and after initial training as part of a ca-
reer pathway model. 
‘‘(iv) A plan to provide project partici-
pants with transportation through means 
such as the following: 
‘‘(I) Referral to, and assistance 
with enrollment in, a subsidized trans-
portation program. 
‘‘(II) If a subsidized transpor-
tation program is not reasonably 
available, direct payments to subsidize 
transportation costs. 
‘‘(v) In the case of a demonstration 
project of the type described in subsection 
(c)(2)(B)(i)(I), access to legal assistance 
for project participants for the purpose of 
addressing arrest or conviction records and 
associated workforce barriers. 
‘‘(B) ALLOWED SUPPORT.—The goods and 
services provided under a project for which a 
grant is made under this section may include 
the following: 
‘‘(i) A cash stipend. 
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‘‘(ii) A reserve fund for financial as-
sistance to project participants in emer-
gency situations. 
‘‘(iii) Tuition, and training materials 
such as books, software, uniforms, shoes, 
and hair nets, and personal protective 
equipment. 
‘‘(iv) In-kind resource donations such 
as interview clothing and conference at-
tendance fees. 
‘‘(v) Assistance with accessing and 
completing high school equivalency or adult 
basic education courses as necessary to 
achieve success in the project and make 
progress toward career goals. 
‘‘(vi) Assistance with programs and 
activities, 
including 
legal 
assistance, 
deemed necessary to address arrest or con-
viction records as an employment barrier. 
‘‘(vii) 
Other 
support 
services 
as 
deemed necessary for family well-being, 
success in the project, and progress toward 
career goals. 
‘‘(3) TRAINING.—A project for which a grant is 
made under this section shall train project partici-
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pants to earn a recognized postsecondary credential 
(including an industry-recognized credential, and a 
certificate awarded by a local workforce development 
board established under section 107 of the Work-
force Innovation and Opportunity Act) that is 
awarded in recognition of attainment of measurable 
technical or occupational skills necessary to gain em-
ployment or advance within an occupation, and shall 
provide each project participant with a number of 
hours of the training equal to— 
‘‘(A) not less than the number of hours of 
training required for certification in that level 
of skill by the State in which the project is con-
ducted; or 
‘‘(B) if there is no such requirement, such 
number of hours of training as the Secretary 
finds is necessary to achieve that skill level. 
‘‘(4) INCLUSION OF TANF RECIPIENTS.—In the 
case of a project for which a grant is made under 
this section that is conducted in a State that has a 
program funded under part A of title IV, at least 10 
percent of the eligible individuals to whom support 
is provided under the project shall meet the income 
eligibility requirements under that State program, 
without regard to whether the individuals receive 
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benefits or services directly under that State pro-
gram. 
‘‘(5) INCOME LIMITATION.—An entity to which 
a grant is made under this section shall not use the 
grant to provide support to a person who is not an 
eligible individual. 
‘‘(6) PROHIBITION.—An entity to which a grant 
is made under this section shall not use the grant 
for purposes of entertainment, except that case man-
agement and career coaching services may include 
celebrations of specific career-based milestones such 
as completing a semester, graduation, or job place-
ment. 
‘‘(e) INCOME DISREGARD.—Amounts paid to an eligi-
ble individual as a cash stipend or as emergency assistance 
under a project for which a grant is made under this sec-
tion shall not be considered income for any purpose under 
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and an entity making 
such a payment shall not be required to submit an infor-
mation return under subtitle F of such Code with respect 
to the payment. 
‘‘(f) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 
technical assistance— 
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‘‘(A) to assist eligible entities in applying 
for grants under this section; 
‘‘(B) that is tailored to meet the needs of 
grantees at each stage of the administration of 
projects for which grants are made under this 
section; 
‘‘(C) that is tailored to meet the specific 
needs of Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and 
tribal colleges and universities; 
‘‘(D) that is tailored to meet the specific 
needs of the territories; 
‘‘(E) that is tailored to meet the specific 
needs of eligible entities in carrying out dem-
onstration projects for which a grant is made 
under this section; and 
‘‘(F) to facilitate the exchange of informa-
tion among eligible entities regarding best prac-
tices and promising practices used in the 
projects. 
