas, C., Upchurch
A
BILL
To
establish the 'A HAND UP' pilot program, to designate this act as the
Actionable Help And New Dignity for Upward Progression (A HAND UP)
Act, and to make an appropriation.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section
1.
(A)(1)
The Department of Job and Family Services shall establish a
three-year pilot program known as the Actionable Help and New Dignity
for Upward Progression (A HAND UP) pilot program. Under the pilot
program, the Department shall assist program participants in
transitioning into the workforce as they become ineligible for public
assistance benefits.
(2)
The Department shall select four counties in which to operate the
pilot program. In selecting counties, the Department shall select one
metropolitan county; one midsize county; and two rural counties, one
of which is located in the Appalachian region of the state.
(B)
Not later than one hundred eighty days after the effective date of
this section, the Department shall have the pilot program fully
operational. The Department shall do all of the following in setting
up the pilot program:
(1)
Establish eligibility criteria for individuals participating in the
pilot program;
(2)
Establish conditions for continued participation in the pilot
program;
(3)
Establish a competitive application process for employers seeking to
participate in the pilot program;
(4)
Identify existing subsidized employment programs and provide training
to program operators seeking to participate in the pilot program;
(5)
Establish an assessment tool to determine the success of employers
participating in the pilot program;
(6)
Establish a process by which pilot program participants are connected
with employers participating in the program;
(7)
Establish a mentorship program, including training for mentors, that
connects pilot program participants with program mentors;
(8)
Identify and establish a financial literacy program for pilot program
participants.
(C)
Under the pilot program, the Department shall do both of the
following:
(1)
Provide pilot program participants a stipend, on a sliding scale as
determined by the Department, that each participant may use to pay
for health care insurance premiums and deductibles or for child care
expenses;
(2)
Provide employers that participate in the pilot program with
subsidies for employing pilot program participants.
(D)
Not later than one hundred eighty days after the effective date of
this section, the Department shall adopt rules, in accordance with
Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, as necessary to implement the pilot
program.
(E)
To assist with the administration and operation of the pilot program,
the Department shall establish a digital application that does all of
the following:
(1)
Calculates a participant's income based on the individual's benefits
received and income earned;
(2)
Connects participants with pilot program resources;
(3)
Provides educational and motivational resources to participants;
(4)
Connects participants with mentors or pilot program case workers.
In
developing the digital application, the Department may work in
collaboration with the Office of InnovateOhio.
(F)
If a county department of job and family services representing a
county selected to participate in the pilot program has established
an individual development account program under section 329.12 of the
Revised Code, the Department of Job and Family Services shall request
a waiver from the United States Department of Health and Human
Services to allow pilot program participants in those counties to use
individual development account funds for purposes other than those
specified in 45 C.F.R. 263.22, such as rental assistance, moving
costs, utilities, and transportation costs.
(G)(1)
As part of the pilot program, the Department of Job and Family
Services shall study participants once they have completed
participation in the program to determine all of the following:
(a)
Whether they are employed;
(b)
The type of employment in which they are engaged;
(c)
The amount of compensation they are receiving;
(d)
Whether their employer provides health insurance;
(e)
Whether and how often they have received public assistance since
completing participation in the program;
(f)
Whether they are successfully self-sufficient.
(2)
The Department shall include the results of this study in the annual
reports it submits to the General Assembly under division (H) of this
section.
(H)
Beginning one year after the effective date of this section, the
Department shall submit a report to the General Assembly. Thereafter,
the Department shall submit an annual report to the General Assembly
at the end of each calendar year in which the pilot program operates.
The reports shall specify the outcomes of the pilot program,
including data indicating the ways in which the pilot program is
assisting participants in transitioning from receiving public
assistance benefits to the workforce. The reports shall be submitted
in accordance with section 101.68 of the Revised Code.
Section
2.
All
items in this act are hereby appropriated as designated out of any
moneys in the state treasury to the credit of the designated fund.
For all operating appropriations made in this act, those in the first
column are for fiscal year 2026 and those in the second column are
for fiscal year 2027. The operating appropriations made in this act
are in addition to any other operating appropriations made for these
fiscal years.
Section
3.
1
2
3
4
5
A
JFS
DEPARTMENT OF JOB AND FAMILY SERVICES
B
General
Revenue Fund
C
GRF
600551
Job
and Family Services Program Support
$10,000,000
$10,000,000
D
TOTAL
GRF General Revenue Fund
$10,000,000
$10,000,000
E
TOTAL
ALL BUDGET FUND GROUPS
$10,000,000
$10,000,000
JOB
AND FAMILY SERVICES PROGRAM SUPPORT
The
foregoing appropriation item 600551, Job and Family Services Program
Support, shall be used to support the A Hand Up pilot program in
accordance with Section 1 of this act.
On
July 1, 2026, or as soon as possible thereafter, the Director of Job
and Family Services shall certify to the Director of Budget and
Management the amount of the unexpended, unencumbered balance of the
foregoing appropriation item 600551, Job and Family Services Program
Support, relating to the A Hand Up pilot program at the end of fiscal
year 2026 to be reappropriated to fiscal year 2027. The amount
certified is hereby reappropriated to the same appropriation item for
the same purpose in fiscal year 2027.
Section
4.
Within
the limits set forth in this act, the Director of Budget and
Management shall establish accounts indicating the source and amount
of funds for each appropriation made in this act, and shall determine
the manner in which appropriation accounts shall be maintained.
Expenditures from operating appropriations contained in this act
shall be accounted for as though made in, and are subject to all
applicable provisions of, the main operating appropriations act of
the 136th General Assembly.
Section
5.
This
act shall be known as the Actionable Help And New Dignity for Upward
Progression (A HAND UP) Act.