I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9209 

To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to address the 

economic and workforce impacts of substance use disorder. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 30, 2024 

Ms. JAYAPAL (for herself and Mr. LARSEN of Washington) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the 

Workforce 

A BILL 

To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 

to address the economic and workforce impacts of substance use disorder. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Workforce Opportuni5 ties for Communities in Recovery Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR ADDRESSING THE ECONOMIC AND 

2 WORKFORCE IMPACTS OF SUBSTANCE USE 

3 DISORDER. 

4 Section 170 of the Workforce Innovation and Oppor5 tunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3225) is amended by adding at the 

6 end the following: 

7 ‘‘(e) GRANTS FOR ADDRESSING THE ECONOMIC AND

8 WORKFORCE IMPACTS OF THE SUBSTANCE USE CRI9 SIS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

11 ‘‘(A) EDUCATION PROVIDER.—The term 

12 ‘education provider’ means— 

13 ‘‘(i) an institution of higher education, 

14 as defined in section 101 of the Higher 

15 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001); 

16 or 

17 ‘‘(ii) a postsecondary vocational insti18 tution, as defined in section 102(c) of such 

19 Act (20 U.S.C. 1002(c)). 

20 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligi21 ble entity’ means a State board or local board. 

22 ‘‘(C) PARTICIPATING PARTNERSHIP.—The 

23 term ‘participating partnership’ means a part24 nership evidenced by a written contract or 

25 agreement between— 

26 ‘‘(i) an eligible entity; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) one or more of the following: 

2 ‘‘(I) A treatment provider. 

3 ‘‘(II) An employer or industry or4 ganization. 

5 ‘‘(III) An education provider. 

6 ‘‘(IV) A legal services or law en7 forcement organization. 

8 ‘‘(V) A community-based organi9 zation. 

10 ‘‘(VI) A State or local agency, in11 cluding a county or local government. 

12 ‘‘(VII) An Indian Tribe or tribal 

13 organization, as such terms are de14 fined in section 166(b). 

15 ‘‘(VIII) Another organization, as 

16 determined appropriate by the eligible 

17 entity. 

18 ‘‘(D) PROGRAM PARTICIPANT.—The term 

19 ‘program participant’ means an individual 

20 who— 

21 ‘‘(i) is a member of a population of 

22 workers described in paragraph (4)(B) 

23 that is served by a participating partner24 ship through the pilot program under this 

25 subsection; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) enrolls with the applicable par2 ticipating partnership to receive any of the 

3 services described in paragraph (4)(C). 

4 ‘‘(E) PROVIDER OF PEER RECOVERY SUP5 PORT SERVICES.—The term ‘provider of peer 

6 recovery support services’ means a provider that 

7 delivers peer recovery support services through 

8 a recovery community organization (as defined 

9 in section 547(a) of the Public Health Service 

10 Act (42 U.S.C. 290ee–2(a)). 

11 ‘‘(F) SERVICE AREA.—The term ‘service 

12 area’ means a county, community, region, or 

13 local area, that has been significantly impacted 

14 by widespread occurrence of a substance use 

15 disorder and will be served through a grant 

16 under this subsection. 

17 ‘‘(G) SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER.—The 

18 term ‘substance use disorder’ has the meaning 

19 given such term by the Assistant Secretary for 

20 Mental Health and Substance Use. 

21 ‘‘(H) TREATMENT PROVIDER.—The term 

22 ‘treatment provider’— 

23 ‘‘(i) means a health care provider 

24 that— 


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1 ‘‘(I) offers services for treating 

2 substance use disorders and is li3 censed in accordance with applicable 

4 State law to provide such services; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(II) accepts health insurance for 

7 such services, including coverage 

8 under a State plan (or a waiver of 

9 such plan) under title XIX of the So10 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et 

11 seq.); and 

12 ‘‘(ii) may include— 

13 ‘‘(I) a nonprofit provider of peer 

14 recovery support services; 

15 ‘‘(II) a community health care 

16 provider; 

17 ‘‘(III) a Federally qualified 

18 health center (as defined in section 

19 1861(aa)(4) of the Social Security Act 

20 (42 U.S.C. 1395x(aa)(4))); 

21 ‘‘(IV) an Indian health program 

22 (as defined in section 4 of the Indian 

23 Health Care Improvement Act (25 

24 U.S.C. 1603)), including an Indian 

25 health program that serves an Urban 


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1 center (as defined in such section); 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(V) a Native Hawaiian health 

4 center (as defined in section 12 of the 

5 Native Hawaiian Health Care Im6 provement Act (42 U.S.C. 11711)). 

7 ‘‘(2) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

9 carry out a pilot program to make grants, on 

10 a competitive basis, to eligible entities (on be11 half of participating partnerships) to address 

12 economic and workforce impacts associated with 

13 widespread occurrence of a substance use dis14 order. 

