Building Pathways to a Brighter Future
Rogue Community College
Southern Oregon Health Occupations Poverty Elimination project (SOHOPE)
Location: Grants Pass, OR
OTHER GRANT INFORMATION
Six-Year Project Period: September 30, 2015 - September 29, 2021*
Annual Award Amount: $2,919,536
Type of Organization: Public/State-Controlled Institution of Higher Education
Service Area: Jackson County and Josephine County in Oregon
Target Population: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients, youth aging out of foster care, and other low-income individuals
FIVE-YEAR QUANTIFIABLE PROJECTIONS
Number of individuals that will be enrolled in the overall HPOG program: 1,164
Number of TANF recipients that will be enrolled: 191
Number of individual participants that will begin basic skills education: 221
Number of individual participants that will complete basic skills education: 68
Number of participants that will begin any healthcare occupational training: 984
Number of participants that will complete any healthcare occupational training: 590
Number of individual participants that will obtain employment in a healthcare occupation: 500
ABSTRACT
The SOHOPE project prepares eligible TANF and other low-income residents in southern Oregon’s Jackson and Josephine Counties for careers in the following occupations: Certified Nursing Assistant 1 and 2, Medical Administrative Assistant, Dental Assistant, Medical Assistant, Pharmacy Technician, Phlebotomist, Emergency Medical Technician, Community Health Worker, Medical and Health Services Manager, Paramedic, Massage Therapist, Sterile Processing Tech, and Medical Insurance Coder. The project’s service model and well-integrated employer partnerships ensure steady participant progress that results in permanent, well-paying employment. Supportive services include intensive case management; academic interventions, including tutoring, mock interviewing, résumé development, healthcare career exploration, and job search; and connecting students with community programs to help with stable housing, food, transportation, and emergency financial support (e.g., childcare expenses, bus passes, parking permits, gas). Tuition, books, fees, scrubs, school supplies, GED and ABS costs, drug tests, background reports, immunizations, license testing fees, and certification exams are also covered.
Oregon’s Department of Human Services (DHS) and SOHOPE have a solid referral system and, through collaboration with DHS family coaches, SOHOPE will likely meet its cumulative TANF goals. SOHOPE has a strong relationship with the Rogue Workforce Partnership (RWP), the state workforce board, sharing resources and strategizing about training and employment opportunities in the communities served. SOHOPE team members attend monthly healthcare industry meetings to troubleshoot how to surmount employment barriers and how to better prepare students for the workforce. The Office of Apprenticeship in Oregon is in the beginning stages of adding healthcare into registered apprenticeships. SOHOPE is involved in conversations with a healthcare steering committee where local healthcare employers and RWP meet monthly to discuss opportunities to create pipelines to skill-up current employees and/or prepare people for healthcare jobs to meet industry demands.
*This second round of grant awards has been extended an additional 12 months, ending September 29, 2021.