The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) serves more than 3 million people across Pennsylvania through both direct services and the programs and providers DHS licenses and oversees. DHS is an agency that is a resource and lifeline for all Pennsylvanians. The services provided are here for those who need them currently and for those who may fall on hard times or experience a significant life change and unexpected event – the times we cannot fully plan for. The last year has brought new meaning to that. A global pandemic, historic levels of unemployment, and a complete change to our daily way of life has upended normalcy for all of us. It has also reinforced how critical a robust social support network is in weathering a crisis like we now experience every day.
The investments in the 2021-2022 budget will help as DHS navigate this crisis and look towards a collective recovery. They will support the work to help the Pennsylvanians served live healthier lives, reach self-sufficiency, and achieve a better life.
Governor Wolf’s 2021-22 Budget seeks to answer the urgent need of the crises we face and set a foundation for an effective, lasting recovery. Budget initiatives center on the following themes, and we’ve detailed more information about DHS initiatives that fall into these themes:
- Advancing Pennsylvania’s Economic Recovery
- Prioritizing Education
- Investing in Our Kids
- Advancing Fairness, Equity, and Quality in Our Public Education System
- Making College More Affordable
- Back to Work PA
- Keeping Pennsylvanians Safe Through Criminal Justice Reforms
- Protecting the Most Vulnerable
- Increasing Local Capacity to Fight COVID-19
- Protecting our Environment by Investing in Workers, Communities, and a Clean Future
- Repairing and Improving Our Infrastructure
Read the full DHS 2021-22 Budget Overview and the Governor’s Budget Proposal.