April 9, 2015
The Office of Family Assistance in
the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and
Families (ACF) recently announced it is accepting applications for its Health
Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) program.
This program provides education and training to Temporary Assistance for
Needy Families (TANF) recipients and other low-income individuals. Authorized by the Affordable Care Act, these
grants will support demonstration projects in well-paying health care
field occupations that are expected to “either experience labor shortages or be
in high demand.” Funds under this project may also
be used for child care, case management, and other supportive services, as
appropriate.
The
healthcare sector is projected to grow significantly over the next decade, and strongly
contribute to regional economies. As detailed in the grant notice, the absence
of qualified workers in this sector threatens the quality and availability of
medical care and the economic stability and growth potential of communities in
rural, urban, and suburban areas.
Program
participants will be able to select from and enroll in many training and
education programs that result in an employer or industry recognized healthcare
certificate or degree. Training programs will take place in a variety of
settings and formats, including traditional classrooms, the workplace, and
distance learning.
Potential applicants
under this funding opportunity must be able to demonstrate strong partnerships
with health care employers and a strong labor market demand for the occupations
for which they are providing education and training. HPOG programs may also include other partners
that provide resources or expertise to better coordinate services and improve
outcomes for program participants, such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program, Medicaid, legal aid, and services funded by ACF (i.e., Head Start,
child care, domestic violence prevention, and refugee resettlement programs). All
funded grantees are required to coordinate with the agencies responsible for administering
their states’ TANF programs, local workforce investment boards, state workforce
investment boards, and state apprenticeship agencies.
Applications
are due on May 29, 2015. Interested parties are encouraged to access
the full announcement
and visit the HPOG website to apply and to
learn more about this program. Entities
serving adult learners are encouraged to review and share information of this funding opportunity.
The evolution of developmental education for
students transitioning to college is the topic of columns in this and the next
issues of OCTAE Connection. About two decades ago, community colleges
regularly started admitting students not prepared for college-level work
through an “open admissions” initiative.
Open admissions were designed to afford all students a second chance at
enhancing their academic preparation in order to pursue a college degree and/or
to prepare themselves for the workforce.
From the perspective of the enrolling students and
the institutions, the open admissions initiative was a success. The percentage of students who enrolled and
continue to enroll in postsecondary education has increased. However, the percentage of these enrollees
who complete a certificate or a two-year degree has not increased
proportionately. Too many of these students
leave postsecondary education before completion. This gap between enrollees and completers, and
between aspiration and achievement, is counterproductive both for students and
for the nation.
In response, many community colleges have initiated
a new generation of developmental education approaches as part of a more
comprehensive effort to improve the academic and job-related achievements of
their students. The following two
journal articles illustrate some of these new initiatives:
In 1998, the estimated national cost of developmental education was approximately one billion dollars, annually. This article estimates the national cost estimate for 2004–05 at $1.13 billion at public institutions, a thirteen percent increase from 1998. With increased costs comes additional scrutiny. One major goal of this paper is to urge states to “make data on developmental education both transparent and publicly available in order to accurately derive a more precise cost of developmental education both at the local and national levels.” Informed cost-benefit analyses will allow educators and policy makers to provide the most efficient and equitable developmental education.
This study, based on activities at San Jacinto Community College in Pasadena, Texas, discusses the implementation of an initiative to move away from historical models of student advising to a more intentional advising model called “educational planning.” This approach, among other things, takes advising into the classroom and creates a strong partnership between faculty and student services to provide support, information, and career direction. Sustained through an ongoing dialogue between instruction and student development professionals, classroom activities and wrap-around support services can be specifically focused on each individual student. Through implementing this approach, the college found that advising becomes a tool delivered by faculty-student service teams that holds students accountable while providing needed assistance as the student progresses along his or her educational pathway.
The next issue of OCTAE Connection will discuss additional studies of
developmental education initiatives and make some observations about the
contexts in which they take place.
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