‘‘(2) 
PEER
TECHNICAL
ASSISTANCE
CON-
FERENCES.—The Secretary shall hold peer technical 
assistance conferences for entities to which a grant 
is made under this section or was made under the 
immediate predecessor of this section. 
‘‘(g) EVALUATION OF DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.— 
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‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, by 
grant, contract, or interagency agreement, conduct 
rigorous and well-designed evaluations of the dem-
onstration projects for which a grant is made under 
this section. 
‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT APPLICABLE TO INDIVID-
UALS WITH ARREST OR CONVICTION RECORDS DEM-
ONSTRATION.—In the case of a project of the type 
described in subsection (c)(2)(B)(i)(I), the evalua-
tion shall include identification of successful activi-
ties for creating opportunities for developing and 
sustaining, particularly with respect to low-income 
individuals with arrest or conviction records, a 
health professions workforce that has accessible 
entry points, that meets high standards for edu-
cation, training, certification, and professional devel-
opment, and that provides increased wages and af-
fordable benefits, including health care coverage, 
that are responsive to the needs of the workforce. 
‘‘(3) REQUIREMENT APPLICABLE TO MATERNAL 
MORTALITY CAREER PATHWAY DEMONSTRATION.— 
In the case of a project of the type described in sub-
section (c)(2)(B)(i)(II), the evaluation shall include 
identification of successful activities for creating op-
portunities for developing and sustaining, particu-
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larly with respect to low-income individuals and 
other entry-level workers, a career pathway that has 
accessible entry points, that meets high standards 
for education, training, certification, and profes-
sional development, and that provides increased 
wages and affordable benefits, including health care 
coverage, that are responsive to the needs of the 
birth, pregnancy, and postpartum workforce. 
‘‘(4) RULE OF INTERPRETATION.—Evaluations 
conducted pursuant to this subsection may include a 
randomized controlled trial, but this subsection shall 
not be interpreted to require an evaluation to include 
such a trial. 
‘‘(h) REPORTS TO THE SECRETARY.—An eligible en-
tity awarded a grant to conduct a project under this sec-
tion shall submit interim reports to the Secretary on the 
activities carried out under the project, and, on the conclu-
sion of the project, a final report on the activities. Each 
such report shall include data on participant outcomes re-
lated to graduation rate, graduation timeliness, credential 
attainment, employment in health professions, overall em-
ployment, earnings, participant demographics, and other 
data specified by the Secretary. 
‘‘(i) FUNDING.— 
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‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Out of any funds in the 
Treasury of the United States not otherwise appro-
priated, there are appropriated to the Secretary to 
carry out this section $435,000,000 for each of fis-
cal years 2026 through 2030, of which $10,000,000 
for each fiscal year shall be reserved to supplement 
the cost of employing or retaining at least 25 career 
civil servants at the Administration for Children and 
Families for the purpose of administering and evalu-
ating the activities carried out under this section. 
‘‘(2) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—Of the amount 
appropriated for a fiscal year under paragraph (1) 
of this subsection that is not reserved— 
‘‘(A) 75 percent shall be available for 
grants under subsection (c)(1)(A); 
‘‘(B) 4 percent shall be reserved for grants 
under subsection (c)(1)(B); 
‘‘(C) 5 percent shall be reserved for grants 
under subsection (c)(1)(C); 
‘‘(D) 6 percent shall be available for dem-
onstration project grants under subsection 
(c)(2); 
‘‘(E) 6 percent, plus all amounts referred 
to in subparagraphs (A) through (D) of this 
paragraph that remain unused after all grant 
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awards are made for the fiscal year, shall be 
available for the provision of technical assist-
ance and sufficient staffing to ensure that the 
technical assistance and related support is lo-
cally informed and provided to grantees in a 
timely manner; and 
‘‘(F) 4 percent shall be available for— 
‘‘(i) studying the effects of the dem-
onstration and non-demonstration projects 
for which a grant is made under this sec-
tion; 
‘‘(ii) carrying out the ‘Analysis Plan 
for 
HPOG 
2.0 
National 
Evaluation 
Longer-Term Impact Report’, published by 
the Administration for Children and Fami-
lies, as planned; 
‘‘(iii) submitting to the Congress an-
nual progress reports on carrying out that 
plan; and 
‘‘(iv) associated staffing for the pur-
pose of supporting— 
‘‘(I) the rigorous evaluation of 
the demonstration projects; and 
‘‘(II) the continued study of the 
short-, medium-, and long-term effects 
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of all such projects, including the ef-
fectiveness of specific elements of the 
non-demonstration projects. 
