On August 15th, Governor Hochul announced the selection of the three Workforce Investment Organizations (WIOs) that will administer a total of $646 million in funding for workforce training program. This initiative, the Career Pathways Training (CPT) program, is one component of the New York Health Equity Reform (NYHER) 1115 Medicaid waiver amendment which was approved earlier this year.
The three WIOs will operate in the following regions (counties in each region are shown on a map here):
- Region 1 (New York City, Hudson Valley, and Long Island): 1199SEIU Training and Employment Funds
- Region 2 (Capital Region, Central New York, North Country, and Southern Tier): Iroquois Healthcare Association
- Region 3 (Finger Lakes and Western New York): The Finger Lakes Performing Provider System
In the CPT program, these three WIOs will be responsible for linking people seeking to join or advance in a health care career with educational institutions, employers, and others. Specifically, WIOs will:
- Recruit participants seeking training;
- Establish partnerships with health systems and other employers;
- Use CPT funds to pay for participants’ educational costs, such as program tuition, textbooks and school supplies, and licensing fees; and
- Use CPT funds to reimburse employers for backfill staffing costs incurred when their employees are away for training.
The CPT program will be open to new and existing non-physician professionals such as nurses, physician assistances, social workers, and community health workers. Participating professionals will be required to make a three-year service commitment with providers that serve at least 30 percent of Medicaid members and/or uninsured individuals.
The Governor’s press release is available here.