On October 24, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor issued new guidance to make it easier for young people experiencing homelessness or trafficking to enroll in Job Corps. They also launched a new online application portal, Your Job Corps Journey.
Job Corps is a national program funded by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act that offers intensive workforce training to youth and young adults. Some Job Corps programs also offer residential facilities to participants.
The new guidance allows, for the first time, young people to self-attest to their experience of homelessness, trafficking, or displacement due to natural or man-made disasters. These same young people can now have their applications expedited so that they are enrolled in Job Corps as soon as possible. Once the young person is enrolled, Job Corps staff have 90 days to verify the young person’s self-attested status.
This new process will significantly reduce barriers to entry for young people who are most in need of programs like Job Corps. Often, young people experiencing homelessness lack identifying documents such as a social security card or birth certificate. Without these vital documents, they can be excluded from the supportive services they need to exit homelessness. By allowing these young people to enter the program as soon as possible, they can begin the essential workforce training, access stable housing, and connect with a team of adults who can assist them in obtaining the necessary documentation.
National Network for Youth has been advocating for this policy change and is excited about this new guidance.
We encourage Job Corps programs to not exit a young person to homelessness if their self-attested status cannot be verified. Instead, if Job Corps is unable to continue serving a young person, Job Corps should work with local youth homelessness service providers to exit the young person safely.
