Arkansas Partnership for Nursing's Future

Grantee: Arkansas Workforce Investment Board/Department of Workforce Services

Purpose: The Arkansas Partnership for Nursing's Future (APNF) will provide funding to enable Arkansas workers statewide to be trained for careers in the nursing profession which include Certified Nursing Assistants, Licensed Practical Nurses, Associate Degree Nurses and Bachelor of Science Degree Nurses.

Participants Served: Training is available through Four-Year Colleges and Two-Year Colleges with training programs for RN's, LPN's and CNA's. Special efforts will be made to increase diversity in the professions and to increase the number of men entering the healthcare professions. The project will also target qualified individuals who are on the waiting lists to enter nursing programs, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families participants, unemployed and dislocated workers, and those currently working in the health care field looking to further their education and credentials especially those working in long-term care facilities.

Amount: $4,952,848 of grant funds from the U.S. Department of Labor

Timeframe: April 1st, 2012 to April 2nd, 2016

Key Partnerships: Arkansas Workforce Investment Board, Department of Workforce Services, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Arkansas Association of Two-Year Colleges, Arkansas Four-Year and Two-Year Colleges, Arkansas State Board of Nursing, Arkansas Hospital Association, Arkansas Health Care Association, Arkansas Community Foundation and other workforce development professionals.

Project Description: The Arkansas Partnership for Nursing's Future will enable the development and deployment of materials and programs that will be used by Arkansas' Nursing, LPN and CNA programs statewide. The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences will develop and coordinate distance learning training that can be used statewide. In addition, UAMS will develop a preceptor training program that will increase the number of people qualified to supervise clinical training of students in the health care field.

Proposed Outcomes: A total of 1,500 participants will receive grant funded services of those 1,200 are anticipated to begin training activities. Of these participants, 960 will complete education and training and 768 will receive a degree or other credential. Additionally, 691 participants who complete training will be placed into related health care fields.
The creation of the statewide preceptor program will double the number of clinical training opportunities for health care professionals in the state.

Arkansas was one of 43 grantees who received funding under the H-1B Technical Skills Training Grants. The goal of the federal grant program is to reduce the number of H-1B visas for foreign workers by training and educating Americans to fill those jobs most in demand. DWS Labor Market Information indicates that the number of RNs will increase more than 27 percent in Arkansas by 2018. According to the health care industry, more than 1,500 qualified nursing applicants are turned away each year in Arkansas because of limited capacity. The grant intends to address the lack of capacity through the use of distance learning and increased clinical training opportunities.

Contact: Lisa Ferrell
Project Coordinator
lisa.ferrell@arkansas.gov
(501) 371-1024