15 ‘‘(B) GRANT DURATION.—A grant made 

16 under this subsection shall be for a 2-year pe17 riod. 

18 ‘‘(C) EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION.—In mak19 ing grants under this subsection, the Secretary 

20 shall ensure, to the extent practicable, the equi21 table distribution of grant awards, based on— 

22 ‘‘(i) geography (such as urban and 

23 rural distribution); and 

24 ‘‘(ii) the relative degree of the nega25 tive impact due to substance use disorder 


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1 demonstrated under paragraph (3)(B)(i)(I) 

2 for a service area as compared such nega3 tive impact for other service areas, as de4 termined by the Secretary. 

5 ‘‘(D) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—The Sec6 retary may use not more than 5 percent of the 

7 funds made available under section 172(e) for 

8 the administrative costs of carrying out the 

9 pilot program. 

10 ‘‘(3) GRANT APPLICATIONS.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity ap12 plying for a grant under this subsection shall 

13 submit an application to the Secretary at such 

14 time and in such form and manner as the Sec15 retary may reasonably require, including— 

16 ‘‘(i) the information described in this 

17 paragraph; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) an assurance that such eligible 

19 entity will pay at least a portion of the 

20 costs of the independent evaluation re21 quired under paragraph (5)(B). 

22 ‘‘(B) CONTENT.—An eligible entity shall 

23 include in the application— 

24 ‘‘(i) information that demonstrates 

25 negative economic and workforce impacts 


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1 associated with widespread occurrence of a 

2 substance use disorder in the service area, 

3 including information that demonstrates 

4 that such widespread occurrence has 

5 caused, or is coincident to— 

6 ‘‘(I) an economic downturn in the 

7 service area; 

8 ‘‘(II) persistent economically de9 pressed conditions in such service 

10 area; or 

11 ‘‘(III) a high unemployment rate 

12 or low labor force participation rate in 

13 the service area compared to the State 

14 in which the service area is located; 

15 ‘‘(ii) in the case of an eligible entity 

16 proposing to serve a population described 

17 in paragraph (4)(B)(ii), a demonstration of 

18 a workforce shortage in occupations that 

19 support individuals with a substance use 

20 disorder, including information dem21 onstrating such shortage, such as— 

22 ‘‘(I) the distance between— 

23 ‘‘(aa) communities affected 

24 by substance use disorder in the 

25 service area; and 


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1 ‘‘(bb) facilities or individuals 

2 offering services for treating sub3 stance use disorders; or 

4 ‘‘(II) the maximum capacity of 

5 facilities of treatment providers, or oc6 cupations, to serve individuals in the 

7 service area; 

8 ‘‘(iii) an analysis of the estimated per9 formance of the eligible entity (through the 

10 participating partnership) in carrying out 

11 the proposed services and activities under 

12 the grant, based on— 

13 ‘‘(I) the levels of performance for 

14 other services and activities carried 

15 out by the eligible entity on the pri16 mary indicators of performance under 

17 section 116(b)(2)(A)(i); 

18 ‘‘(II) the estimated number of in19 dividuals with a substance use dis20 order who may be served by the pro21 posed services and activities; 

22 ‘‘(III) the record of the eligible 

23 entity in serving individuals with a 

24 barrier to employment; and 


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1 ‘‘(IV) the ability of the eligible 

2 entity to establish a participating 

3 partnership; and 

4 ‘‘(iv) a description of any entity de5 scribed in paragraph (1)(C)(ii) with whom 

6 the eligible entity will partner. 

