Section 2. Purpose.
The purpose of this act is to reduce homelessness in this Commonwealth by helping eligible individuals and families obtain:

1. Safe and stable housing.
2. Employment, job training, and career advancement.
3. Identification documents, transportation, work clothing, and other resources needed to secure employment.
4. Mental-health, substance-use, child-care, and case-management services when voluntarily requested.
5. Financial education and a realistic path toward long-term self-sufficiency.
   Section 3. Definitions.
   As used in this act:
   “Department.” The Department of Human Services of the Commonwealth.
   “Eligible individual.” A person experiencing homelessness, living in emergency shelter, fleeing domestic violence, sleeping in a location not ordinarily used for human habitation, or facing eviction or housing loss within 30 days.
   “Housing stabilization.” Assistance intended to help an eligible individual obtain or maintain housing, including a security deposit, first month’s rent, rental arrears, utility deposits, moving costs, basic furnishings, identification fees, and emergency transportation.
   “Program.” The Pennsylvania Pathways to Homes and Work Program.
   “Work participation plan.” An individualized plan developed with a case manager that may include job searching, employment, education, vocational training, recovery services, disability-benefit applications, child-care arrangements, or other activities appropriate to the participant’s circumstances.
   Section 4. Pennsylvania Pathways to Homes and Work Program.
   (a) The department shall establish the Pennsylvania Pathways to Homes and Work Program.
   (b) The department shall award funds to counties, municipalities, Continuums of Care, workforce-development boards, housing authorities, nonprofit organizations, and qualified service providers.
   (c) The program shall operate under a housing-first, work-forward model. Participants shall be offered housing without requiring employment, sobriety, or program participation as a condition of initial placement. Once housing is stabilized, participants shall receive voluntary employment and support services tailored to their needs.
   Housing First programs in Pennsylvania have paired stable housing with health services, skill-building, and employment support, while the state’s Continuums of Care already administer permanent housing, transitional housing, supportive services, and prevention programs.[impact.upenn +1]
   Section 5. Housing assistance.
   (a) Funds under this act may be used for:
6. Emergency shelter and motel placement when no safe shelter bed is available.
7. Security deposits, first and last month’s rent, and utility deposits.
8. Up to 12 months of short-term rental assistance, with a possible six-month extension for hardship.
9. Landlord incentive payments for leasing to program participants.
10. Eviction prevention, rental arrears, mediation, and legal-assistance services.
11. Permanent supportive housing for persons with disabilities, serious mental illness, substance-use disorder, or long-term homelessness.
12. Transportation and moving expenses necessary to enter housing or employment.
    (b) A participant may not be denied housing assistance solely because of:
13. A lack of photo identification;
14. Unemployment;
15. A prior eviction;
16. A criminal record unrelated to current housing safety;
17. Poor credit history; or
18. Lack of a permanent address.
    Section 6. Employment and job-readiness services.
    (a) Each participant shall be offered a voluntary work participation plan within 30 days of enrollment, unless the participant chooses to delay participation or has a documented medical, disability, caregiving, or safety-related barrier.
    (b) Employment services may include:
19. Resume preparation, interview coaching, and job-search assistance.
20. Paid job-training placements, apprenticeships, and certification programs.
21. Connections to employers with immediate hiring needs.
22. Transportation passes, work clothing, tools, uniforms, and licensing fees.
23. Help obtaining a birth certificate, Social Security card, Pennsylvania identification card, driver’s license, and other work-required documents.
24. Digital-skills training, including basic computer, email, and online job-application skills.
25. Child-care assistance for participants with dependent children.
26. Financial literacy, banking access, credit repair, and savings support.
27. Referrals for GED programs, community college, trade schools, and workforce credential programs.
    (c) Program providers shall prioritize training for jobs that lead to sustainable wages, including construction, health care, logistics, manufacturing, information technology, commercial driving, maintenance, food service, and other regional high-demand occupations.
    Section 7. Employer partnership and tax credit.
    (a) The Department of Labor and Industry shall create a Pennsylvania Homeless Employment Partnership to recruit employers willing to hire program participants.
    (b) An employer that hires an eligible program participant for at least 20 hours per week and retains the employee for at least 180 days may receive a State tax credit of up to $2,500 per employee.
    (c) An employer may receive an additional $1,000 credit if it provides a paid apprenticeship, credential training, or wage increase after the employee completes 12 months of employment.
    (d) Employers receiving a credit under this section must comply with State and Federal labor laws and may not replace an existing employee with a program participant.
    Section 8. Participant protections.
    (a) Participation in job training, employment services, recovery services, or behavioral-health treatment shall be voluntary.
    (b) A participant may not lose housing assistance solely because the participant:
28. Loses a job;
29. Declines a job that is unsafe, illegal, or incompatible with a documented disability or caregiving obligation;
30. Experiences a relapse, mental-health crisis, or medical emergency; or
31. Requires additional time to obtain identification, transportation, child care, or employment.
    (c) Providers shall use supportive intervention and revised case planning before reducing or ending assistance, except where immediate action is necessary to protect health or safety.
    Section 9. Outcomes and accountability.
    (a) Every program recipient shall submit an annual report to the department containing:
32. Number of people placed in temporary and permanent housing.
33. Number of participants employed within 90, 180, and 365 days.
34. Average wages earned by employed participants.
35. Number of participants completing job training or earning credentials.
36. Housing-retention rates after 6, 12, and 24 months.
37. Amount spent on housing assistance, employment support, and administration.
38. Number of participants returning to homelessness.
    (b) The department shall publish a statewide annual report that protects personal privacy and identifies successful programs for expansion.
    Section 10. Funding.
    (a) The General Assembly shall appropriate $50,000,000 annually to the department for the program.
    (b) Funds shall be distributed as follows: