HB 455 — An Act providing for grants to organizations that host or offer education, workforce training or skills development to young adults; establishing the Building a Better Future Grant Program; imposing duties on the Department of Labor and Industry; and making an appropriation.

PRINTER'S NO.   437

                     THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA



                         HOUSE BILL
                         No. 455
                                               Session of
                                                 2025

     INTRODUCED BY HILL-EVANS, PROBST, GIRAL, KHAN, KENYATTA,
        FREEMAN, GUENST, CEPEDA-FREYTIZ, PARKER, SANCHEZ, DALEY AND
        CIRESI, FEBRUARY 3, 2025

     REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND INDUSTRY, FEBRUARY 3, 2025


                                    AN ACT
 1   Providing for grants to organizations that host or offer
 2      education, workforce training or skills development to young
 3      adults; establishing the Building a Better Future Grant
 4      Program; imposing duties on the Department of Labor and
 5      Industry; and making an appropriation.
 6      The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
 7   hereby enacts as follows:
 8   Section 1.   Short title.
 9      This act shall be known and may be cited as the Building a
10   Better Future Grant Program Act.
11   Section 2.   Definitions.
12      The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
13   have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
14   context clearly indicates otherwise:
15      "Department."    The Department of Labor and Industry of the
16   Commonwealth.
17      "Program."    The Building a Better Future Grant Program
18   established under section 3.
19      "WIOA."   The provisions of 29 U.S.C. Ch. 32 (relating to
 1   workforce innovation and opportunity).
 2   Section 3.     Program.
 3      (a)   Establishment.--The Building a Better Future Grant
 4   Program is established within the department.
 5      (b)   Purpose.--The program shall provide grants to
 6   organizations that host or offer comprehensive education,
 7   workforce training and skills development to individuals 16 to
 8   24 years of age who have been disconnected from other
 9   educational opportunities. An organization shall be located in
10   this Commonwealth and focused on construction and building
11   trades, and may also include workforce development offerings in
12   health care, customer service, child care and other vocational
13   training and certifications that are relevant to local labor
14   market opportunities.
15   Section 4.     Eligibility.
16      (a)   Participant requirements.--To be eligible for the
17   program, an organization must enroll individuals 16 to 24 years
18   of age who can provide self-attestation that the individual is a
19   member of a low-income family and meets at least two of the
20   following:
21            (1)   has previously been convicted or adjudicated
22      delinquent;
23            (2)   is the child of an incarcerated parent, a parent who
24      has been released from a term of incarceration on parole or
25      who is serving a sentence on probation;
26            (3)   has been placed in foster care;
27            (4)   has a disability;
28            (5)   is the child of migrant laborers;
29            (6)   has dropped out of school before graduation or has
30      dropped out and subsequently reenrolled;

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 1            (7)    is experiencing homelessness;
 2            (8)    has foundational skills needs or is basic-skills
 3      deficient;
 4            (9)    is pregnant or parenting;
 5            (10)    is part of another young-adult population,
 6      including a racial group, that is experiencing disparate
 7      levels of youth disconnection as defined by the local
 8      workforce development board; or
 9            (11)    was approved for participation or enrollment in
10      WIOA Youth Formula Services or Job Corps.
11      (b)   Organization requirements.--In order to receive a grant
12   award, an organization must provide to participants at least two
13   or more of the following:
14            (1)    work experience and skills training;
15            (2)    occupational skills training;
16            (3)    other paid and unpaid work experiences, including
17      internships and job shadowing;
18            (4)    services and activities necessary for participants
19      to achieve a high school diploma or equivalency;
20            (5)    counseling services and other wraparound services;
21            (6)    activities designed to foster leadership
22      development; or
23            (7)    career services, including job search, placement and
24      follow-up support.
25   Section 5.      Grant award.
26      (a)   Duties of department.--The department shall develop
27   guidelines that specify requirements for grants. The guidelines
28   shall include:
29            (1)    The grant application process and timeline.
30            (2)    Allowed and disallowed expenses.

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 1            (3)   The method by which individuals who apply for grants
 2      are evaluated.
 3      (b)   Awards.--The department may not award a grant in excess
 4   of $1,000,000 per organization. Up to 5% of money available for
 5   grants may be awarded to a Statewide nonprofit that serves
 6   multiple organizations that have been awarded funding under the
 7   program to provide technical assistance to those organizations.
 8   Section 6.     Reports.
 9      An organization awarded a grant from the program shall
10   provide program and fiscal reports as required by the
11   department.
12   Section 7.     Appropriation.
13      The sum of $5,000,000 is appropriated from the General Fund
14   to the department to provide grants for the program.
15   Section 8.     Additional funding.
16      In addition to the appropriation provided under section 7,
17   the department may:
18            (1)   Expend money from the restricted accounts
19      administered by the department for the program.
20            (2)   Accept grants, gifts, donations and other payments.
21            (3)   Expend money appropriated to the department for the
22      program after the effective date of this section.
23   Section 9.     Effective date.
24      This act shall take effect immediately.




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