7 ‘‘(C) INFORMATION.—In providing the in8 formation required under subparagraph (B), 

9 the eligible entity may use information includ10 ing data on— 

11 ‘‘(i) the incidence or prevalence of 

12 substance use disorder; 

13 ‘‘(ii) the age-adjusted rate of drug 

14 overdose deaths, as determined by the Di15 rector of the Centers for Disease Control 

16 and Prevention; 

17 ‘‘(iii) the rate of nonfatal hospitaliza18 tions related to substance use disorder; 

19 ‘‘(iv) documentation of any layoff or 

20 announced future layoff, a notification pro21 vided in accordance with section 3(a) of 

22 the Worker Adjustment and Retraining 

23 Notification Act (29 U.S.C. 2102(a)), or 

24 documentation of legacy industry decline, 

25 decrease in an employment or labor market 


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1 participation rate, or economic impact, 

2 whether or not the result described in this 

3 clause is related to, caused by, or contrib4 uting to widespread occurrence of a sub5 stance use disorder; 

6 ‘‘(v) documentation showing decreased 

7 economic activity related to, caused by, or 

8 contributing to widespread occurrence of a 

9 substance use disorder, including a de10 scription of how the service area has been 

11 impacted, or will be impacted, by such a 

12 decrease; 

13 ‘‘(vi) information on rapid response 

14 activities that have been or will be con15 ducted, including demographic data gath16 ered by employer or worker surveys or 

17 through other methods; or 

18 ‘‘(vii) other relevant data, as deter19 mined appropriate by the Secretary. 

20 ‘‘(4) SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible entity 

22 that receives a grant under this subsection shall 

23 carry out the services and activities described in 

24 this paragraph through the participating partVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:18 Aug 30, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9209.IH H9209

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1 nership to the population proposed in the appli2 cation. 

3 ‘‘(B) SELECTION OF POPULATION TO BE

4 SERVED.—A participating partnership shall 

5 provide services and activities under the grant 

6 to one or both of the following populations of 

7 workers: 

8 ‘‘(i) Workers, including dislocated 

9 workers, individuals with barriers to em10 ployment, new entrants in the workforce, 

11 or incumbent workers (employed or under12 employed), each of whom is directly or in13 directly affected by widespread occurrence 

14 of a substance use disorder. 

15 ‘‘(ii) Workers, including dislocated 

16 workers, individuals with barriers to em17 ployment, new entrants in the workforce, 

18 or incumbent workers (employed or under19 employed), who— 

20 ‘‘(I) seek to transition to occupa21 tions that support individuals strug22 gling with a substance use disorder or 

23 who are at risk for developing such 

24 disorder, such as professions that pro25 vide— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) substance use disorder 

2 treatment and related services; 

3 ‘‘(bb) services offered 

4 through providers of peer recov5 ery support services; 

6 ‘‘(cc) nonaddictive pain ther7 apy and pain management serv8 ices; 

9 ‘‘(dd) emergency response 

10 services; or 

11 ‘‘(ee) mental health care; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(II) need new or upgraded skills 

14 to better serve such a population of 

15 struggling or at-risk individuals. 

16 ‘‘(C) USE OF FUNDS.—Each participating 

17 partnership shall use funds available through a 

18 grant under this subsection to carry out activi19 ties described in 1 or more of the following 

20 clauses: 

21 ‘‘(i) ENGAGING EMPLOYERS.—Engag22 ing with employers to— 

23 ‘‘(I) learn about the skill and hir24 ing requirements of employers; 


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1 ‘‘(II) learn about the support 

2 needed by employers to hire and re3 tain program participants, and other 

4 individuals with a substance use dis5 order, and the support needed by such 

6 employers to obtain their commitment 

7 to testing creative solutions to employ8 ing program participants and such in9 dividuals; 

10 ‘‘(III) connect employers and 

11 workers to on-the-job training, incum12 bent worker training, or customized 

13 training programs before or after lay14 off to help facilitate reemployment; 

15 ‘‘(IV) connect employers with an 

16 education or training provider to de17 velop classroom instruction to com18 plement on-the-job learning for pro19 gram participants and such individ20 uals; 

21 ‘‘(V) help employers develop the 

22 curriculum design of an on-the-job 

23 training, incumbent worker training, 

24 or customized training program for 


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1 program participants and such indi2 viduals; 

3 ‘‘(VI) help employers employ pro4 gram participants or such individuals 

5 engaging in an on-the-job training or 

6 customized training program for a 

7 transitional period before hiring such 

8 a program participant or individual 

9 for full-time employment of not less 

10 than 30 hours a week; or 

11 ‘‘(VII) connect employers to pro12 gram participants receiving concur13 rent outpatient treatment and job 

14 training services. 

