Cooperative agreements of up to $75,000 to USA nonprofit organizations, IHEs, government agencies, for-profits, and tribal organizations to analyze data collected through national studies of career programs. Applicants are advised that required registrations may take several weeks to complete.

The purpose of these grants is to better understand, and further research the effectiveness of services funded by Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs that aim to address the employment and self-sufficiency needs of TANF recipients and those eligible for or at risk of TANF receipt. Career pathways programs are one such service. TANF agencies may use TANF, and maintenance-of-effort funds to support a range of benefits, and services for low-income parents as part of a career pathways approach. These grants are intended to support rigorous, policy-relevant research of such approaches through secondary analysis of data sets from OPRE evaluations of career pathways programs—the Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education (PACE) project and Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) Evaluation.

The proposed research should further the understanding of the effect of state TANF programs by understanding the role of career pathways programs in improving the educational attainment, employment, and economic stability of TANF recipients and other adults eligible for or at risk of TANF receipt. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, key program implementation characteristics; mediators and moderators of career pathways programs; and measurement of key constructs related to career pathways programs, such as innovative approaches to basic skills education and/or occupational training for TANF recipients, provision of supportive services, career progress, and job quality. OPRE is additionally interested in projects that seek to understand how TANF-supported career pathways programs can improve equity, diversity, and inclusion in the labor market as they work to advance TANF's goals of promoting job preparation and work.

It is expected that results from the research funded through this grant program will contribute to the understanding of the effectiveness of career pathways programs and related services offered by TANF programs to promote job preparation and employment among TANF recipients and other adults eligible for or at risk of TANF receipt. Thus, each recipient is expected to participate in a consortium of recipients, meeting and communicating regularly to share lessons learned, identify opportunities for collaboration, and develop resources to disseminate widely. In the course of working with the consortium, recipients' originally proposed plans in areas of dissemination and analysis may be adjusted if appropriate

The specific goals of the Career Pathways Secondary Data Analysis Grants are to support the following:

• Better understand the effectiveness of career pathways programs in meeting TANF’s second statutory purpose—to end the dependence of needy parents on government benefits by promoting job preparation and employment;
• Examine research questions relevant to career pathways programs’ goals and objectives related to TANF’s aim to promote job preparation and employment;
• Augment OPRE's multi-pronged evaluation of career pathways programs by focusing on particular questions relevant to TANF agencies; TANF-funded services including career pathways; key program implementation characteristics; mediators and moderators of career pathways programs; and measurement of key constructs related to career pathways programs, such as innovative approaches to basic skills education and/or occupational training for TANF recipients, provision of supportive services, career progress, and job quality;
• Support research to inform and improve career pathways program design, implementation, and performance, and the delivery of related TANF-funded services;
• Address issues of current relevance to decision-makers at the local, state, and national levels to inform policy decisions and solutions, particularly those related to career pathways for TANF recipients and adults eligible for or at risk of TANF receipt.