Sponsors
The bill helps more low-income and unemployed participants finish workforce training by funding tailored supports and encouraging benefit coordination, but does so through competitive, capped grants that may leave some areas underfunded, add administrative work, and increase federal spending.
Low-income individuals, students, unemployed workers, and parents in WIOA-funded training gain access to tailored support services (e.g., groceries, after-hours childcare) that help more participants complete training.
Local workforce boards and consortia receive competitive grant funding (up to $2 million per year) to remove barriers to training completion, enabling local programs to expand supports and activities.
Coordination with TANF and SNAP is encouraged, which can streamline benefit access for participants, reduce duplication, and make it easier for low-income adults to combine supports.
Smaller and rural local workforce boards may be disadvantaged by the competitive grant model and a $2 million annual cap, leaving some high-cost or large-service areas with insufficient funds and unequal access to supports.
Providing grant-funded groceries, childcare, and other supports increases federal spending and could raise taxpayer costs depending on appropriations levels.
Application, partnership, and reporting requirements for grants may create administrative burdens for state and local workforce boards that slow rollout and divert staff time from service delivery.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Creates a competitive fund to award grants (capped at $2M/year each) to workforce boards to provide supportive services—like groceries and after-hours childcare—to WIOA training participants.
Introduced October 21, 2025 by Adam Smith · Last progress October 21, 2025
Creates a competitive Support Services Training Fund under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act and directs the Secretary to award grants to local workforce boards, consortia of local boards, or State boards (working with consortia) to provide supportive services to people enrolled in certain WIOA training or adult education programs. Grants pay for eligible support services (broadly defined to include groceries and after-hours childcare) and require applicants to describe partnerships with entities such as the State TANF agency and SNAP program. Individual grants are capped at $2,000,000 per year and are awarded from amounts appropriated to the new fund.