UNH Receives $2.9 Million Grant for Health Care Job Training Program
The University of New Hampshire has been awarded $2,944,732 to develop a program that will train home- and community-based direct care workers, who provide hands-on care to the elderly and those with disabilities or chronic illnesses. The funding is part of the Health Care Sector and Other High Growth and Emerging Industries job training grant awards made available by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The grant funding will support a new workforce development strategy at UNH, entitled DirectConnect: Partnering to Expand and Train NH’s Direct Care Workforce. DirectConnect will establish a tuition scholarship program to help support workers who enter training programs, develop career lattices to move trainees along specific career pathways, and promote peer mentoring, coaching, and distance learning opportunities. Ultimately, DirectConnect aims to recruit, train, and place approximately 1,000 new hires in home- and community-based service careers.
The University’s Institute on Disability and the Institute on Health Policy and Practice will provide the leadership for the project, and the NH Coalition for the Direct Care Workforce, on which HCANH participates, will serve as the grant advisory committee.