Jobs and Opportunity with Benefits and Services (JOBS) for Success Act of 2025

This legislation updates and extends the nation’s main cash assistance program for low-income families. It shifts more money and effort toward work, job training, and hands-on case management, and adds a clear goal to reduce child poverty by helping parents get and keep jobs . States must track job results, limit help to families at or below twice the poverty line, and devote a larger share of funds to core work supports like training, apprenticeships, short‑term help, and case management . It also tightens rules on improper payments and says federal dollars must add to—not replace—state spending .

Key points

• Who is affected: Parents and caregivers receiving cash aid (and other TANF services), plus the state, tribal, and territorial programs that run these services .
• What changes:
  • Everyone who can work gets an assessment and an “individual opportunity plan,” with a check‑in at least every 90 days; recipients must take part in work or training, with a state option to exempt a single parent caring for a baby under age 1 for up to 12 months; benefits can be reduced based on the hours of required activities that are missed .
  • State success is judged by job outcomes after families leave the program—employment soon after exit, job retention, earnings, and a high school completion measure for younger people—with results posted on a public dashboard and penalties for missing targets after a transition period (no penalties before 2027) .
  • States must spend at least 25% of the federal grant and 25% of their own required spending on core work supports and activities .
  • TANF funds can’t be used directly for child care or early learning, but up to half the grant can be moved to the Child Care and Development Block Grant or workforce programs, with guardrails on the workforce transfers .
  • Help is limited to families at or below twice the poverty line; there’s a new penalty for breaking administrative spending limits; states must follow federal improper‑payment rules; and federal funds must supplement, not replace, state spending .
• When: Most changes take effect October 1, 2026. TANF‑related tribal and territorial grants are reauthorized for 2026 through 2030 .