Section 1501.512  Pipeline for the Advancement of the Healthcare Workforce Program (PATH) Grants

a)         PATH grant funds shall be determined annually by allocating the appropriation for this program among each community college district in accordance with the funding formula approved by the ICCB.  The formula shall include:

1)         Base Funding.  A base allocation of $100,000 per district. The base allocation may be prorated if the amount of funds appropriated for this program are insufficient.

2)         Student Completion Funding. Each district shall receive an additional amount based upon the average number of completions of students enrolled in eligible healthcare programs in the most recent academic year for which the board has collected data and the two prior academic years.

3)         Prioritized Programs. Student completions shall be weighted based upon statewide industry workforce demand as determined by the State Board. Non-prioritized programs will be funded at 67 percent of the amount allocated per completion to prioritized programs. This weighting may be adjusted if the amount of funds appropriated are insufficient.

b)         The ICCB will post on its website (www.iccb.org) the list of eligible healthcare programs by Classification of Instructional Program codes and identify those programs that are prioritized for purposes of the funding formula.

c)         The target population for each community college district receiving grant funds shall include, but not be limited to, incumbent workers who are already in the workforce looking to continue their education and advance their careers in a healthcare pathway and new students entering in a healthcare pathway with a locally identified need for support as determined by that community college.

d)         When sufficient funding is available, the ICCB shall publish on its website the planned PATH grant allocation to each district, implementation plan template, budget template, and standard grant application.

e)         Each district shall submit an application, implementation plan, and budget using forms prescribed by the ICCB in subsection (d). These documents may be submitted no later than the date specified by ICCB on its website.  The deadline will provide districts with at least 30 calendar days in which to submit their documents.

f)         The ICCB shall execute an intergovernmental grant agreement with each district for the distribution of PATH grant funds. Grant funds shall be vouchered to each community college district according to the terms of the agreement.

g)         The plan (see subsection (e)) shall represent the programmatic elements that are necessary for each institution to execute the PATH program.  The plan should track closely, where appropriate, with the budget submitted.  The plan elements themselves will be tied directly to the grant agreement executed for each college in order to access funding.

h)         The expenditure of PATH grant funds is limited to those credit and non-credit programs identified as eligible healthcare programs for the purposes of the funding formula in subsection (a)(2), unless specifically approved in writing by the ICCB. All programs developed or supported through this grant should be part of a healthcare pathway.

i)          Allowable expenditures of funds, as submitted in the implementation plan, will be specified in an intergovernmental grant agreement executed with each community college district. Colleges should consider capacity-building activities as well as broad, wrap around services and supports for students as a key part of program development.

j)          Each community college district receiving grant funds shall administer an exit survey to each student near or upon program completion.  This survey shall, at a minimum, ask students to identify their post completion employment or education.

k)         PATH grant funds shall be accounted for in a restricted purpose fund.

l)          PATH grant funds shall be expended by the date specified in the intergovernmental grant agreement.  If the grant agreement allows, goods and services for which funds have been obligated by the contract end date shall be received and paid for not later than 60 days after the grant agreement end date.  Unexpended funds shall be returned to ICCB pursuant to the provisions of the Illinois Grant Funds Recovery Act [30 ILCS 705].

m)        PATH grant funds not used in accordance with the terms specified in the intergovernmental grant agreement, regardless of the amount, shall be returned to ICCB within six months after receipt of the external audit report by ICCB or other identification of improper expenditures subsequently verified by ICCB.

n)         Each community college district receiving grant funds shall file a programmatic and financial report with the ICCB in a format prescribed by the ICCB, and in accordance with the terms of the intergovernmental grant agreement, detailing how the funds were utilized.  The frequency and due dates of the reports shall be specified in the grant agreement.

(Source:  Amended at 48 Ill. Reg. 10170, effective June 25, 2024)