PDP’s Health Workforce Retraining Initiative
The Professional Development Program’s Health Workforce Retraining Initiative (HWRI) was renewed under an 8th two-year grant from the New York State Department of Health (DOH), in consultation with the Department of Labor. Through this project PDP works with three partner state agencies: Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD), Office of Mental Health (OMH), and Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) to strengthen their nursing workforce throughout New York State.
In collaboration with partner agencies, PDP awards a limited number of grants in each year of the two-year grant cycle, based on availability of allocations, to agency employees who meet the eligibility criteria and are interested in pursuing or advancing their nursing degree. The program targets workers interested in pursuing registered nurse licensure by enrolling in and completing college, credit-bearing coursework to satisfy accredited nursing programs at the Associates or Bachelors level; registered nurses who are interested in furthering their education by pursuing an advanced nursing degree or certification; or, workers or current nursing staff interested in attending a single course to address a variety of needs ranging from exploring or preparing for pursing a nursing career to building expertise in a clinical topic identified as an agency need. Grants are available in each year of the two-year grant cycle. Grant recipients in year one can apply their award toward qualified coursework occurring from January 1, 2019 through December 31, 2019 and recipients in year two can apply their grant award toward courses that start from January 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020.
Interested employees from partner agencies OPWDD, OMH, and DOCCS can find more information about the programs in the Participant’s Guide accessible at the link below. Partner agency representatives will help interested employees determine if they meet the eligibility requirements and if there are available allocations in their DOH region, and they will also help workers complete the application process.
Program guides and forms (PDF):
- HWRI Educational Mentor’s Guide for 2019 – 2020 (1.2 Mb)
- HWRI Participant’s Guide for 2019 – 2020 (1.2 Mb)
- HWRI Grant Application for Year 2 – 2020 (612 Kb)
- Fillable form (627 Kb)
- HWRI Nursing Grant Request Form for Year 2 – 2020 (632 Kb)
- Fillable form (598 Kb)
- IRS Form W-9 (130 Kb)
If you are interesting in learning more about the program, reach out to your agency representative or contact the PDP HWRI Program directly at:
Phone: (518) 442-6633 OR (518) 442-6605
Email: hwri@albany.edu