The purpose of the Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) is to provide education and training to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients and other low-income individuals for occupations in the healthcare field that pay well and are expected to either experience labor shortages or be in high demand.
The HPOG Program uses the career pathways framework of postsecondary occupational training and education to address the challenge of preparing nontraditional student populations for gainful employment while considering their various assets and challenges related to education and work. HPOG programs are expected to:
- target skills and competencies demanded by the healthcare industry;
- support clearly defined career pathways;
- result in an employer- or industry-recognized certificate or degree;
- combine supportive services with education and training services to help participants overcome barriers to employment; and
- provide training and services at times and locations that are easily accessible to targeted populations.
The HPOG Program is administered by the Office of Family Assistance (OFA) within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In 2010, OFA awarded a first round of five-year HPOG grants (HPOG 1.0) to 32 organizations located across 23 states. In 2015, OFA awarded a second round of HPOG grants (HPOG 2.0) to 32 organizations located across 21 states for a new five-year period.
HPOG was authorized as a demonstration program with a mandated federal evaluation. The ACF Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) is utilizing a multi-pronged research and evaluation strategy to assess the success of the HPOG Program. The strategy aims to provide information on program implementation, systems change, participant outcomes, impacts, and costs and benefits. The components of OPRE’s HPOG research and evaluation portfolio are below. The HPOG evaluations are also a key component of OPRE’s broader Career Pathways Research Portfolio.
Evaluations of HPOG 1.0 (Grants Awarded in 2010):
- HPOG Implementation, Systems and Outcomes Project
- HPOG National Implementation Evaluation
- HPOG Impact Study
- Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education
- Career Pathways Intermediate Outcomes Study
- Career Pathways Long-term Outcomes Study
- Evaluation of Tribal HPOG
- University Partnership Research Grants for HPOG
- Career Pathways Secondary Data Analysis Grants
You can learn more about the HPOG 1.0 programs and evaluation activities in the Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) Interim Report to Congress.
Evaluations of HPOG 2.0 (Grants Awarded in 2015):
- Evaluation and System Design for Career Pathways Programs: 2nd Generation of HPOG
- National Evaluation of the 2nd Generation of HPOG
- HPOG 2.0 National Evaluation Long-term Follow-up Study
- Tribal Evaluation of the 2nd Generation of HPOG
- Health Profession Opportunity Grants University Partnership 2.0 (HPOGUP 2.0) Research Grants
Point(s) of contact: Nicole Constance, Hilary Bruck, Amelia Popham, Lauren Deutsch, Lisa Zingman, and Nicol Valdez
Data collected during the HPOG National Implementation Evaluation, HPOG Impact Study, and Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education evaluation are archived at the Child and Family Data Archive. See each project page or OPRE’s Archived Data page for more information.