Strengthening Job Corps Act of 2025
Strengthening Job Corps Act of 2025 would reauthorize and reshape the federal Job Corps program. The bill renames Job Corps centers as “campuses,” updates who is eligible to enroll (broadening age limits, adding protections for veterans, low-income individuals, and residents of opportunity zones), and shifts many operations to a performance-driven, campus-based model run by operators selected by the Secretary. It emphasizes tying Job Corps to other youth workforce programs, expands transition supports, strengthens campus safety and behavioral policies, and requires greater transparency and coordination with local partners and law enforcement. It also introduces stricter compliance with the Service Contract Act and the McNamara-O’Hara framework for workforce contractors, adjusts staffing and wage standards to local markets, and increases funding and construction appropriations through 2031. Overall, the bill aims to modernize program design, tighten accountability through measurable outcomes, expand access to a broader population of youth, and improve the quality and safety of Job Corps campuses while providing clearer funding and construction pathways for growth.
Key Points
- 1Definitions and naming changes: “Job Corps campus” replaces “Job Corps center” and “campuses” replace “centers”; broadens the definition of “State” to include outlying areas; aligns Subtitle C language with new terminology.
- 2Eligibility and enrollment: Expands age range up to 24 (with secretary-authorized waivers up to age 28 for individuals with disabilities or justice involvement) and adds eligibility criteria for low-income individuals and residents of qualified opportunity zones; veterans can enroll under updated rules.
- 3Program integration and access: Requires campuses to assist one-stop centers and others in creating joint applications for Job Corps, YouthBuild, and other youth workforce investments to allow a single application for multiple programs.
- 4Campus operations and performance: Establishes a competitive operator model with a focus on outcomes (education/training participation, unsubsidized employment, credential attainment, median earnings, etc.); defines “high-performing” campuses; requires a mentor-protege program and publicly available past-performance data for new operators; adds a new safety and behavioral management framework, incident reporting, and an advisory group to review policies.
- 5Safety, conduct, and accountability: Creates a Behavioral Management Plan, including disciplinary authority and a zero-tolerance policy for serious violence or illegal activity; requires law enforcement agreements and incident reporting; ties campus actions to performance-improvement measures.
- 6Funding, wage standards, and contracting: Applies the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act to Job Corps operators and staff; requires wage determinations aligned with local public education equivalents and allows adjustments to ensure staff retention; annual wage updates; national and local staffing considerations; transfers property on a nonreimbursable basis; and explicit authorization of appropriations with phased funding through 2031, including construction funds.
- 7Experimental and oversight authorities: Allows targeted experimental projects for campuses ranked in the bottom 10 percent, with waivers of certain requirements to test new approaches, subject to notification to Congress.
- 8Transition and support: Extends graduate transition support from 3 months to up to 12 months after program completion to facilitate move into independent living and employment.