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Carreras en Salud (Careers in Health) focused on Hispanic job seekers with low incomes in the Chicago, IL, area. Recruited people attended an orientation, during which staff assessed their eligibility. Eligibility requirements included having an annual family income below $35,000; knowing English and Spanish, with English literacy skills at or above a fourth-grade level; and having an interest in a career in health care. Applicants then took an assessment to measure their skill levels, discussed the assessment results with a Carreras academic advisor, and met with a Carreras case manager to finalize their eligibility. Eligible people completed a consent form and baseline surveys and were randomly assigned with equal probability to the intervention and comparison groups. Random assignment occurred from November 2011 to September 2014, with 402 people assigned to the intervention group and 398 to the comparison group.
People were randomly assigned from November 2011 to September 2014. The study presents findings for Years 1 to 6 after random assignment.
The Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education evaluation was funded by the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation in ACF, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Almost all the participants were Hispanic (99 percent) and female (93 percent), and most were younger than age 35 (79 percent). Most had a high school diploma or equivalent (90 percent), and 41 percent had some college experience. Participants' average annual household income was $21,051. In the 12 months leading up to the study, 42 percent received benefits from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Instituto del Progreso Latino
The program launched in 2005, several years before the start of the study.
Carreras en Salud (Careers in Health) used a career pathways model to assist participants in obtaining employment in health care occupations. The model included seven courses. The program directly provided people with instruction in English as a second language (ESL), with a focus on language skills for the health care industry. The program also provided a 32-week course designed to (1) improve reading and math skills to prepare participants for a licensed practical nursing (LPN) program and (2) develop basic vocational skills for the health care industry. Carreras also helped people apply to and secure funding for certified nursing assistant courses, LPN prerequisites, and LPN courses at local colleges. For people enrolled in educational courses provided in-house rather than through local colleges, the program also provided assistance accessing public benefits and community resources, supportive services (such as child care or transportation assistance), and tutoring. Finally, all Carreras participants could also access academic advising, job search assistance, a one-week job-readiness workshop (including financial literacy instruction), case management, and job development and placement assistance.
People assigned to the comparison group could not access the Carreras program but could access similar services in their community. A large number of English-as-a-second-language, adult education, and vocational programs were available, although there were no other career pathways programs in health care focusing on the same population in the community.
None
Participants' enrollment time varied based on the courses they enrolled in; programs' duration varied from eight weeks to two years, though most participants enrolled in courses part time. On average, participants were expected to take more than three years to complete the LPN course.
ACF, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Chicago, IL
Financial well-being, family structure and parenting, and job characteristics