Summary — HB 54 (North Carolina): Funds for NC Association of People Supporting Employment First (NC APSE)
Status & Key Dates
- Introduced: Feb 4–5, 2025 (first reading Feb 5, 2025)
- Legislative referral: House Appropriations (then Rules/Calendar)
- Effective date (as written): July 1, 2025
- Current status at filing: Passed first reading / referred to Appropriations
Purpose / Intent
HB 54 provides state grant funding to support development and statewide delivery of training on evidence‑based supported employment services. The goal is to improve competitive, integrated employment outcomes for people with serious mental illness and people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities.
Primary Provisions
- Appropriation: $125,000 in recurring General Fund dollars for each year of the 2025–2027 biennium (i.e., $125,000 per year).
- Recipient: Grant to the North Carolina Association of People Supporting Employment First (NC APSE).
- Agency administering funds: Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Use Services.
- Use of funds: Develop and implement training programs — including online training modules — focused on provision of evidence‑based supported employment services. Trainings are to help with:
- Preparation for employment
- Job identification
- Job maintenance (integrated, paid, competitive employment)
- Target audiences for training delivery:
- Employers who have hired or are willing to hire people in the target populations
- Service providers (local management entities / managed care organizations)
- Any other entities DHHS determines would benefit from the training to improve employment outcomes
Who Is Affected
- Direct beneficiaries: Individuals defined in the bill as “individuals in targeted populations”:
- People with serious mental illness who are not in or at risk of entry into an adult care home
- People with intellectual disabilities, developmental disabilities, or both
- Implementing/receiving organizations: NC APSE (grantee), DHHS Division of MH/DD/SUD, LMEs/MCOs, employers, and other training participants across the state.
- Fiscal impact: General Fund appropriation of $125,000/year; no additional appropriations or offsets specified.
Procedural / Timeline Notes
- Funds are recurring for the 2025–27 biennium (the bill language makes the $125,000 recurring each year of that biennium).
- The Department is charged with allocating the grant and making training available statewide.
- The bill does not specify reporting or performance measurement requirements in the text provided.
Potential Impact (substantive, non‑opinion)
- Provides modest recurring funding to expand workforce‑development capacity around supported employment best practices.
- Aims to increase employer readiness and provider competence, which could raise employment rates and job retention for the target populations.
- Costs for the State are limited to the appropriated amounts; operational impacts depend on NC APSE’s program design and statewide uptake of training.
