This brief summarizes findings and recommendations from a study designed to measure and compare the added value of models used to predict participant success within career pathways programs in the Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) Program. HPOG provided education and training in high-demand occupations in the health care field to TANF participants and other individuals with low incomes. As part of program enrollment and participation, workforce program providers have access to program data through their management information systems that has the potential to improve program outcomes through data analysis. In addition to improving program outcomes, analyzing the wealth of program data allows providers to identify participants at greater risk for program dropout and tailor the program accordingly to participants with an increased risk. From a provider perspective, predictive models vary in the level of program value, costs, and complexity. To help inform practitioner decision-making and explore differences using real-world program data, the brief explores the tradeoffs of using simple to complex data science methodology to analyze career pathways program data.

All along the journey from youth to young adulthood, there are critical junctures at which a change in pathway can have a tremendous impact on a young person’s future. This Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce report identifies 10 pathway changes with the greatest potential to improve employment outcomes for young adults. It uses the Pathways-to-Career policy simulation model to identify promising junctures at which strategic interventions could increase the likelihood of working in a good job.

Learn and Earn to Achieve Potential (LEAP)™ is an Annie E. Casey Foundation initiative which creates supportive career and education pathways for youth, ages 14–25, who have experienced foster care, criminal justice system involvement, or homelessness. This webpage discusses how participants in the 2023 National LEAP Convening reflected on their collective work in three areas: LEAP’s support of education and career trajectories for young people who have experienced public systems; how strategic partnerships with public systems can promote and expand the reach of equitable career and education pathways; and the role of young adults in cultivating equitable pathways to school and work. Key takeaways from the convening reflect the following lessons: youth engagement is essential, scale strategies for today and tomorrow, and embrace innovative partnerships.

The Pathways to Work Evidence Clearinghouse will host a webinar on March 21, 2023 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET, which will help participants better understand the chances that an employment program will improve earnings and other outcomes for program participants and which programs have the greatest odds of success. The webinar will cover a comprehensive resource that the Clearinghouse developed, which is designed to help service providers explore evidence that answers:

• How likely is it that specific programs will improve employment-related outcomes?
• What combination of employment-focused services have the greatest chance of improving outcomes?
• Which services are most effective for different groups of people?

The Child & Family Data Archive at the University of Michigan’s Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research, Abt Associates, and the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation will host a webinar on March 7, 2023 at 1:00 p.m. ET which will cover accessing and using data from three federally-funded evaluations of Career Pathways Programs, including the Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education (PACE) project and the evaluation of two rounds of the Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) Program.

The webinar will provide researchers and analysts with:

• An overview of the Career Pathways Programs datasets
• Information on data collection and review
• HPOG and PACE data files and documentation
• Information on the HPOG and PACE data file structure
• Considerations when using the HPOG and PACE data
• Information on accessing the data

This On the Evidence podcast looks at proven ways to help job seekers with low incomes during economic recessions and recoveries. It also includes insights from the Pathways to Work Evidence Clearinghouse, a publicly available website about interventions designed to help job seekers with low incomes. The podcast also covers what the evidence says about the effectiveness of these interventions.

This report provides a new annual snapshot of the direct care workforce, including its demographics, occupational roles, job quality challenges, and projected job openings. It also provides detailed overviews of three segments of this workforce: home care workers, residential care aides, and nursing assistants in nursing homes.

This white paper uses a novel dataset from CareerWise Colorado, one of the U.S.'s most widely cited youth apprenticeship models. During the program, CareerWise students split their time between a traditional classroom and the workplace, allowing apprentices to earn a wage while accessing meaningful work experience and debt-free college credits. The paper presents research findings on the extent to which CareerWise apprentices achieve the program’s stated goal of serving as an “Options Multiplier” – they transition on to postsecondary education, employment, or both. Supportive supervisors, job match, industry type, and Registered Apprenticeship status all have a significant impact on retention and completion. Better understanding of these factors means that employers can structure programs that lead to apprentice success, teaching students the skills they need for a good job and generating a high return on investment for employers.

Across two rounds of grants, the Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) Program aimed to provide education and training to TANF recipients and other adults with low incomes for occupations in the healthcare field that pay well and are expected to either experience labor shortages or be in high demand. The Administration for Children and Families awarded the first round of five-year HPOG grants (HPOG 1.0) in 2010. The second round of five-year grants (HPOG 2.0) was awarded in 2015, with grant funds disbursed annually to 32 grantees in 21 states, including five Tribal organizations. This Final Annual Report describes results over the entirety of HPOG 2.0 (September 30, 2015, to September 29, 2021) and summarizes the HPOG 2.0 Program participants’ activities, outcomes, and characteristics.

Across two rounds of grants, the Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) Program aimed to provide education and training to TANF recipients and other adults with low incomes for occupations in the healthcare field that pay well and are expected to either experience labor shortages or be in high demand. This brief highlights key findings from the Final Annual Report of the Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) Program, 2015-2021, and presents information describing HPOG 2.0 including the training and services received and outcomes obtained by those who participated. The report includes all 32 grantees’ and participants’ experiences from HPOG 2.0’s start on September 30, 2015, to its end on September 29, 2021.