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Sophia’s story is familiar yet still isolating.

Financial struggles forced her into a vicious cycle of living paycheck to paycheck with a bleak future. She described her situation as slipping into survival mode.

“I wasn’t living. I was in survival mode. I was focused on working a low-paying job to just barely make rent each month and then doing it all over again the next month. It’s a very hard cycle to break, it’s like running in place as fast as you can but going nowhere. In the end, I was just tired and worn out, but I kept doing it every day because I had no choice.”

After learning about the Zepf Center’s HPOG program, Northwest Ohio Pathway to Healthcare Careers (NOPHC) , from OhioMeansJobs Lucas County Center, Sophia realized she did have choices. Selflessly, she initially called looking for employment information for a family member, but instead, her own life took a turn. By March 2016, she had completed an HPOG Interest Survey and was randomly assigned into the Treatment group, which she was not expecting. She celebrated with a “happy dance” once she was given a small glimpse of what her future could hold.

The following compendium of Promising Practices showcases Health Profession Opportunity Grants programs that advance successful program outcomes through strategic planning based on outcomes from labor market information and program data. The grantees listed below prosper through implementation of work based learning and employer engagement to bolster entry to healthcare employment.

Mindie is a 45-year-old single mother and sole provider for her young son and teenage daughter. She got her Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN) certification in 2003 but battled financial stability for the last 15 years.

She always wanted to continue her education and become a Registered Nurse (RN), but she had to work overtime and on weekends to support her family. Mindie knew that she needed more training to further her career and achieve financial freedom.

In the Spring of 2017, Mindie happened upon a Facebook post from GoodCare , a healthcare training program provided by HPOG grantee, Goodwill Industries of the Valleys. Though her family has always been there for her, Mindie knew she needed more support to be ready for her RN classes. Her application to the program was accepted in May 2017, and she jumped right in.

Sometimes you find family in unfamiliar places.

Nicole was one of many children in a large poor family in Missouri. Out of eleven grandchildren, she was one of only six that graduated from high school. Nicole dreamt of becoming a nurse, and knew she was ready to change her future.

Her nursing hopes went on hold when her family got a little bigger. At the age of twenty-one Nicole welcomed her first child. Sixteen months later she welcomed twins. Nicole struggled financially, but her children are her source of inspiration and support. She taught them that with every struggle comes a success. As her children grew older, she knew she had to show them. She set her sights on returning to school to become a nurse.

Nicole went to the Linn Creek Job Center looking for help. It was there she met Terry Sullivan, career counselor for the Healthcare Industry Training and Education (HITE) program funded through the Health Profession Opportunity Grant. They started the intake process together and Terry agreed Nicole would be a great fit for HITE.

Kayla moved to Kilbourne, Louisiana at the age of 17. She came from a family that struggled with addiction, early motherhood, and heartache. She left high school when she was five months pregnant.

Kayla received her GED shortly after the birth of her first child, but was unsure what to do next. During childhood, she struggled with ADHD, bullying and an unstable home life. Kayla's educational experience was negative. Teachers were not supportive and told her she would never amount to anything.

Kayla met her husband in 2007, and they had four more daughters. Together, they found God and raised their five children. Kayla's husband worked long hours to provide for them. They lived paycheck to paycheck, and their daughters often went without. Kayla believed a higher power had big plans for her but wasn't quite sure what they were.

Eventually Kayla heard her calling at church to become a nurse. She worried about the commitment and time away from her children it would take. She deliberated, but knew it was the right choice. She applied to nursing school and was accepted. Now she needed to find a way to pay for school.

Stacy is a single mother of three children, one of whom has special needs and requires additional attention. Stacy dropped out of high school, and although she received her GED, she was always underemployed. The jobs she found had low wages, no opportunity for advancement, and inflexible scheduling, which made it difficult to tend to her son’s needs. Her family relied on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to survive. Stacy always dreamed of pursuing a career in healthcare but couldn’t afford it.

In the spring of 2014, she saw a flyer for the HPOG-funded Work Attributes Toward Careers in Health (WATCH) Project and applied. Stacy had no idea how much it would change her family’s life. Stacy found success in the WATCH program and trained to become a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA). Once she finished training, she accepted a job paying $17 an hour. Stacy worked full time for two years before deciding to go back to school to become a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN).

As a consequence of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the United States is experiencing a nationwide emergency, implicating both public health and the economy. Secretary Azar declared a nationwide public health emergency on January 31, 2020, and President Trump declared a national emergency on March 13, 2020.

The Office of Family Assistance (OFA) has heard from several grantees expressing concerns about the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for the Tribal TANF program and is fielding many questions about how Tribal TANF can help support people affected by it. Its top priority is the public health and safety of all those operating its programs and receiving its services. Increased need in many tribal nations for basic assistance and other financial benefits may arise as a result of the pandemic. With that in mind, this program instruction (PI) builds on TANF-ACF-PI-2020-01 (Questions and answers about TANF and the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic), found at /ofa/resource/tanf-acf-pi-2020-01, which addressed questions and answers about how state and tribal grantees might use TANF to help those in need and TANF’s administrative flexibilities for both states and tribes. This program instruction addresses frequently asked questions about the flexibilities available to tribes and the requirements for providing non-recurrent, short-term (NRST) benefits to those in need as a result of COVID-19.

The use of TANF funds to promote employment programs for noncustodial parents

This Information Memorandum reminds State TANF agencies of requirements found in the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 and encourages them to reassess their current procedures for registering individuals to vote and to make improvements in their systems where necessary.

This Program Instruction explains the revised form OFA-100 and instructions for requesting grants from the Emergency Fund.