University Partnership Research Grants for the Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) Program, 2011-2015

Project Overview

ACF awarded five grantees funding through the University Partnership Research Grants for the Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) Program under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to support research and evaluation that will inform and improve HPOG program performance and complement ACF’s multi-pronged evaluation of the HPOG programs. Applicants were required to demonstrate a partnership with an HPOG program(s) as an integral part of the research plan development and execution. The five research grantees will work closely and coordinate with ACF’s multi-pronged evaluation and the Federal Project Officer in order to promote cross-project learning and avoid duplicative efforts. Grants awarded are as follows:

Organization receiving award:	Project title:	Short Description:	HPOG grantee:
Northwestern University, Institute for Policy Research	CareerAdvance: A Dual-Generation Program's Effects on Families and Children	Quasi-experimental, mixed methods approach to examine: (1) short-term and long-term family, parent and child outcomes; and (2) how variation in program participation is linked to differential patterns of educational attainment, employment, and family health and well-being.	Community Action Project of Tulsa County, Inc. (Tulsa, OK)
Temple University, School of Social Work	Building Capacities/Making Connections: A Multi-Year Study of Human and Social Capital Development through the HIP Career Pathways Initiative	Mixed method study to examine: (1) participants’ increased workforce capacities and access to labor market opportunities; (2) participants’ pre-existing and enhanced networks that impact career development success; (3) how participant engagement is helped or hindered by these networks; (4) how networks may be positively affected by virtue of participation in HPOG; and (5) how community contexts facilitate or challenge program performance and network enhancement.	Temple University, Center for Social Policy & Community Development (CSPCD)
Brandeis University, Institute on Assets and Social Policy (IASP), Heller School for Social Policy and Management	Study of Employment and Advancement of Racial, Ethnic and Linguistic Minorities for New Hampshire Health Profession Opportunity Project	Surveys of and interviews with New Hampshire healthcare employers, job developers, and incumbent minority workers to ascertain best practices for developing a diverse workforce and related career mobility pipeline.	New Hampshire Office of Minority Health and Refugee Affairs (OMHRA) (Concord, NH)
Loyola University of Chicago, School of Social Work	Evaluation of Empowerment Pathways to Self-Sufficiency in Health Professions Career Development for Low-Income Individuals	Evaluation of empowerment-based workforce development models (extent to which one’s psychological self-sufficiency affects one’s employment placement and outcomes in health professions) through analysis of data from HPOG program participants and Chicago Housing Authority FamilyWorks employment support services.	Gateway Technical College (Kenosha, WI) & Southland Health Care Forum, Inc. (Chicago Heights, IL)
North Dakota State University, Sponsored Programs, VPRCATT	Sustaining Career Pathways for American Indian Health Professionals in ND: Building Apprenticeship and Workforce Options with the Next Steps HPOG Project	Descriptive study of the recruitment and retention of American Indian people into professional nursing programs. Implementation of Health Care Apprenticeship Programs (H-CAP) in rural North Dakota settings, and evaluation of impact on participants’ attainment of professional nursing licensure and employment in nursing. Implementation and outcome evaluation of Introduction to Health Care Careers (a pipeline course) among American Indian high school students in rural settings.	Cankdeska Cikana Community College (Fort Totten, ND)