Budget By the Numbers: Housing and Human Services

• $70M for PHARE Affordable Housing Program
  • $10M increase from last year; program will continue to receive increased funding year over year
• $2.5M for NEW Local Government Emergency Housing Support
• Over $23.4M for Homelessness Assistance
  • $5M increase from last year (27%)
• $2.5M increase for Domestic Violence programs and services
• $2.5M increase for Legal Services programs
• $400M to establish a NEW Veteran Outreach Program to include a new walk-in outreach center that aids veterans, service members, and their families
• $20M increase for county-administered mental health services
• Includes funding to move an additional 250 individuals on the ID emergency waiting list to the consolidated waiver program and 1,250 individuals on the emergency waiting list to the Community Living Waiver.

Budget By the Numbers: Healthcare

SUPPORTING VULNERABLE POPULATIONS (Housing and Human Services)

• $20M increase for county-administered mental health services
• Includes funding to move an additional 250 individuals on the ID emergency waiting list to the consolidated waiver program and 1,250 individuals on the emergency waiting list to the Community Living Waiver.
• Appropriates federal block grant funds to increase reimbursement rates for childcare providers participating in the Child Care Works program to the nationally recommended 75th percentile of the current market cost of childcare services.

HEALTH and AGING

• $3M for NEW program to provide menstrual products in schools
• $1.9M for a NEW office dedicated to support individuals with Alzheimer’s and related cognitive illness.
• $2.95M in funding for a caregiver toolkit initiative in the Department of Aging.
• Over $2.5M to implement prevention strategies to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity
• $75M for skilled nursing facilities over base investments to ensure staffing requirements are met and services maintained.
  • Total additional funding allows for a 7.04% annualized rate increase effective January 1, 2025.
• $7.5M increase to provide for a rate increase for Living Independence for the Elderly (LIFE) providers.

Budget By the Numbers: Economic Development

• Millions for new programs that support economic growth and business development o $20M for NEW Main Street Matters Program o A new initiative built off the legacy of the Keystone Communities program. MSM will improve capacity for local governments and provide flexible resources to revitalize neighborhoods.
  • $10M for a NEW program to support Agricultural Innovation Development
    • A new initiative to provide reimbursement grants to promote and support agricultural innovation to ensure the competitiveness, resiliency, environmental stewardship, and vitality of farms and agribusiness in the Commonwealth.
  • $500M for NEW PA SITES Debt Service program
    • A new grant funding initiative to help develop competitive sites for businesses to relocate or expand within the Commonwealth.
• Over $550,000,000 in economic development programs through the Department of Community and Economic Development
• $2M in state funds for nursing apprenticeship and residency programs originally funded with ARPA dollars to help address PA’s nursing shortage