Work requirements are becoming an increasingly common feature of federal benefit programs, reshaping how individuals access benefits. Recent federal actions have expanded work requirements to many programs, and as these policies take effect, greater demand will be pushed onto the workforce development system.
Work requirements for SNAP and Medicaid
Two federal benefit programs have recently instituted new work requirements. House Resolution 1 of 2025, a federal reconciliation bill, included numerous changes to the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid.
Changes to SNAP—related to work requirements—included requiring adults 55 -64 and parents with children 14 - 18 to work at least 80 hours per month or pursuing certain training or educational opportunities. Other individuals who were previously exempt from the work requirement—including veterans, homeless individuals, and individuals aging out of the foster system—are also now required to meet work requirements.
The Medicaid work requirement calls for 80 hours per month.
Individuals receiving health coverage as part of the Medicaid expansion are also required to meet a work requirement. The Medicaid work requirement calls for 80 hours per month of one or more of the following activities:
- Employment
- Participation in a work program, such as job training
- Enrollment in an educational program
- Community service activities
- A combination of these activities.
Exemptions to the work requirement exist for certain individuals including, but not limited to, those engaging with a qualified substance use disorder treatment program, pregnant and postpartum individuals, and caregivers to a child 13 years or younger or a disabled individual.
Outside of SNAP and Medicaid, other programs have started the rule making process to allow for work requirements. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) proposed a new rule on March 2, 2026, to allow public housing agencies and HUD-assisted owners to impose time limits and work requirements.
This rule, as written, would allow public housing agencies and HUD-assisted owners to require individuals 18-61 to work up to 40 hours a week, with exemptions for people meeting the following criteria.
- Have a disability
- Are pregnant
- Enrolled in higher education
- Are the primarily caretaker for a person with disability, a child under six
- Temporarily incapacitated
The rule also proposes allowing time limits on assistance after two years for non-elderly, non-disabled families. With the increase of work requirements in safety net programs, recipients of these programs who are either not employed or not working enough to meet the work requirements will be turning to the workforce development system for help.
Workforce development services and funding sources
The workforce development system exists to ensure adults have the skills needed to obtain and maintain employment and that employers can find qualified workers. Common services within the workforce development system include job preparation and readiness, training, job search and employment services, post-secondary education and credentialing, job matching and career planning, addressing barriers to employment, and employer services. Workforce development bridges education and economic development. It is a varied and complex system which spans all levels of government.
The single largest source of funding for workforce development is the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA).
The single largest source of funding for workforce development is the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). The U.S. Department of Labor describes WIOA as “landmark legislation that is designed to strengthen and improve our nation's public workforce system and help get Americans, including youth and those with significant barriers to employment, into high-quality jobs and careers and help employers hire and retain skilled workers.”
WIOA operates as a block grant meant to enable the workforce development system to respond to regional labor force and economic needs, but there are significant restrictions on the use of funds which limits flexibility for local entities. Ohio receives WIOA funding through three different programs: youth, adult, and dislocated workers, which funds certain workforce development activities for each demographic.
Across all three programs, Ohio received $100.2 million in WIOA funding, which is the second lowest allotment it has received since FY 2020.
Decreasing funding from the keystone workforce development program at a time where more individuals needing to meet work requirements could lead to the workforce development system becoming overwhelmed. If the goal of work requirements is to get individuals into self-sustaining employment opportunities, now is the time to increase funding for WIOA and other programs that fund the workforce development system, not decrease it.
The safety net is there for individuals when they are at their most vulnerable.
Common goals, common challenges
While workforce development is not always the focus of organizations that advocate for a strong safety net in Ohio, it plays a vital role in helping facilitate economic mobility and eventual economic stability. The safety net is there for individuals when they are at their most vulnerable, providing security so that Ohioans can survive. The workforce development system is there to help connect individuals to employment, or if they are already employed, to higher, more sustainable wages.
These two systems, which have historically had a certain level of overlap, are about to become more closely tied as safety net programs begin to implement work requirements for the first time.
