Building Pathways to a Brighter Future
Central Community College
Health Education Laddering Program (HELP)
Location: Grand Island, NE
OTHER GRANT INFORMATION
Six-Year Project Period: September 30, 2015 - September 29, 2021*
Annual Award Amount: $2,378,471
Type of Organization: Public/State-Controlled Institution of Higher Education
Service Area: Adams, Antelope, Arthur, Blaine, Boone, Boyd, Brown, Buffalo, Burt, Butler, Cass, Cedar, Chase, Cherry, Clay, Colfax, Cumming, Custer, Dakota, Dawson, Dixon, Dundy, Fillmore, Franklin, Frontier, Furnas, Gage, Garfield, Gosper, Greeley, Hall, Hamilton, Harlan, Hayes, Hitchcock, Holt, Hooker, Howard, Jefferson, Johnson, Kearney, Keith, Keya Paha, Knox, Lancaster, Lincoln, Logan, Loup, Madison, McPherson, Merrick, Nance, Nemaha, Nuckolls, Otoe, Pawnee, Perkins, Phelps, Pierce, Platte, Polk, Red Willow, Richardson, Rock, Saline, Saunders, Seward, Sherman, Stanton, Thayer, Thomas, Thurston, Valley, Wayne, Webster, Wheeler, and York Counties in Nebraska
Target Population: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients and other low-income individuals
FIVE-YEAR QUANTIFIABLE PROJECTIONS
Number of individuals that will be enrolled in the overall HPOG program: 1,445
Number of TANF recipients that will be enrolled: 132
Number of individual participants that will begin basic skills education: 365
Number of individual participants that will complete basic skills education: 286
Number of participants that will begin any healthcare occupational training: 1,277
Number of participants that will complete any healthcare occupational training: 1,043
Number of individual participants that will obtain employment in a healthcare occupation: 936
ABSTRACT
Central Community College (CCC), along with partners Southeast Community College, Northeast Community College, and Mid-Plains Community College, engage TANF recipients and other low-income individuals in education and training that places them on a career pathway to healthcare occupations that pay well and are in high demand. The project increases access to training and education by scaling strategies and interventions developed in CCC’s successful 2010 HPOG from one college serving a 14,000-square-mile, 25-county service area to four colleges serving a 60,382-square-mile, 77-county service area. Relations with the state TANF Agency (Equus) and the Greater Nebraska Workforce Development Board remain strong, with effective referral systems in place. HPOG staff attend quarterly interagency meetings hosted by WDB at three locations.
Project HELP provides training for: Nursing Assistant, Medication Aide, Medical Assisting, Medical Laboratory Technician, Health Information Management Services, Nursing (both Practical Nursing and Associate Degree Nursing), Emergency Medical Technicians/Paramedicine, Physical Therapy Assistant, Surgical Technologist, Pharmacy Technician, and Occupational Therapy Assistant. Participants are supported with placement assessments, case management, academic advising, mentoring, job search, job shadow, and job retention assistance. Participants receive tuition, training-related costs, transportation assistance, and emergency assistance when necessary.
*This second round of grant awards has been extended an additional 12 months, ending September 29, 2021.