Legislation recently approved by the state Senate would help people recovering from substance use obtain and maintain meaningful employment.
Senate Bill 69 would create a Recovery to Work pilot program that would connect individuals in recovery with high-priority occupations through local work force development boards.
The work force development boards also would work with local employers and training providers to find those in recovery job training and employment opportunities.
The Department of Labor and Industry would lead the pilot program with the assistance of the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency and the departments of Health, Community and Economic Development, and Drug and Alcohol Programs.
“Steady, meaningful employment is essential to an individual’s long-term recovery because it provides stability and a renewed sense of purpose. This bill further takes people away from government dependency and allows them to become contributors to our community,” state Sen. Wayne Langerholc Jr. (R- Cambria), who sponsored the bill, said. “We’ve lost too many lives to the heroin and opioid crisis. We must do all we can to offer a path forward.”
In several legislative sessions, Langerholc has championed recovery to work.
The bill now moves to the House of Representatives for consideration.