15 ‘‘(ii) SUPPORTIVE SERVICES.—Pro16 viding supportive services, which shall be 

17 coordinated with providers of career serv18 ices to provide maximum support for pro19 gram participants to assist such partici20 pants in maintaining employment and re21 covery for not less than 12 months, as ap22 propriate, and may include additional serv23 ices such as— 

24 ‘‘(I) assistance in establishing eli25 gibility for assistance under Federal, 


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1 State, Tribal, and local programs pro2 viding health services, mental health 

3 services, vocational services, social 

4 services, or services through early 

5 childhood education programs (as de6 fined in section 103 of the Higher 

7 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

8 1003)); 

9 ‘‘(II) evidence-based outpatient 

10 and community-based substance use 

11 disorder treatment services; 

12 ‘‘(III) services offered through 

13 providers of peer recovery support 

14 services; or 

15 ‘‘(IV) networking and mentorship 

16 opportunities. 

17 ‘‘(iii) CAREER AND JOB TRAINING

18 SERVICES.—Offering career services de19 scribed in section 134(c)(2) and training 

20 services described in section 134(c)(3), and 

21 related services, concurrently or sequen22 tially with the services provided under sub23 paragraphs (i) and (ii) and, at the election 

24 of the participating partnership, providing 


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1 other related services, which may include 1 

2 or more of the following: 

3 ‘‘(I) Services to promote employ4 ability skills such as punctuality, per5 sonal maintenance skills, and profes6 sional conduct. 

7 ‘‘(II) Provision of payments and 

8 fees for employment and training-re9 lated applications, tests, and certifi10 cations. 

11 ‘‘(III) Mentorship services and 

12 job retention support for program 

13 participants. 

14 ‘‘(IV) Services to assist program 

15 participants in maintaining employ16 ment for not less than 12 months, as 

17 appropriate. 

18 ‘‘(iv) PROVEN AND PROMISING PRAC19 TICES.—Leading efforts in the service area 

20 to identify and promote proven and prom21 ising strategies and initiatives for meeting 

22 the needs of employers and program par23 ticipants. 

24 ‘‘(D) LIMITATIONS.—A participating part25 nership may not use— 


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1 ‘‘(i) more than 10 percent of the 

2 funds received under a grant under this 

3 subsection for the administrative costs of 

4 the partnership in carrying out this sub5 section; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) more than 10 percent of the 

7 funds received under such grant for the 

8 provision of supportive services described 

9 in subparagraph (C)(iii) to program par10 ticipants. 

11 ‘‘(5) PERFORMANCE ACCOUNTABILITY.— 

12 ‘‘(A) REPORTS.—The Secretary shall es13 tablish quarterly reporting requirements for eli14 gible entities who are recipients of grants under 

15 this subsection that, to the extent practicable, 

16 are based on the performance accountability 

17 provisions described in section 116. 

18 ‘‘(B) EVALUATIONS.— 

19 ‘‘(i) AUTHORITY TO ENTER INTO

20 AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary shall ensure 

21 that an independent evaluation is con22 ducted on the pilot program carried out 

23 under this subsection to determine the im24 pact of the program on the employment of 

25 individuals with substance use disorders. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) METHODOLOGIES TO BE USED.— 

2 The independent evaluation required under 

3 this subparagraph shall use experimental 

4 designs using random assignment or, when 

5 random assignment is not feasible, other 

6 reliable, evidence-based research meth7 odologies that allow for the strongest pos8 sible causal inferences.’’. 

9 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

10 Section 172 of the Workforce Innovation and Oppor11 tunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3227) is amended— 

12 (1) by redesignating subsections (e) and (f) as 

13 subsections (f) and (g), respectively; and 

14 (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(e) SUBSTANCE USE CRISIS GRANTS.—There are 

17 authorized to be appropriated to carry out section 

18 170(e)— 

19 ‘‘(1) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2025; 

20 ‘‘(2) $27,500,000 for fiscal year 2026; 

21 ‘‘(3) $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2027; 

22 ‘‘(4) $32,500,000 for fiscal year 2028; 

23 ‘‘(5) $35,000,000 for fiscal year 2029; and 

24 ‘‘(6) $37,500,000 for fiscal year 2030.’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

2 Section 170 of the Workforce Innovation and Oppor3 tunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3225) is amended— 

4 (1) in subsection (b)(1)(C), by striking ‘‘this 

5 section’’ and inserting ‘‘this paragraph’’; and 

6 (2) in subsection (d)(4), by striking ‘‘this sec7 tion’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (b)(1)(B)’’. 

Æ 


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