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Human-service workers urge permanent student loan repayment program to retain staff
Summary
Providers and workers asked the committee to back a loan‑repayment program for human‑service workers (H.283/S.119), citing large student debt, low median wages in the sector and high demand when one-time ARPA funds ran out.
Provider associations, union representatives and direct-service workers urged the Joint Committee to support a permanent loan‑repayment program for human‑service workers, saying the program would reduce turnover in a sector that supports hundreds of thousands of residents.
Bill Yolenak, president and CEO of the Providers Council, told the committee the sector includes more than 160,000 jobs in Massachusetts and that median wages for direct‑care staff remain low. He said a 2021 ARPA allocation and a 2024 application process demonstrated demand: about 3,100 human‑service workers applied for $16.5 million in funding and applicants sought roughly $63 million.
Two workers described the personal impact of one‑time awards and continued need. Elena (Alaina) Scheckenberger, community services manager at Action for Boston Community Development, said a prior award of $30,000 through the MA Repay program made an “immeasurable impact” in allowing her to remain in the sector even though some debt remains. Licensed clinical social worker Juwan (Jajuan) Kellum said he carries $93,456.98 in student loan debt and described colleagues leaving because they could not afford to stay.
The bill would permit workers employed at least 35 hours a week for 12 consecutive months to apply for loan‑repayment assistance, with awards scaled by educational attainment (witnesses described ranges from $6,000 to $30,000). Supporters urged the committee to give a favorable report so the measure can move through the budget process.
Ending: Witnesses asked for a durable program rather than intermittent funding to stabilize the human‑services workforce and urged lawmakers to consider program design that reaches direct care staff and clinicians.
