The state of economic and social programs in 2024
By Christina Lengyel | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – A range of pressures motivated lawmakers to act on social programs and legislation to ease the burdens on families in 2024.
The state introduced initiatives aimed to aid strained systems, which have suffered from economic challenges, institutional neglect, and sometimes outdated rationale.
Children
Pennsylvanians have cited child care costs as a major financial stressor. The legislature considered a bill that would give tax credits to employers who contributed to their employees’ child care while families saw their first tax returns with an expanded dependent care credit.
The state also made an $11.5 million investment in its Building Opportunity through Out-of-school Time, or BOOST, program which aims to reduce violence by providing after school and camp activities.
A bill was signed into law to help children who stutter by expanding insurance coverage to speech therapy for the issue.
Girls who experience period poverty will be able to access required menstrual care products at school with new funding for schools to make them available.
At-Risk Communities
Special focus was given to particularly at-risk communities.
The state saw a bipartisan effort to end the common practice of allowing county officials to collect disability, social security and veterans benefits on behalf of children in the foster care system and dump them into the municipality’s general fund.
Lawmakers also met to better understand the difficulties counties face in finding temporary placements for neglected and special needs children. Current conditions are both costly and leave children exposed to further trauma.
The state has sought to erect barriers around practices that put the elderly at risk for financial abuse. Older Pennsylvanians have been the primary targets of several different scams in recent years.
Additionally, the commonwealth established an Alzheimer’s, Dementia, and Related Disorders office under the Department of Aging. The office should help patients and caregivers navigate the largely siloed collection of providers and resources for those with the disease.
Victims of crime received a glimmer of hope with an $80 million boost to crime reporting and victim support services. Due to their victim-centered approach and trauma-informed training, these services often have an easier time making inroads with victims of domestic violence and sex trafficking.
As the fentanyl crisis continues, the legislature considered ways to broaden harm reduction for those suffering with substance use disorder.
Safe syringe programs were floated in the legislature, and a $600,000 investment was made in recovery homes overseen by the Department of Community and Economic Development and the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs.
Though there’s an appetite to use the state’s opioid trust funds established through national settlements, movement has been slow. Only $70 million of over $200 million has been spent.
Housing
The cost and availability of homes has been a focal point as the national housing crisis continues. Over $6 million in Emergency Solutions Grants was awarded to Pennsylvania counties to address homelessness.
The House also saw a set of bills intended to support first time home buying and property tax relief, and lawmakers raised concerns about the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, which hasn’t seen an audit since the 1980s.
Popular initiatives like the federally funded Whole Home Repairs program and HOME Investment Partnership program helped local communities bring new life to old homes.
Zoning reform was frequently debated, especially as it pertains to mixed use housing, which is also the target of a new set of grants through the PA SITES program.
Economy
There was no shortage of imagination this year in workforce development strategies, with the labor shortage perhaps being the most pressing issue facing Pennsylvania’s aging population, impacting every facet of life.
Lawmakers considered a bill that would ban employers from running unnecessary credit checks on prospective employees.
Meanwhile the Shapiro administration’s efforts to make state agencies more efficient led to a 60% reduction in call wait times for unemployment claims.
With 2 million residents using food stamps, the state waived the work requirement for able-bodied adults to SNAP eligibility through August of next year, while the Department of Agriculture issued $2 million in grants to food banks across the commonwealth.
Medical debt erasure offered another bright spot for financial relief.
