Building Pathways to a Brighter Future
Ute Mountain Ute Tribe
HCUTE (Health-Care Ute Project)
Location: Towaoc, CO
OTHER GRANT INFORMATION
Six-Year Project Period: September 30, 2015 - September 29, 2021*
Annual Award Amount: $1,104,000
Type of Organization: Indian/Native American Tribal Government (federally recognized)
Service Area: Ute Mountain Ute reservation and the following counties and municipalities: Montezuma and Ignacio, Colorado; Farmington, New Mexico; and Blanding, Utah
Target Population: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and low-income Native Americans
FIVE-YEAR QUANTIFIABLE PROJECTIONS
Number of individuals that will be enrolled in the overall HPOG program: 513
Number of TANF recipients that will be enrolled: 169
Number of individual participants that will begin basic skills education: 184
Number of individual participants that will complete basic skills education: 147
Number of participants that will begin any healthcare occupational training: 455
Number of participants that will complete any healthcare occupational training: 329
Number of individual participants that will obtain employment in a healthcare occupation: 280
ABSTRACT
Through sustained collaboration with the Tribal Employment Rights Office, WIOA, local workforce centers, and the Southwest Regional Workforce Board (with regular consultation with administrators and alternating-month Board meetings, plus regional employer forums), HCUTE leads clients toward high-paying jobs in clinics and hospitals and helps break the cycle of persistent underemployment and poverty.
The project accentuates the area’s advancing medical capacity and work opportunities and aids the tribe’s own infrastructure for community and public health. Support services include: case management and personal coaching; secondary and postsecondary developmental instruction; remedial academics customized to medical contexts; workplace skills training; computer technology training; job shadowing and mentoring; career advising; tutoring; job search and placement coordination; industry and campus tours; assistance for childcare and commuting; and direct assistance for required tools, uniforms, CPR/first aid certification, test fees, and background checks. The available occupational training courses include: Certified Nursing Assistants, Physician Assistants, Surgical Techs, Phlebotomists, Medical Assistants, Medical Transcriptionists, Emergency Medical Technicians, Medical Records Technicians, Lab Technicians, Physical Therapy Assistants, Occupational Therapy Assistants, Licensed Vocational Nurses, and Registered Nurses. HCUTE has maintained a presence and voice with the Southwest Regional Workforce Board. Via the WIOA Board, HCUTE joined and worked with the Southwest Area Health Education Consortium as it established a Medical Assistant Apprenticeship program in the region to cultivate work-based learning opportunities for clients at area hospitals and share resources.
*This second round of grant awards has been extended an additional 12 months, ending September 29, 2021.