Fact Sheet: DOL Announces Health Care and High Growth Grants $220 Million Available
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (The Recovery Act) was signed into law by President Barack Obama on February 17, 2009. The Recovery Act provides $750 million for a program of competitive grants for worker training and placement in high growth and emerging industries. Of the $750 million allotted for competitive grants, the Recovery Act provided up to $250 million for high growth industries with a priority on projects that prepare workers for careers in the health care sector.
On Tuesday, July 21, 2009 the Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration (DOL ETA) published a Notice of Availability of Funds and Solicitation for Grant Applications for Health Care and Other High Growth and Emerging Industries. The purpose of the high growth and emerging industries grants is to teach workers the necessary skills for, and help them pursue careers in, health care and other high growth and emerging industry sectors. A summary of the Solicitation for Grant Applications for Health Care and Other High Growth and Emerging Industries follows.
- Purpose: The DOL ETA will promote economic recovery by supporting the training needs of workers and employers in health care and high growth and emerging industries and assisting individuals impacted by the recession (including auto and auto-related workers) by providing training and placement into employment. Efforts will lead program participants to job placement while leveraging other Recovery Act investments intended to create jobs and promote economic growth.
- Health Care Sector: DOL ETA will accept proposals targeting any of the health care industry's sub-sectors and is particularly interested in receiving applications that focus on one or more of the following health care sub-sectors and occupational categories:
- Nursing: DOL ETA is interested in projects that provide training and support career progression along the nursing career pathway, as well as short-term skills certification or credentialing that enables incumbent workers to advance along a career ladder/lattice in health care. This includes activities that help graduates of community college, vocational training or Registered Apprenticeship programs to qualify for entry-level and mid-level nursing positions such as a CNA, LPN, or RN.
- Allied Health: DOL ETA is interested in investments that provide talent development strategies to support recruitment, retention, and career pathways in related allied health occupations.
- Long-Term Care: DOL ETA is interested in projects that provide training and support educational paths to careers in long-term care occupations, which include CNAs, home health aides, home and personal care workers, direct support professionals and RNs working in long-term care settings.
- Health Information Technology: DOL ETA is interested in projects that design state of the art training and support progression in career pathways for the health information workforce for individuals who want to specialize in the management of health information, as well as incumbent workers who must use new information technology to perform the duties of their jobs.
- Other High Growth and Emerging Industries: DOL ETA is soliciting grant applications that address current and forecasted workforce shortages and provide workers with paths to career enhancing opportunities in high growth, high demand, and economically vital sectors of the economy. DOL ETA will target education and skills development resources toward helping workers gain skills needed to build successful careers in these industries. Examples of high growth and emerging industries include information technology, advanced manufacturing, wireless and broadband deployment, transportation and warehousing and biotechnology. The Solicitation directs applicants to define local high growth or emerging industries in the context of their state or regional economy.
- Eligible Applicants: Public entities or nonprofit entities are eligible applicants. These may include local Workforce Investment Boards and their One Stop Systems, Tribal organizations, education and training providers, labor organizations, and faith-based and community organizations. Applicants must demonstrate that the proposed project will be implemented by a robust strategic partnership. This partnership must include at least one entity from the following: public workforce investment system, public and private employers and industry related organizations (such as Federally Qualified Health Centers and other health care employers), and the education and training community. Applicants are encouraged to include other partners such as non-profit organizations, labor organizations, organizations implementing projects funded by the Recovery Act that will create or support jobs in the health care or high growth and emerging industries, national, state and local foundations, and state and local social service agencies.
- Eligible Activities: The purpose of the SGA is to fund projects providing training, education, and job placement assistance to prepare workers to enter the health care sector and other high growth and emerging industries. All projects must lead to employment for participants and must incorporate training activities that address skills and competencies demanded by target industries, support participants advancement along a defined career pathway, result in an employer or industry recognized certificate or degree, take place at times and locations convenient for the targeted populations, integrate occupational training with basic skills training, and integrate training activities with supportive services to help target populations overcome barriers to participation in training and employment. Allowable activities are described in the Solicitation and include items such as on the job training, internship programs, basic skills training, and classroom occupational training.
- Target Populations: Individuals eligible to receive training include unemployed workers, dislocated workers, and incumbent workers including low-wage workers. Within these categories, grantees may serve a wide range of individuals, such as those on public assistance, high school drop-outs, individuals with disabilities, veterans, Indians and Native Americans and individuals with Limited English Proficiency.
- Grant Amounts: DOL ETA intends to fund 45 – 65 grants ranging from approximately $2 million to $5 million each.
- Deadline: The closing date for receipt of applications under this announcement is October 5, 2009. Applications must be received no later than 4 p.m. (Eastern Time).
- Auto Communities: Approximately $25 million of the total funds available through this Solicitation will be awarded for projects serving communities impacted by automotive-related restructuring.
- Working with Other Recovery Act Programs: DOL is partnering with other Federal agencies to support the creation of jobs by developing a pipeline of skilled workers in the health care industry and other high growth and emerging industries. Where possible, DOL ETA encourages applicants to connect their workforce development strategies to other Recovery Act funded projects that create jobs or impact the skill requirements of existing jobs. DOL ETA recommends that applicants review other parts of the Recovery Act, such as those sections that include activities related to health care through the Departments of Education and HHS, Health Resources and Services Administration. For other high growth and emerging industries, applicants are suggested to review other Recovery Act programs from the Department of Energy, the Department of Transportation and others.
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