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Policy for Systemic Change

Investing in a Thriving California

Diego JVS Utilities Alum

At JVS, we understand the importance of advocating for policy changes that create a more equitable and inclusive society. Through our policy work, we aim to address systemic barriers, promote economic justice, and advance the rights and opportunities of historically disinvested communities. Our goal is to influence policy initiatives for systemic change to ensure that our public workforce infrastructure is more equitable for all jobseekers and supports them in achieving lasting economic mobility.

We know that to create transformative impact at scale, training programs are not enough. Together, we must address the systemic and structural inequities through policy and systems change. Each year, we continue to invest in high-impact training programs and critical partnerships to positively shift the economic realities for many in our communities. Even so, we see the ways that bad policies and structural barriers add significant challenges for job seekers across California. Our deep expertise working directly with jobseekers and partnering with employers to create high impact training programs informs our approach to creating structural change through our policy and advocacy work.

Our goals are strategic, driven by the principles of coalition-building, amplifying worker voice, and dismantling barriers that hinder access to employment and career opportunities in communities across California.

JVS is committed to maximizing our proven, evidence-based impact
by lifting up and advocating for change.

Through our policy agenda, we advance the field by focusing on:

  • Increasing pathways to quality jobs with family-sustaining wages;
  • Growing the pie of workforce funding at the State and local levels; 
  • Increasing support for and access to earn and learn training models;
  • Providing universal access to technology tool and skills training to bridge the digital divide;
  • Creating a data-driven public workforce system that supports the career journeys of all workers; and
  • Investing in the ‘whole worker’ by securing the social safety net and providing robust support services.

JVS Legislative Successes

AB 1236

Institutionalizes tracking demographic data
in healthcare licensure.


Assemblymember Phil Ting

JVS Co-sponsored with the California
Pan-Ethnic Health Network

SB 779

Creates more flexibility in the CA labor code for innovative earn and learn programs, including worker co-ops.


Senator Josh Becker

JVS Co-sponsored with REDF

AB 1237

Removes prohibition against earn and learn models in licensed healthcare occupations.


Assemblymember Freddie Rodriguez

JVS Sponsored

In Conversation with
US Senator Alex Padilla

In Conversation with
Julie Su

In Conversation with
Robert Reich