Sponsor
Danny K. Davis
Representative · D-IL
Representative · D-IL
The bill helps low-income people with arrest or conviction records enter health careers and addresses local health workforce gaps through supported training and technical assistance, but its small appropriation, potential geographic exclusions, administrative burdens, and preference for prior grantees limit scale and equitable access.
Low-income people with arrest or conviction records gain access to multi-year training and clear career pathways into health professions.
Communities and health systems in areas with workforce shortages get more trained workers by targeting programs to local hiring needs and roles hireable by people with certain records.
Participants receive supportive services—legal assistance to remove record-related employment barriers and short-term emergency cash—making it more feasible for trainees to complete programs and get jobs.
The program is capped by a single $10 million FY2026 appropriation, likely funding only a few projects and severely limiting nationwide reach and impact.
People in states that lack laws or policies permitting credentials or hiring of people with certain records may be excluded from benefits, producing uneven geographic access.
Employers and training providers may face added administrative, reporting, recruitment, legal-assistance, and evaluation burdens that raise costs or discourage participation.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Authorizes HHS grants for 3+ year demonstrations training people with arrest or conviction records for allied and behavioral health careers, contingent on state credentialing policies.
Official title: To provide grants for the conduct of demonstration projects designed to provide education and training for eligible individuals with an arrest or conviction record to enter and follow a career pathway in the health professions through occupations that are expected to experience a labor shortage or be in high demand, under the health profession opportunity grant program under section 2008 of the Social Security Act.
Introduced September 16, 2025 by Danny K. Davis · Last progress September 16, 2025
Creates a new HHS demonstration grant program to fund multi-year education, training, and career-pathway projects that prepare people with arrest or conviction records for allied and behavioral health professions. Grants require state policy alignment (allowing certain credentials for people with specified records), outreach and support plans (including recruitment, post-employment supports, and optional emergency cash funds), partnerships for serving low‑income populations, and independent evaluation of outcomes. The law sets application and preference criteria (favoring prior successful demonstration projects), allows technical assistance, and requires projects to run at least three years; the amendment takes effect October 1, 2025.