CareerAdvance participants enrolled in one of three programs linked to a health care career (nursing, health information technology, or medical assisting). Participants also received funding for tuition, books and supplies, additional child care assistance (if child care needs could not be met through the Head Start program alone), coaching, and financial incentives for meeting program milestones. Peer support groups were also available. CareerAdvance was set up as stackable modules, which allowed participants to temporarily or permanently leave at several points in the program with a credential. About half of participants were still enrolled in the program after one year and the average participation among those who did not stay in the program for a year was still relatively high, with an average enrollment of 250 days. CareerAdvance participants were parents with children enrolled in the Community Action Project of the Tulsa County Head Start Program. To enroll in the program participants had to complete an interview, background check, drug test, and English language proficiency test, and had to be able to enroll in courses at the local community college. CareerAdvance took place in Tulsa, OK.
CareerAdvance was a two-generation program serving Head Start families that provided high quality education to children and career pathways training and certification to parents.
CareerAdvance is a two-generation program serving Head Start families that provides high quality education to children and career pathways training and certification to parents.
As of April 2021, Community Action Project Tulsa, which operates CareerAdvance, provides emergency financial assistance, weekly contact from Family Support Specialists, referrals to community resources, a new website for COVID-19 resources, virtual home visits, and a mix of virtual and in-person learning for children. For more information, visit https://www.captulsa.org/uploaded_assets/pdf/cap-tulsa-covid-19-information-2020.pdf.