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 B I L L
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
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As Introduced
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
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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