Welfare Reform Bill Shifts Focus to Job Retention, Bans Child Care Spending, and Cuts Admin Costs

The newly proposed Jobs and Opportunity with Benefits and Services (JOBS) for Success Act of 2025 is a major overhaul of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, which provides cash assistance and services to needy families. Starting in October 2026, this bill fundamentally changes how states are funded and, more importantly, how they measure success—shifting the focus entirely from checking boxes to actually getting people stable jobs.

The New Bottom Line: Jobs Over Hours

If you’ve ever felt like government programs focus too much on bureaucracy and not enough on results, this bill is listening. Currently, states are judged largely on how many people participate in work activities. Under Section 6 of the JOBS Act, that changes. Starting in 2028, states will be held accountable for work outcomes, specifically the percentage of people who leave the assistance program and are still in unsubsidized jobs six months later. They will also be judged on job retention after one year and the median earnings of those who find work.

This is a massive shift. Instead of a state agency focusing on logging 20 hours a week of job search for a recipient, they’ll have a huge incentive to provide training and support that leads to a real, lasting job with decent pay. The bill explicitly adds apprenticeships and career technical education to the list of allowable work activities, which is great news for anyone looking to enter the skilled trades or a new technical field.

Universal Engagement and the Personal Plan

Section 5 introduces a concept called “universal engagement,” meaning every single person eligible for work requirements must participate, and they must have an Individual Opportunity Plan (IOP). Think of the IOP as a personalized, signed contract detailing your current skills, the job goals you’re aiming for, and the specific steps (and state support) needed to get there. For anyone already receiving aid, the state has one year to complete this plan; for new recipients, it must be done within 60 days.

While the idea of a personalized roadmap sounds good, the rules are strict. The state must meet with you every 90 days to review progress, and if you fail to follow the plan without a good reason, your family’s assistance will be cut (sanctioned). For busy parents or those juggling multiple part-time jobs, keeping up with mandatory 90-day check-ins and strict plan adherence could be a major hurdle, especially if transportation or child care is an issue.

The Administrative Squeeze and the Child Care Ban

Here’s where the bill gets tight on state agencies—and potentially on families. Section 7 reduces the amount of federal grant money states can use for administration, dropping the cap from 15% down to 10%. While states can still use funds for IT upgrades and case management related to the new IOPs, this reduction will squeeze state budgets and could make it harder for agencies already struggling with caseloads to meet the new, more intensive work requirements.

More critically for working parents, Section 7 also bans states from using this federal grant money for direct spending on child care services or early childhood education programs. For a single parent trying to maintain those 90-day meetings and participate in work activities, losing a key source of direct child care funding could make the entire system unworkable. This provision removes a crucial support mechanism for the very people the work requirements are supposed to help.

Furthermore, Section 7 also limits who can receive services funded by this grant: states cannot use the money to assist any family whose monthly income is more than twice the official poverty line. This narrows the pool of eligible recipients, ensuring the funds are targeted at the most economically vulnerable, but potentially cutting off families just above that line who still need help with job training or supportive services.

New Rules on Spending and Oversight

Finally, the bill introduces several measures to increase oversight and integrity:

• No Supplanting (Sec. 10): States can no longer use federal funds to replace money they were already planning to spend from their own budgets. Federal money must be extra, ensuring the state is investing its own resources alongside the federal grant.
• Mandatory Core Spending (Sec. 8): States must set aside at least 25% of their federal grant money and 25% of their own required matching funds for core activities like work supports, education, training, and apprenticeships. This is meant to ensure funds are spent directly on moving people toward employment.
• Welfare for Needs, Not Weed (Sec. 16): The bill explicitly adds a restriction, prohibiting the use of TANF cash benefits at marijuana dispensaries, similar to existing bans on using benefits at casinos or liquor stores.
• Poverty Reduction Goal (Sec. 11): The official purpose of the TANF program is updated to explicitly include the goal to “reduce child poverty by increasing employment entry, retention, and advancement of needy parents.” This formalizes the bill’s focus on long-term economic stability.

Overall, the JOBS Act aims for higher accountability and better employment outcomes, which is a positive goal. However, by simultaneously reducing the administrative capacity of states and eliminating direct child care funding, the bill creates a high-pressure system where compliance is mandatory but essential support services are restricted. The success of this reform will hinge on whether states can pivot to intensive, high-quality job support with fewer administrative resources, and how families navigate the strict requirements without the aid of direct child care funding.