S 1173 ISCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To establish a demonstration project to train unemployed workers for employment as health care professionals, and for other purposes.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

June 3, 2009CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Mr. FEINGOLD introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and PensionsCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To establish a demonstration project to train unemployed workers for employment as health care professionals, and for other purposes.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘Community-Based Health Care Retraining Act’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 2. HEALTH PROFESSIONS TRAINING DEMONSTRATION PROJECT.

Section 171 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2916) is amended by adding at the end the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(f) Health Professions Training Demonstration Project-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) DEFINITIONS- In this subsection:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) COVERED COMMUNITY- The term ‘covered community’ means a community or region--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(i) that has experienced a significant percentage decline in rates of employment; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ii)(I) that is determined by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (in consultation with the medical community) to be an area with a shortage of health care professionals described in subparagraph (C)(i); orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(II) that is underserved by the health care structure, such as a rural community, a community with a significant minority population, or a community for which an applicant can otherwise demonstrate need for increased training for health care professionals.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) COVERED WORKER- The term ‘covered worker’ means an individual who--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(i)(I) has been terminated or laid off, or who has received a notice of termination or layoff;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(II)(aa) is eligible for or has exhausted entitlement to unemployment compensation; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(bb) has been employed for a duration sufficient to demonstrate, to the appropriate entity at a one-stop center referred to in section 134(c), attachment to the workforce, but is not eligible for unemployment compensation due to insufficient earnings or having performed services for an employer that were not covered under a State unemployment compensation law; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(III) is unlikely to return to a previous industry or occupation;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ii)(I) has been terminated or laid off, or has received a notice of termination or layoff, as a result of any permanent closure of, or any substantial layoff at, a plant, facility, or enterprise; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(II) is employed at a facility at which the employer has made a general announcement that such facility will close within 180 days; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(iii) is an incumbent worker employed in a health care profession, and whose training will provide an opportunity for employment of other individuals by increasing--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(I) the number of instructors serving the covered community; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(II) the number of vacant positions in the covered community.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(C) HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL- The term ‘health care professional’--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(i) means an individual who is involved with--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(I) the delivery of health care services, or related services, pertaining to--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘(aa) the identification, evaluation, management, and prevention of diseases, disorders, or injuries; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘(bb) home-based or community-based long-term care;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘(II) the delivery of dietary and nutrition services;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(III) the delivery of dental services; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(IV) rehabilitation and health systems management; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ii) includes individuals in health care professions for which there is a shortage in the community involved, as determined by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (in consultation with the medical community) or as otherwise demonstrated by the applicant.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(D) TRIBAL COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY- The term ‘tribal college or university’ means a Tribal College or University, as defined in section 316(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059c(b)).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROJECT- In accordance with subsection (b), the Secretary shall establish and carry out a health professions training demonstration project.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(3) GRANTS- In carrying out the project, the Secretary, after consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall make grants to eligible entities to pay for the Federal share of the cost of enabling the entities to carry out programs in covered communities to train covered workers for employment as health care professionals (referred to in this subsection as ‘training programs’). The Secretary shall make each grant in an amount of not less than $100,000 and not more than $500,000, and each such grant shall be for a period of 5 years.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(4) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES- Notwithstanding subsection (b)(2)(B), to be eligible to receive a grant under this subsection to carry out a training program in a covered community, an entity shall be a partnership that consists of--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) a local workforce investment board established under section 117 that is serving the covered community; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) an institution of higher education, as defined in sections 101 and 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001, 1002), in partnership with at least 1 of the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(i) A health clinic or hospital.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ii) A home-based or community-based long-term care facility or program.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(iii) A health care facility administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(iv) A tribal college or university.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(v) A labor organization, or an industry or industry group.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(vi) A local economic development entity serving the covered community.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(vii) A joint labor-management partnership.