Building State Career Pathways Systems: A Toolkit for State Policymakers, Human Service Agency Leaders, Community Colleges, and Partners

This toolkit is intended to help states create career pathways systems that integrate and expand partnerships between state human service agencies and postsecondary systems and institutions so that more people who want to train for a quality career can do so. Career pathways partnerships can help community colleges and human services work better and more equitably for working people by mitigating structural barriers that too often keep adults of color and those from low-income families from accessing credentials that lead to quality careers. The toolkit includes action that state policymakers, agency leaders, community colleges, and partner organizations can take to build career pathways partnerships that pair quality postsecondary education and training with support services. It highlights Arkansas' Career Pathways Initiative (CPI) and Oregon's Community College SNAP Training and Employment Program (STEP) as examples of leading-edge state career pathways models that other states can learn from as they rebuild their economies and support workers -- particularly workers of color and low-wage workers disproportionately impacted by COVID -- in their return to the workforce. Included in this toolkit are recommendations for how Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Employment and Training (SNAP E&T) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grants can support career pathways system development and partnerships, as Oregon and Arkansas have done. The toolkit is designed to complement resources and guidance available, offering strategies for how states, community colleges, and human service partners can use these funding streams to build, scale, and improve career pathways systems that increase equity and economic mobility for students and workers. [Marc Goldberg contributed to this toolkit.]