S. 1567 — Jobs and Opportunity with Benefits and Services (JOBS) for Success Act of 2025

This section specifies that amendments or repeals in this Act refer to provisions of the Social Security Act, unless otherwise expressly provided.

This section extends appropriations for 75% matching grants to territories (Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa) for expenditures under Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs funded under parts A and E of subchapter IV through FY2030 (from FY2017 and FY2018). (The grants cover expenditures exceeding baselines consisting of the territory family assistance grant plus FY1995 expenditures on prior TANF programs, excluding child care.)

This section requires states administering the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program to develop individual opportunity plans for work-eligible individuals, including (1) an initial assessment of the individual's education, skills, prior work experience, work readiness, barriers to work, and child well-being; (2) a signed plan, developed in consultation with the individual, that incorporates a personal responsibility agreement, work activity obligations and hours per section 407, an employment goal with short-, intermediate-, and long-term actions (which may include secondary school completion for individuals under age 24), job counseling and services, and possible referrals to substance abuse or mental health treatment; (3) completion of the assessment and plan within one year after the effective date for current recipients or within 60 days of eligibility determination for others; (4) universal engagement of all work-eligible recipients in work activities per sections 407(c), (d), and (e); (5) reduction of assistance for noncompliance with the plan (in addition to other penalties and per section 407(e)(3)); and (6) review and update of the plan at least every 90 days.

This section revises performance accountability requirements for states under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program (42 U.S.C. 607(a)) by replacing existing work participation standards with new outcome-based measures focused on employment of work-eligible individuals (i.e., non-exempt adult recipients required to work). It requires states to achieve a negotiated minimum percentage of such individuals in unsubsidized employment six months after their families exit TANF assistance (measured against average monthly TANF families), with penalties for failure beginning in FY2028. The section further establishes four weighted post-exit performance indicators using FY2027 data as baseline—(1) percentage in unsubsidized employment in the second quarter after exit (40% weight); (2) percentage of those employed in the second quarter who remain employed in the fourth quarter (25% weight); (3) median earnings of those employed in the second quarter (25% weight); and (4) percentage of work-eligible individuals under age 24 attending high school or equivalency programs who obtain a diploma or equivalent during assistance or within one year after exit (10% weight)—with requisite levels negotiated annually for FY2028 and later, adjusted via statistical model for economic conditions and participant characteristics similar to that under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3141(b)(3)(A)(viii)). (Thus, states shift from measuring work activity participation to employment retention, earnings, and youth education outcomes.)

This section revises restrictions on the use of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grants (i.e., state family assistance grants under section 403(a)(1)) as follows: (1) prohibits use of grants to provide assistance or services to families with monthly income exceeding twice the poverty line; (2) reduces the limit on administrative expenditures to 10% (from 15%), expands the exception to include case management for individual opportunity plans under section 408(b), and directs the Secretary to reduce a noncompliant state's subsequent-year grant by up to 5%; (3) prohibits direct spending on child care or other early childhood education programs, services, or activities; and (4) increases the share of a grant that a state may transfer to 50% (from 30%) for programs under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 or Title I of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), with transferred funds subject to the receiving program's rules (and, for WIOA, an assurance of use for individuals eligible under the new income prohibition and a 15% cap on statewide workforce activities); states excluding TANF as a mandatory one-stop partner under WIOA may not transfer to WIOA.

This section establishes requirements for states receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grants under the Social Security Act. Specifically, it (1) requires states to expend at least 25% of each fiscal year's grant on core activities—work supports, education and training, apprenticeships, non-recurring short-term benefits, work activities (as defined in section 407(d)), and case management to develop individual opportunity plans under section 408(b); and (2) requires at least 25% of qualified state expenditures (i.e., maintenance-of-effort spending) to be for those core activities. (Thus, these provisions direct a minimum share of both federal TANF funds and state matching funds toward work promotion and family self-sufficiency activities.)

This section amends section 404 of the Social Security Act, governing the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant program, to (1) apply the Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 and the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2010 to state TANF programs in the same manner as to federal agencies; and (2) require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to prescribe, within two years of enactment, regulations on state review and reporting of TANF improper payments. The section also requires the Secretary to submit to Congress, within one year of enactment, a report containing a plan to reduce or eliminate TANF improper payments within 10 years.

This section establishes a non-supplantation requirement prohibiting states from using Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant funds to supplant state general revenue spending on activities described in section 404 (i.e., allowable TANF uses such as cash assistance, work programs, child care, and administration). (Thus, states must maintain their own general revenue spending levels on these activities.)

This section adds reducing child poverty—by increasing employment entry, retention, and advancement of needy parents—as a fifth purpose of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program (i.e., a block grant program that provides states flexibility to deliver cash assistance and services to low-income families with children).

