Title 29LaborRelease 119-73

§3194 Individuals eligible for the Job Corps

Title 29 › Chapter CHAPTER 32— - WORKFORCE INNOVATION AND OPPORTUNITY › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER I— - WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES › Part Part C— - Job Corps › § 3194

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

To join Job Corps, a person must be at least 16 years old and no more than 21 on the day they enroll. Up to 20 percent of enrollees may be 22 to 24. The Secretary can waive the maximum age for people with disabilities under set rules. People must be low-income, except victims of severe human trafficking do not have to show low income. They must also meet at least one of these: be behind in basic skills, have dropped out of school, be homeless/runaway or in/aged out of foster care, be a parent, or need more education or job training to get a self-supporting job. A veteran who meets the age rule and one of the categories above can enroll even if recent military pay in the 6-month period before applying keeps them from qualifying as low-income.

Full Legal Text

Title 29, §3194

Labor — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)To be eligible to become an enrollee, an individual shall be—
(1)not less than age 16 and not more than age 21 on the date of enrollment, except that—
(A)not more than 20 percent of the individuals enrolled in the Job Corps may be not less than age 22 and not more than age 24 on the date of enrollment; and
(B)either such maximum age limitation may be waived by the Secretary, in accordance with regulations of the Secretary, in the case of an individual with a disability;
(2)a low-income individual; and
(3)an individual who is one or more of the following:
(A)Basic skills deficient.
(B)A school dropout.
(C)A homeless individual (as defined in section 12473(6) of title 34), a homeless child or youth (as defined in section 11434a(2) of title 42), a runaway, an individual in foster care, or an individual who was in foster care and has aged out of the foster care system.
(D)A parent.
(E)An individual who requires additional education, career and technical education or training, or workforce preparation skills to be able to obtain and retain employment that leads to economic self-sufficiency.
(F)A victim of a severe form of trafficking in persons (as defined in section 7102 of title 22). Notwithstanding paragraph (2), an individual described in this subparagraph shall not be required to demonstrate eligibility under such paragraph.
(b)Notwithstanding the requirement of subsection (a)(2), a veteran shall be eligible to become an enrollee under subsection (a) if the individual—
(1)meets the requirements of paragraphs (1) and (3) of such subsection; and
(2)does not meet the requirement of subsection (a)(2) because the military income earned by such individual within the 6-month period prior to the individual’s application for Job 11 So in original. Probably should be preceded by “the”. Corps prevents the individual from meeting such requirement.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2015—Subsec. (a)(3)(F). Pub. L. 114–22 added subpar. (F).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section effective on the first day of the first full program year after
July 22, 2014 (
July 1, 2015), see section 506 of Pub. L. 113–128, set out as a note under section 3101 of this title. Job Corps Flexibilities During Qualifying Emergency Pub. L. 116–260, div. N, title VI, § 601, Dec. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 2091, provided that: “(a) Enrollment.—During the period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act [Dec. 27, 2020] and ending when all qualifying emergencies have expired, notwithstanding any other provision of law, the requirements described in section 145(a)(2)(A) and 152(b)(2)(B) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3195(a)(2)(A), 3202(b)(2)(B)) shall be applicable only for enrollees in the Job Corps—“(1) participating on-site at a Job Corps center; or “(2) returning to on-site participation at a Job Corps center after participating in distance learning. “(b) Eligibility.—During a qualifying emergency or the 1-year period immediately following the expiration of the qualifying emergency, an individual who would be older than the age of 24 on the date the individual enrolls in the Job Corps is eligible to enroll in the Job Corps, notwithstanding section 144(a)(1)(A) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3194(a)(1)(A)), as long as—“(1) the individual applies for enrollment by the date that is 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act, and is not older than age 24 on the date of application; and “(2) the individual attains the age of 25 during the qualifying emergency or the 1-year period immediately following the expiration of the qualifying emergency. “(c) Qualifying Emergency Defined.—In this section, the term ‘qualifying emergency’ has the meaning given the term in section 3502(a)(4) of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (Public Law 116–136 [20 U.S.C. 1001 note]).”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

29 U.S.C. § 3194

Title 29Labor

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73