Financial Support for Higher Education!
Employer Info Session
Monday May 9, 10am
With funding made available to Medicaid through the American Rescue Plan Act, EOHHS is launching a Health Professional Equity Initiative that will offer comprehensive academic, social, and financial support for HCBS (Home & Community Based Services) paraprofessionals to pursue a pathway leading to higher education credentials, degrees, and/or professional licensure – at no cost to your agency or employees.
To make this possible, EOHHS is investing $3 million in a partnership withRI Reconnect [rireconnect.org], a program run bythe RI Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner (RIOPC). Here’s how it will work:
First, we will hold two Employer Information Sessions for you to learn more about this program so that you can inform and encourage your staff to consider this opportunity. These sessions will be held on:
Monday, May 9 from 10 – 11 AM
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83686513071?pwd=c0VyK1ZXUURxc2dFM3ZrRTFaYjFyUT09
Meeting ID: 836 8651 3071
Passcode: 795078
Tuesday, May 10 from 1 – 2 PM
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81726861784?pwd=azIxRWhHMXZPcDc2bTU5bE9XdnVFZz09
Meeting ID: 817 2686 1784
Passcode: 545922
Second, the RI Reconnect program will meet with eligible employees to provide them with information about the Health Professional Equity Initiative. These meetings can be held in English, Spanish, or Portuguese, and online or in-person.
A major goal of this initiative is to help employees understand higher education options (undergraduate and graduate degrees) that may help with their career progression. For those employees that express interest, RI Reconnect “Navigators” will assess their educational and professional background, and assist them with identifying and mapping a degree pathway which they can use to apply for this upskilling opportunity based on program criteria and eligibility. Once a person is selected for this program, Navigators will provide assistance with applying, enrolling, and progressing through an educational path, cover tuition expenses, identify any barriers to success (i.e. technology, childcare, transportation, etc.), provide funded wrap-around supports to remove identified barriers, and ensure they remain meaningfully engaged in their educational opportunities and their jobs. All of these services are offered at no-cost to the participant or to your organization.
EOHHS is committed to using American Rescue Plan funds to support HCBS agencies and workers and to increasing equity, diversity, and cultural and linguistic competence among HCBS health professionals in Rhode Island. We look forward to meeting with you next week!