‘‘(3) ADMINISTRATION.—In employing and re-
taining career civil servants pursuant to paragraph 
(1), the Secretary shall give priority to persons with 
prior experience conducting or overseeing relevant 
research and evaluation, prior experience working 
for the Department of Health and Human Services, 
prior experience working on or evaluating discre-
tionary grant programs, or prior experience admin-
istering Federal workforce career pathway programs 
or other means-tested programs. 
‘‘(j) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.— 
‘‘(1) HPOG PARTICIPANT
ANALYSIS.—During 
each Congress, the Secretary shall submit to the 
Committee on Ways and Means of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Finance of 
the Senate a report— 
‘‘(A) on the demographics of the partici-
pants in the projects for which a grant is made 
under this section; 
‘‘(B) on the rate of which project partici-
pants 
completed 
all 
activities 
under 
the 
projects; 
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‘‘(C) on the employment credentials ac-
quired by project participants; 
‘‘(D) on the employment of project partici-
pants on completion of activities under the 
projects, and the earnings of project partici-
pants at entry into employment; 
‘‘(E) on best practices and promising prac-
tices used in the projects; 
‘‘(F) on the nature of any technical assist-
ance provided to grantees under this section; 
‘‘(G) on, with respect to the period since 
the period covered in the most recent prior re-
port submitted under this paragraph— 
‘‘(i) the number of applications sub-
mitted under this section, with a separate 
statement of the number of applications re-
ferred to in subsection (b)(5); 
‘‘(ii) the number of applications that 
were approved, with a separate statement 
of the number of such applications referred 
to in subsection (b)(5); 
‘‘(iii) how grants were made in any 
case described in the last sentence of sub-
section (c)(1)(A)(ii); 
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‘‘(iv) the length of time needed to de-
cide on requests for technical assistance, 
decide on grant awards and provide notice 
of grant awards to grantees; 
‘‘(v) the length of time needed to dis-
burse grants to grantees; and 
‘‘(vi) any additional staffing or exper-
tise needed to administer and evaluate the 
activities conducted under this section, and 
any associated additional funding or other 
legislation that may be needed to follow 
through on the analysis; and 
‘‘(H) that includes an assessment of the ef-
fectiveness of the projects with respect to ad-
dressing health professions workforce shortages 
or in-demand jobs. 
‘‘(2) FEDERAL WORKFORCE ANALYSIS.—Within 
6 months after the date of the enactment of this sec-
tion, the Secretary shall submit to the committees 
specified in paragraph (1) a report that contains an 
analysis of the personnel employed or retained pur-
suant to subsection (i)(3), including— 
‘‘(A) a historical or projected time line of 
hiring and retaining the personnel, including 
the proportion of employees given priority pur-
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suant to subsection (i)(3) who had prior experi-
ence working for the Department of Health and 
Human Services; 
‘‘(B) hiring and retention data on the full- 
time and part-time personnel required to ad-
minister the program under this section and 
perform related activities, including the percent-
age of work time the personnel spent on the 
program as compared to the percentage of work 
time spent on other programs; and 
‘‘(C) an attestation that the personnel re-
ceive benefits, civil service protections, and ade-
quate training and continuing education as 
needed. 
‘‘(3) ANNUAL
REPORTS
ON
FEDERAL
PER-
SONNEL ACTIONS.—The Secretary shall submit an-
nually to the committees specified in paragraph (1) 
a report on any personnel actions taken with respect 
to the personnel. 
