APPAM 2020 Fall Research Conference: Panel - Implementation, Evaluation, and Formulation of Career Pathways Programs

Career pathways job training programs allow participants to build a career by advancing through successively higher levels of education or training and exiting to employment at multiple possible points. The growth in career pathways programs has been relatively recent, and there is an expanding body of evaluation evidence on program impacts. That work has found that programs have succeeded in improving educational progress and getting participants into a given pathway; but few advance to higher occupations within that pathway. This panel brings together four papers that provide insights into how career pathways programs might be improved. Three of the four papers focus on implementation and impacts of the Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) Program—a large effort to provide education and training for occupations in the healthcare field. The fourth paper asks whether career pathways programs should focus on different occupational clusters. Together, the four papers paint a picture that is both consistent with the theme of APPAM 2020: Implementation, Evaluation, and Formulation of Career Pathways Programs. The three papers on HPOG focus on various aspects of implementation and program impacts. The first two papers, by (1) Loprest and Sick and (2) Klerman, Litwok, and Morris, use program records to describe enrollment in and completion of healthcare training in HPOG. Loprest and Sick describe the characteristics of those who do not start or start but do not complete healthcare training. Klerman, Litwok, and Morris describe the prevalence of “above entry-level” training—training for an occupation that pays more than $15 per hour—and “follow-on” training—training for an entry-level occupation followed by training for a mid- or high-level occupation. Both of these papers provide empirical evidence the field can use to screen participants or target supportive services to improve program impacts. The third paper, by Santos, Stewart, and Jeffers, asks whether the various HPOG programs around the U.S. had an impact on racial equity in the healthcare workforce. The paper codes career trajectories for HPOG participants such that they can be empirically evaluated and estimates their relationship to race. The fourth paper, by Clarkwest et al., describes career trajectories across a set of large occupations that might be reasonable candidates for future career pathways programs. The authors illustrate occupational transition patterns within those occupations and share insights into what distinguishes occupations with more promising career trajectories. We anticipate the session will generate discussion about the current status of career pathways programs as well as prospects for the future. The panel’s discussant, Dr. Rebecca Maynard, is a leading expert in social policy evaluation who is also an evaluator of an ongoing career pathways program (Year Up). Finally, Dr. Nicole Constance, a Senior Social Science Research Analyst with the Administration for Children and Families, will serve as panel chair. Dr. Constance has expertise in employment, training, and career pathways programs, including service as the federal project officer for multiple evaluations of career pathways programs, and will bring important perspective to the discussion from her professional experiences.