Grants Management

The Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 provides annual federal grant funding to states for eligible postsecondary institutions with career and technical education programs. The purpose of the Perkins Act is to strengthen and improve the quality of vocational education (occupational program) and to expand the vocational education opportunities in the Nation.

Eligible recipients who receive Perkins funds are required to use the funds in the following areas: develop, coordinate, implement or improve career and technical education programs; further expand career and technical skills of students enrolled in career and technical education programs; and, meet the needs identified in the comprehensive needs-assessment.

The Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA), Title II of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), is the principal source of federal funding for states for adult education programs. The purpose of AEFLA’s state grant program is to— (1) assist adults to become literate and obtain the knowledge and skills necessary for employment and economic self-sufficiency; (2) assist adults who are parents or family members to obtain the education and skills that— (A) are necessary to becoming full partners in the educational development of their children; and (B) lead to sustainable improvements in the economic opportunities for their family; (3) assist adults in attaining a secondary school diploma and in the transition to postsecondary education and training, including through career pathways; and (4) assist immigrants and other individuals who are English language learners in:

1. Improving their — (i) reading, writing, speaking, and comprehension skills in English; and (ii) mathematics skills; and,
2. Acquiring an understanding of the American system of Government, individual freedom, and the responsibilities of citizenship.

2024-2028 Arizona WIOA Title II Adult Education Grant
Mohave Community College (MCC) has submitted its application for continued funding through the State’s Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Title II grant. The Arizona Department of Education (ADE) Adult Education Services (AES) is committed to providing effective and high-quality adult education services in each local workforce area that provides Arizonans with the knowledge, skills and abilities required for employment, next level careers and post-secondary education and training. Grant funds are used to establish and operate programs that provide adult education and literacy services.

The Open Textbooks Pilot program supports projects at eligible institutions of higher education that create new open textbooks and expand the use of open textbooks in courses that are part of a degree-granting program, particularly those with high enrollments.

The Indian Business Incubator Program (IBIP) awards seek to establish and operate business incubators that serve Tribal reservation communities. These grants will provide individually tailored business incubation and other business services to Native businesses and Native entrepreneurs to overcome the unique obstacles they confront and provide tools necessary to start and grow businesses that offer products and services to reservation communities.

The Quality Jobs, Equity, Strategy, and Training (QUEST) Disaster Recovery Dislocated Worker Grant (DWG) focuses on individuals separated from employment and marginalized individuals including those who lack a secondary diploma, those in poverty, English Language Learners, disconnected youth (16-24), migrant workers, Native Americans, individuals in rural areas, persons who have interacted with the criminal justice system, veterans and disabled persons.

Eligibility criteria will also include:

• Individuals temporarily or permanently laid off as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic;
• Long-term unemployed individuals;
• Dislocated workers; and,
• Self-employed individuals who became unemployed or significantly underemployed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The nurse program aims to increase the capacity of nursing education programs in Arizona “… by fostering collaboration among the health care community, educational community and government entities.” Nursing shortages impair a hospital’s ability to prepare for the next public health emergency. Many patient services are also cut as a result of nursing shortages, with many rural hospitals closing services, and in some cases closing altogether. This program addresses the statewide nursing shortage by increasing the number of all levels of nurses graduating from Arizona’s nursing education programs from the number graduating in FY 2022 by the end of FY 2027.

The purpose of the EDA ARPA Good Jobs Challenge Grant (GJCG) is to create training programs to help the unemployed and underemployed obtain good paying jobs earning more than the average median wages for the identified region. The partnership’s system will take into consideration the size and scope of each community’s given workforce training needs of its employers and workers both in the local community and region at-large. In doing so, the partnership will be able to maximize resources, avoid duplication of services and address each community’s needs in terms of identified Comprehensive Economic Development Strategies (CEDS), with the objective of increasing and enhancing community and regional growth.

The Rural Innovation Stronger Economy (RISE) Grant Program offers grant assistance to create and augment high-wage jobs, accelerate the formation of new businesses, support industry clusters and maximize the use of local productive assets in eligible low-income rural areas.

The RISE Grant Program meets a recognized need for federal support of jobs accelerator partnerships for the promotion of private investment in regional economies. The flexible use of funds by RISE grant recipients allows a region to leverage their community assets by assisting new and existing industry, establish and operate innovation centers for job development and training, including through the use of new or improved broadband service by jobs accelerators. The RISE program will improve the ability of rural communities to create high-wage jobs, accelerate the formation of rural businesses and strengthen regional economies.

The goal of the project is to improve student completion in Career and Technical (CTE) programs across rural institutions in Arizona. Project deliverables include contextualized mathematics instructional modules for use in either mathematics or technician courses. The project will support students in overcoming barriers to earning the required credits in mathematics that lead to successfully completing certificates and degrees in STEM-oriented technician programs as well as the potential to provide Hispanic, Native American and other students in rural areas with the opportunity and credentials to join the STEM technical workforce in Arizona in welding, automotive, electronics and construction technician fields.

Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) has received funding from the American Rescue Plan (ARP) to support the ARP Home and Community Based Services Workforce Development Career Education and Training.

AHCCCS and MCCCD have established an Interagency Governmental Agreement (IGA) to allow for Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD) to facilitate and lead the development and implementation of a statewide collaborative partnership with Arizona’s community colleges. The partnership is focused on career development, education and training of the Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) workforce to increase the number of individuals who join the workforce that is prepared to provide services to AHCCCS members while decreasing the number of workers who leave the HCBS workforce as a result of limited advanced training and career development opportunities. This includes reviewing, updating and developing curriculum for Direct Care Workforce, Behavioral Health and in-service (continuing education) courses for these and other healthcare related professions.

An earmark from the State of Arizona, funds will be used to build the Advanced Manufacturing Training Center (AMTC) in Kingman. The AMTC will be a state-of-the-art facility, offering modular, short-term, fast-track and customized training programs, both for credit and non-credit with stackable and latticed credentials that will prepare incumbent and future workers for manufacturing occupations.

MCC is a subrecipient of the annual Small Business Administration’s (SBA) CORE grant, which is administered by the Maricopa Community College District. This grant assists, coaches and provides help to small start-up entrepreneurs and existent small business owners. It also provides training and access tools and techniques to become lender ready and be able to access venture capital. It is geared to assist “for profit” businesses only.

The Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) program tracks and improves business creation, location and expansion activities in rural communities across Arizona. It includes baseline metrics that correlate to economic performance in terms of job creation, job retention, capital investment and other key measurements of economic success. The ACA also includes community engagement/s to provide information on potential new business start-ups.

The AC4 Workforce Development—Governor’s Grant offers students the opportunity to earn a certificate, a two-year associate degree, a four-year bachelor’s degree, or non-credit training for high-demand, high-wage industries, including Advanced Manufacturing/Semiconductors, Construction Trades, Dental Hygienists/Assistants, Education, Health Care, Information Technology, Paralegal/Legal Assistants, Tractor Trailer Driving, and Veterinary Technology.

AZ Ahead is a unique collaboration between NAU and northern Arizona colleges that will advance postsecondary educational attainment in Arizona by increasing college retention, persistence and baccalaureate degree completion rates of students. It fosters a comprehensive effort to support community college students with direct scholarship funding and services to help students persist and graduate from community colleges and ultimately transfer to NAU.