This section revises the requirements for a state to qualify as an "eligible State" under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program by shortening the plan submission look-back period to 24 months (from 27 months) ending with the close of the first quarter of the fiscal year and requiring the HHS Secretary to approve (rather than merely find that) the plan meets specified criteria. It replaces the prior work participation requirements in state TANF plans with a requirement to engage work-eligible individuals (as defined in regulations under section 407(i)(1)(A)(i)) in work activities consistent with section 407(c); redesignates certain existing clauses; and adds new plan elements requiring states to (viii) describe case management practices under section 408(b), including assessment forms, individual opportunity plan reviews, and progress measurement; (ix) propose performance levels under section 407(a) for the forthcoming two-year period with supporting data; (x) describe engagement of low-income noncustodial parents owing child support and their access to employment services; (xi) describe compliance with improper payment provisions under section 404(l); (xii) describe coordination with other programs, including any planned transfers under section 404(d) and assurances for Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) coordination; (xiii) describe marriage promotion efforts (e.g., temporary disregard of a new spouse's income); and (xiv) describe transitional benefits for working recipients (e.g., temporary earned income disregards or gradual benefit reductions). The section further (1) requires public posting of TANF plans and amendments on an HHS website; (2) establishes that plans cover a two-year period, allows combined TANF-WIOA plans, and mandates HHS approval of compliant plans; (3) directs the HHS Secretary to coordinate work activities and disseminate best practices information; and (4) revises TANF technical assistance provisions to emphasize scientifically valid research, authorizes use of funds for state performance publication under section 407(b), and reserves up to $25 million annually from TANF contingency funds (with a conforming amendment to section 403(a)(1)(B)). (Thus, states must submit more detailed, performance-oriented TANF plans for mandatory approval, with enhanced public transparency and federal oversight.)

This section revises quarterly reporting requirements for states under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, which provides block grants to states for time-limited cash assistance to low-income families with children, as follows: (1) requires states to collect full-population disaggregated case record information monthly on recipient families receiving TANF-funded assistance or other qualified state expenditures—striking prior subparagraph (B) (i.e., requiring case-level data rather than permitting aggregate or sampled reporting)—and report it quarterly, covering family residence, disability benefit receipt, ages, family composition, employment and earnings, marital status, race and education levels, receipt of other benefits (e.g., subsidized housing, Medicaid, SNAP, child care), months on assistance, and work participation; (2) replaces reporting on adult participation and hours in specified work activities with requirements to report the work eligibility status of each family member, monthly hours (including zero) in core work activities for work-eligible individuals, reasons for non-eligibility, and reasons for non-participation by work-eligible individuals and adults; and (3) directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Secretary of Labor, to determine and require states to report information necessary to compute employment and earnings outcomes and the statistical adjustment model for TANF work participation rates under section 407.

This section revises data exchange standards under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program by requiring the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), in consultation with an interagency work group established by the Office of Management and Budget and considering state perspectives, to designate by rule standards governing (1) categories of information that TANF state agencies must electronically exchange with other state agencies and (2) federal TANF reporting and data exchange. Such standards must, to the extent practicable, incorporate non-proprietary formats such as XML, interoperable standards such as the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM), federal contracting standards, applicable accounting principles, cost-effective implementation, and upgrade capability, without requiring changes to effective existing standards. (As background, TANF provides states flexible block grants to assist low-income families with children.) HHS must issue a proposed rule within 24 months of enactment identifying required data exchanges, standardization criteria and timing, state implementation options, and future milestones.

This section establishes deadlines for states receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grants under section 403(a)(1), requiring them to obligate the funds within two years and expend them within three years after the date the funds are made available. It includes an exception allowing a state to reserve up to 15% of the funds without fiscal year limitation for the state TANF program, provided the state notifies the Secretary of Health and Human Services of its intent by the end of the standard two-year obligation period.

This section expands restrictions on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) assistance by prohibiting states from using TANF grants to provide assistance to individuals residing in any establishment that offers marihuana (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act) for sale.

This section adds the following definitions to 42 U.S.C. 619 for purposes of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program: (1) assistance, meaning cash, payments, vouchers, and other benefits designed to meet a family's ongoing basic needs (e.g., food, clothing, shelter, utilities, household goods, personal care items, general incidental expenses); (2) work supports, meaning assistance and non-assistance transportation benefits (e.g., bus tokens, car payments, auto repairs, auto insurance reimbursement, van services) and goods (e.g., tools, uniforms, fees for licenses, bonuses) to help families obtain, retain, or advance in employment or participate in work activities; (3) supportive services, meaning services such as domestic violence services, mental health, substance abuse, and disability services, housing counseling, and other family supports (except to the extent violating TANF work participation restrictions under section 408(a)(6)); and (4) TANF benefit, meaning assistance or wage subsidies paid with TANF funds or qualified state expenditures to work-eligible individuals entering subsidized employment (e.g., on-the-job training, apprenticeship). (Thus, these terms distinguish TANF-funded basic assistance—which is subject to the federal 60-month time limit—from work supports, supportive services, and certain wage subsidies, which generally are not.)

This section eliminates several expired grant programs under former §403(a) of the Social Security Act—including supplemental grants to states (paragraph (3)), high-performance bonuses (paragraph (4)), and Welfare-to-Work grants (paragraph (5))—and removes related conforming cross-references, penalties, exclusions from time limits and territorial payment ceilings under §1108(a)(2), reporting requirements, and tribal provisions throughout Title IV-A. The section further (1) eliminates obsolete references to federal loans for state welfare programs (former §403(a)(6)) and associated penalties; (2) strikes limitations applying maintenance-of-effort and reporting requirements to non-TANF programs funded with qualified state expenditures; (3) revises annual state report requirements to specify "outcome measures" rather than "participation rates"; (4) simplifies reduction-in-force protections; (5) updates paragraph numbering and cross-references in §409; and (6) modifies the maintenance-of-effort baseline under §409(a)(6)(B)(i) to apply solely to the TANF program (from all state programs), adds allowable expenditures for TANF purposes under §401(a)(3)-(5), and makes related technical changes.