‘‘(4) ANNUAL SUMMARY OF NATIONAL EVALUA-
TIONS OF PRIOR GRANTS.—The Secretary shall sub-
mit annually to the committees specified in para-
graph (1) a summary of evaluations by the Sec-
retary of reports on the long-term and longer-term 
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effects of grants made under section 2008 as in ef-
fect before the effective date of this section. 
‘‘(k) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) ALLIED HEALTH PROFESSION.—The term 
‘allied health profession’ has the meaning given in 
section 799B(5) of the Public Health Service Act. 
‘‘(2) CAREER
PATHWAY.—The term ‘career 
pathway’ has the meaning given that term in section 
3(7) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity 
Act. 
‘‘(3) DOULA.—The term ‘doula’ means, with re-
spect to an application to conduct a project under 
this section, an individual who— 
‘‘(A)(i) has completed 60 hours of training 
in providing non-medical information, emotional 
support, and physical support to clients during 
pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum pe-
riod; 
‘‘(ii) is certified, by an organization that 
has been established for not less than 5 years 
and that requires the completion of continuing 
education to maintain the certification, to pro-
vide the information and support referred to in 
clause (i); and 
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‘‘(iii) maintains the certification by com-
pleting the required continuing education; or 
‘‘(B) has the permission of the local gov-
ernment in the State in which the applicant in-
tends to conduct the project, to provide the in-
formation and support referred to in subpara-
graph (A)(i). 
‘‘(4) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en-
tity’ means any of the following entities that dem-
onstrates in an application submitted under this sec-
tion that the entity has the capacity to fully develop 
and administer the project described in the applica-
tion: 
‘‘(A) A local workforce development board 
established under section 107 of the Workforce 
Innovation and Opportunity Act. 
‘‘(B) A State or territory, a political sub-
division of a State or territory, or an agency of 
a State, territory, or such a political subdivi-
sion, including a State or local entity that ad-
ministers a State program funded under part A 
of this title. 
‘‘(C) An Indian tribe, a tribal organization, 
or a tribal college or university. 
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‘‘(D) An institution of higher education (as 
defined in the Higher Education Act of 1965). 
‘‘(E) A hospital (as defined in section 
1861(e)). 
‘‘(F) A high-quality skilled nursing facility. 
‘‘(G) A Federally qualified health center 
(as defined in section 1861(aa)(4)). 
‘‘(H) A nonprofit organization described in 
section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code 
of 1986, a labor organization, or an entity with 
shared labor-management oversight, that has a 
demonstrated history of providing health profes-
sion training to eligible individuals. 
‘‘(I) In the case of a demonstration project 
of 
the 
type 
provided 
for 
in 
subsection 
(c)(2)(B)(i)(II) of this section, an entity recog-
nized by a State, Indian tribe, or tribal organi-
zation as qualified to train doulas or midwives, 
if midwives or doulas, as the case may be, are 
permitted to practice in the State involved. 
‘‘(J) An opioid treatment program (as de-
fined in section 1861(jjj)(2)), and other high 
quality comprehensive addiction care providers. 
‘‘(5) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘eligible 
individual’ means an individual whose family income 
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does not exceed 200 percent of the Federal poverty 
level. 
‘‘(6) FEDERAL
POVERTY
LEVEL.—The term 
‘Federal poverty level’ means the poverty line (as de-
fined in section 673(2) of the Omnibus Budget Rec-
onciliation Act of 1981, including any revision re-
quired by such section applicable to a family of the 
size involved). 
‘‘(7) INDIAN TRIBE; TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.— 
The terms ‘Indian tribe’ and ‘tribal organization’ 
have the meaning given the terms in section 4 of the 
Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 
Act (25 U.S.C. 450b). 
‘‘(8) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 
The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 101 or 
102(a)(1)(B) of the Higher Education Act of 1965. 
‘‘(9) MIDWIFE.—The term ‘midwife’ means a 
midwife who meets, at a minimum, the international 
definition of the midwife and global standards for 
midwifery education as established by the Inter-
national Confederation of Midwives. 
‘‘(10) TERRITORY.—The term ‘territory’ means 
the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United 
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