To provide low-income individuals with opportunities to enter and follow a career pathway in the health professions, and for other purposes.
The Pathways to Health Careers Act would create a new grant program under the Social Security Act to help low-income people enter and advance along health-profession career paths. It would fund eligible entities (such as local workforce boards, states,tribal organizations, colleges, hospitals, and community groups) to provide integrated training plus supports—like adult basic education, childcare, transportation, case management, mentoring, and post-employment coaching—in order to prepare participants for health jobs that pay well. The law also adds two demonstration projects: one aimed at helping people with arrest or conviction records pursue health careers, and another focused on building a maternal-health workforce (doulas or midwives) in states that recognize and pay for these roles. The program envisions a multi-year funding cycle (not less than 5 years) with a broad set of reporting, evaluation, and governance requirements, and it commits substantial federal funding through 2030 to support these efforts.
Key Points
- 1The bill creates the Career Pathways through Health Profession Opportunity Grants (a new SSA section 2008) to train low-income individuals for health professions via a comprehensive career pathways approach, including education, work readiness, training, and ongoing mentoring and coaching.
- 2It authorizes competitive grants to eligible entities (including local workforce boards, states, tribal entities, colleges, hospitals, FQHCs, and certain nonprofits) to run health-care career pathway projects, with a minimum 5-year grant cycle and a planning period of up to 12 months.
- 3Demonstration projects must be funded at least 25% each for two types: (1) education/training for individuals with arrest or conviction records to enter health careers, and (2) a maternal mortality career pathway (doulas/midwives) in states that recognize these roles, with at least 5 years of operation and targeted funding allocations.
- 4Applicants must detail comprehensive components (adult basic education, child care and transportation supports, case management with career coaching, staff recruitment plans, employer connections, and data reporting) and demonstrate alignment with workforce boards, apprenticeship models, and state plans under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA).
- 5Eligible individuals are those with income at or below 200% of the federal poverty level; programs may include cash stipends and other supports but restrict use to eligible participants only and exclude non-eligible uses (with some exceptions for permissible credentials and supports).