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(5) APPLICATIONS- To be eligible to receive a grant under this subsection, an entity shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require, including, at a minimum--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) a proposal to use the grant funds to establish or expand a training program in order to train covered workers for employment as health care professionals, including information that demonstrates the long-term viability of the training program beyond the period of the grant;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) information demonstrating the need for the training and support services to be provided through the training program;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(C) information describing the manner in which the entity will expend the grant funds, and the activities to be carried out with the funds;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(D) information demonstrating that the entity meets the requirements of paragraph (4);CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(E) with respect to training programs carried out by the applicant, information--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(i) on the graduation rates of the training programs involved;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ii) on the retention measures carried out by the applicant;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(iii) on the length of time necessary to complete the training programs of the applicant; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(iv) on the number of qualified covered workers that are refused admittance into the training programs because of lack of capacity; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(F) a description of how the applicant has engaged all relevant stakeholders, including the health care industry to be served by the training program, local labor organizations and other workforce groups, and local industry, in the design of the training program to be served with grant funds.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(6) SELECTION- In making grants under paragraph (3), the Secretary, after consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) consider the information submitted by the eligible entities under paragraph (5)(E);CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) select--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(i) eligible entities submitting applications that meet such criteria as the Secretary of Labor determines to be appropriate; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ii) among such entities, the eligible entities serving the covered communities with the greatest need for the grants and the greatest potential to benefit from the grants; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(C) give preference to eligible entities--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(i) submitting applications to serve covered workers who have been terminated or laid off or have received a notice of termination or layoff from a manufacturing, service, or construction industry, or another industry with significant decline in employment as determined by the Secretary; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ii) with a demonstrated history of similar and successful partnerships with State boards or local boards, institutions of higher education (as defined in paragraph (4)(B)), industry groups, and labor organizations.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(7) USE OF FUNDS-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) IN GENERAL- An entity that receives a grant under this subsection shall use the funds made available through the grant for training and support services that meet the needs described in the application submitted under paragraph (5), which may include--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(i) implementing training programs for covered workers;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ii) providing support services for covered workers participating in the training programs, such as--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(I) providing tuition assistance;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(II) establishing or expanding distance education programs;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(III) providing transportation assistance; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(IV) providing child care; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(iii) increasing capacity, subject to subparagraph (B), at an educational institution or training center to train individuals for employment as health professionals, such as by--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(I) expanding a facility, subject to subparagraph (B);CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(II) expanding course offerings;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(III) hiring faculty;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(IV) providing a student loan repayment program for the faculty;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(V) establishing or expanding clinical education opportunities;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(VI) purchasing equipment, such as computers, books, clinical supplies, or a patient simulator; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(VII) conducting recruitment.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) LIMITATION- Any such grant funds that are used to expand facilities may only be used to rent or modernize existing facilities, not to build additional facilities. The entity shall use not less than 50 percent of the grant funds to carry out activities described in clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (A), unless the entity demonstrates, in the application submitted under paragraph (5), a need to spend more than 50 percent of the grant funds on activities described in subparagraph (A)(iii).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(8) FEDERAL SHARE-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) IN GENERAL- The Federal share of the cost described in paragraph (3) shall be--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(i) for the first year of the grant period, 95 percent;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ii) for the second such year, 85 percent;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(iii) for the third such year, 75 percent;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(iv) for the fourth such year, 65 percent; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(v) for the fifth such year, 55 percent.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) NON-FEDERAL SHARE- The eligible entity shall provide the non-Federal share of the cost in cash or in kind, fairly evaluated, including plant, equipment, or services.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(9) EVALUATION-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) IN GENERAL- Under the Secretary’s existing authority under section 172, not more than 1 percent of the funds provided under this subsection shall be used for evaluation of the training programs described in paragraph (3). Eligible entities receiving grants under this section shall use not more than 1 percent of the grant funds for purposes of evaluation or documentation of the training programs.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) CONTENTS- In conducting an evaluation under subparagraph (A), an eligible entity shall provide data detailing the success of the training program carried out by the entity under paragraph (3), including--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(i) information on the number and percentage of participating covered workers who complete a training program, including those who earn a degree or certificate through such training programs;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ii) information on the rate of employment of covered workers who have completed the training program;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(iii) an assessment of how well the needs of the health care community were addressed by the training program; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(iv) any other data determined to be relevant by the entity to demonstrate the success of the training program.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(C) REPORT- The Secretary shall compile the information resulting from the evaluation or documentation conducted under subparagraph (A), and shall submit a report to Congress containing the information.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(10) FUNDING- Of the amounts appropriated to, and available at the discretion of, the Secretary or the Secretary of Health and Human Services for programmatic and administrative expenditures, a total of $25,000,000 shall be used to establish and carry out the demonstration project described in paragraph (2) in accordance with this subsection.’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink