1. Connecting TANF to Career Pathways with HPOG

2. What is HPOG?
The Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) program provides education and training to TANF recipients and other low-income individuals for occupations in the health care field that pay well and are expected to either experience labor shortages or be in high demand.
HPOG 1 (September 30, 2010 to September 29, 2015)
HPOG 2 (September 30, 2015 to September 29, 2020)
Best place to learn more about program and grantees
The Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG), administered by the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, awarded grants to organizations that provide education and training to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients and other low-income individuals for healthcare occupations that pay well and are in high demand. The program is responsive to community workforce needs and improves job prospects for adults from hard-working families, matching careers in a growing field with people who are eager to fill them. HPOG participants are given the opportunity to obtain higher education, training and support services needed to secure positions that have opportunity for advancement and sustainability, ultimately leading these individuals on a pathway to financial self-sufficiency.

5. HPOG/ TANF Connection
All grantees have established a quantifiable projection tied to serving TANF individuals.
That projection is the number of TANF recipients that will be enrolled by the program each year that is reasonable given the total number of TANF recipients within the proposed service area.
Under HPOG 1 we enrolled around 15% TANF
Goal for HPOG 2 TANF recipient enrollment is 31%
Currently at 18%
HPOG Evaluation, Impact Study, and Random Assignment
Quantifiable Projection: OFA/ HPOG has a specific emphasis on serving TANF recipients and this is called out as an HPOG Program Metric
All grantees have established a quantifiable projection tied to serving TANF individuals.
That projection is the number of TANF recipients that will be enrolled by the program each year that is reasonable given the total number of TANF recipients within the proposed service area.
Grantees are actively looking for ways to partner with state/ local TANF agencies; set up on-going, collaborative relationships; and enroll TANF participants into HPOG Programs
Under HPOG 1 we enrolled around 15% TANF
Additional data regarding TANF Recipient Progress under HPOG 1 that comes from the OPRE paper mentioned later in this presentation.
About 62 percent of TANF HPOG participants completed at least one training course within 18 months of enrollment, compared to 59 percent of non-TANF HPOG participants. However, a higher percentage of TANF HPOG participants completed training courses of shorter duration (such as for nursing aides) than non-TANF HPOG participants did.
Almost three-quarters of TANF HPOG participants (72 percent) were employed after finishing training and exiting the HPOG Program, with the majority in healthcare occupations. Their employment rate is similar to non-TANF HPOG participants. However, TANF HPOG participants were more likely to enter lower-wage jobs in the healthcare field than were non-TANF HPOG participants.
This data lends itself to the idea that TANF HPOG participants are showing similar progress as non-TANF and with continued collaboration of services, more TANF participants could be served and hopefully advance along the health care career pathway, advancing from the lower-wage jobs.
Goal for HPOG 2 TANF recipient enrollment is 31%
Currently at 18%
HPOG Evaluation
HPOG was authorized as a demonstration program. Accordingly, its authorizing legislation calls for a comprehensive federal evaluation. The HPOG evaluation is a multipronged approach.
One piece of this is an Impact Study that only applies to non-tribal grantees.
The impact study includes randomly assigning eligible participants to either a treatment group that will be allowed to receive HPOG services or a control group that will not have access to HPOG but will be allowed to receive other services available in the community (“business as usual”).
The use of the treatment/ control group will allow us to learn about the effectiveness of the HPOG programs in order to: improve service delivery and inform practice on the ground; improve the outcomes of individuals who participate in these programs; build the evidence base around career pathway programs; and to inform policymaking around HPOG and similar types of efforts.
The impact study is using a 2:1 ratio for random assignment. This means for every 2 individuals assigned to the Treatment group, 1 is assigned to the Control group.
Grantees may tell their TANF agency partners whether a referred individual was assigned to the Treatment or Control group. But grantees should make sure they have the appropriate permissions in place between the two agencies in order to share such information.
The control group’s experiences represent what would have happened in the absence of HPOG. The difference between what happens to treatment group members and what happens to control group members is the effect of HPOG.

6. How HPOG can Serve TANF Recipients
Career Pathways
Includes Basic Skills and Occupational Training
Information Memoranda: Supporting Career Pathways for TANF Recipients
Connections to Employment
Employer Engagement
Case Management/ Navigation Services
HPOG Programs have coaches, navigators, or case managers that guide participants through HPOG.
Supportive Services
HPOG Programs may provide a range of supportive services to help participants eliminate barriers during training and employment
HPOG Programs utilize Career Pathway models linking participants to in-demand healthcare training
HPOG Programs created career pathways in the healthcare sector after an analysis of their local labor market and speaking to employers. Each program then works with training providers to connect and pay for (in some way) the occupational training that meets employer demand and requirements.
The career pathways begin with entry level training, such as home health aide or certified nursing assistant, which could take as little as twelve weeks, depending on the state. Then the participant can be linked to employment and/ or next steps in their training along the chosen career pathway.
Included in the career pathway, if needed, is Basic Skills Training. The financial support for this training can also be provided by many HPOG programs. In some cases this is contextualized with occupational training. If not, then after completing basic skills, the participant is connected to occupational training.
Information Memoranda: Supporting Career Pathways for TANF Recipients
HPOG’s focus on career pathways aligns with the Information Memoranda many of the TANF agency partners are familiar with and can be found by following this link. This IM from OFA is “to encourage TANF agencies to provide career pathway opportunities for TANF recipients and other low-income individuals.” HPOG is one example of these career pathways.
Connections to Employment – HPOG Programs move participants into employment in the healthcare field.
HPOG Programs coordinate with employers to identify in-demand jobs and open positions – potentially before they are open to the public.
Some employers will provide HPOG participants with special considerations when hiring.
Many HPOG Programs integrate soft skills, resume and interview prep, career readiness, job fairs, and other ways to connect participants directly to jobs. Many have job navigators as well and/or partner with Workforce Agencies.
Case Management/ Navigation Services
HPOG Programs have coaches, navigators, or case managers (called different things at different programs) that guide participants through HPOG. This can begin with intake, and then progresses to helping a participant make an individual employment plan taking into account the participant’s interests, amount of time for training, etc.
The coach also helps coordinate training, supportive services, and connections to employment. In many cases, the coach is checking in with each HPOG participant on a regular basis to see how they are progressing or what assistance they need.
The coach can provide information/ communication back to the TANF agency
Supportive Services
HPOG Programs may provide a range of supportive services to help participants eliminate barriers as they progress through training and employment. These might include training funds, case management, transportation, child care, books, work or training related supplies and equipment, tutoring, career readiness, job search assistance, etc.
Along with a TANF enrollment goal, HPOG grantees established quantifiable projections around total enrollment, basic skills trainings and completions, healthcare occupational trainings and completions, and healthcare employments
All grantees report individual level data into a data system called PAGES
HPOG Programs can track TANF individuals and report back on their outcomes