PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
Congressional Research Service
No official summary is available in the imported record yet.
People & committees
Rep. Sykes, Emilia Strong [D-OH-13] · D–OH
Legislative record
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Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
Source last updated: Oct 14, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2026-09-28 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
This bill would create a federal grant program to help survivors of violence, abuse, trafficking, and sexual harassment prepare for and find work. Governments, tribes, and nonprofit organizations could use grants for employment counseling, training, employer connections, and practical support such as care services, transportation, legal services, and mental health counseling. Assistance could reach minors, adults, and their dependents.
shall award grants, as appropriate, to States, units of local government, Indian tribes, and nonprofit organizations, including domestic violence and sexual assault victim service providers and domestic violence and sexual assault coalitions, that have a documented history of effective work concerning domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking to carry out programs to provide assistance to minors, adults, and their dependents.
(1) Activities to help survivors secure employment, including obtaining employment counseling, occupational training, job retention counseling, and counseling concerning re-entry into the workforce.
(3) Outreach activities to connect survivors with employers that meet their needs and that support a safe workspace for survivors. (4) Support services (as defined by section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act), including— (A) child care, disability care, elder care, and other forms of care; (B) transportation; (C) professional clothing and equipment; (D) legal services; and (E) gender-based violence counseling and other mental health counseling.
The term survivor means a survivor of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, gender-based violence, trafficking, sexual harassment, and stalking.
Section 1 would name the legislation the Skills Against Violence Act of 2026.
This Act may be cited as the Skills Against Violence Act of 2026.
Section 2 would add a Gender-Based Violence Survivor Workforce Program to the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. The Office on Violence Against Women director would administer grants in consultation with the specified Labor Department officials. Eligible recipients would include states, local governments, tribes, and nonprofits with a documented history of effective work on domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
Title IV of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 is amended by adding at the end the following: 41001. Gender-Based Violence Survivor Workforce Program
The Director of the Office on Violence Against Women (in this section, referred to as Director), in consultation with the Director of the Women’s Bureau, the Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training Administration, and the Secretary of Labor, shall award grants, as appropriate, to States, units of local government, Indian tribes, and nonprofit organizations, including domestic violence and sexual assault victim service providers and domestic violence and sexual assault coalitions, that have a documented history of effective work concerning domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking
The proposed program would cover survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, gender-based violence, trafficking, sexual harassment, and stalking. Programs could assist minors, adults, and their dependents.
The term survivor means a survivor of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, gender-based violence, trafficking, sexual harassment, and stalking.
to carry out programs to provide assistance to minors, adults, and their dependents.
Grants could fund employment counseling, job training, help keeping a job or returning to work, outreach about available services, and connections with employers that meet survivors’ needs and support a safe workplace. These are permitted uses, rather than a requirement that every grant provide every service.
Any grant awarded under this section may be used for programs that provide the following: (1) Activities to help survivors secure employment, including obtaining employment counseling, occupational training, job retention counseling, and counseling concerning re-entry into the workforce. (2) Outreach activities to make survivors aware of services offered under this program. (3) Outreach activities to connect survivors with employers that meet their needs and that support a safe workspace for survivors.
Grants could also fund support services, including child care, disability care, elder care, other care, transportation, professional clothing and equipment, legal services, and counseling for gender-based violence or other mental health needs. The bill incorporates a support-services definition from another law.
Any grant awarded under this section may be used for programs that provide the following:
(4) Support services (as defined by section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act), including— (A) child care, disability care, elder care, and other forms of care; (B) transportation; (C) professional clothing and equipment; (D) legal services; and (E) gender-based violence counseling and other mental health counseling.
Eligible organizations and governments seeking a grant would have to apply on the schedule, in the manner, and with the information the director reasonably requires.
To receive a grant under this section, an eligible entity shall submit an application to the Director at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such information as the Director may reasonably require.
Grant recipients would have to report annually on program effectiveness as part of an existing reporting requirement. Reports would count survivors supported in workforce development and, where applicable, people seeking career services who could not be served, survivors seeking, receiving, or completing job training, and individuals seeking or receiving support services.
As a part of the report required to be submitted under section 40002(b)(6) of this title, an eligible entity that receives a grant under this section shall annually submit to the Director information relating to the effectiveness of the programs carried out with amounts from the grant, including— (A) the number of survivors for whom the eligible entity supported workforce development; (B) if applicable, the number of survivors who— (i) sought career services from the eligible entity; and (ii) the eligible entity could not serve; (C) if applicable, the number of survivors who— (i) sought occupational skills training; (ii) received occupational skills training; and (iii) completed occupational skills training; (D) if applicable, the number of individuals who— (i) sought supportive services under subsection (b)(4); (ii) received supportive services under subsection (b)(4);
Annual reports would also include survivors’ evaluations through surveys or interviews, including satisfaction with career services. Where applicable, reports would count career-service recipients who entered employment and those who did not, and include other information determined by the director.
(E) a survivor evaluation component that is documented through survey or interview, including the satisfaction of survivors with the career services; (F) if applicable, the number of survivors who received career services who— (i) enter employment; (ii) failed to enter employment; and (iii) any other qualitative or quantitative information determined by the Director.
The director would have to send Congress a summary of recipients’ reports within two years after enactment and every two years afterward.
Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this section, and biennially thereafter, the Director shall submit to Congress a report that summarizes the reports received by the Director under paragraph (1).
The bill would authorize $40 million for each fiscal year from 2026 through 2030. This would authorize Congress to provide funding; it would not itself appropriate, or supply, that money.
There is authorized to be appropriated $40,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030 to carry out this section.
The supplied actions snapshot, updated October 14, 2026, records introduction in the House and referral to the House Committee on Education and Workforce on September 28, 2026. This snapshot does not establish the bill’s subsequent status.
Source snapshot updated 2026-10-14T04:58:48Z. 2026-09-28: Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce. 2026-09-28: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2026-09-28. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy change attached to appropriations was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion does not cover other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for a particular recipient or place was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This text-only conclusion does not establish formal earmark status or absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
None identified in the reviewed text
No materially narrow special exemption, carve-out, or preferential treatment was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. Coverage of the program’s intended beneficiaries alone does not constitute such a finding. This conclusion is limited to this version.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Oct 14, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI