This report documents the three-year impacts of the Carreras en Salud program, operated by Instituto del Progreso Latino in Chicago, Illinois. The program’s goal is to help low-income, low-skilled Latino adults access and complete occupational training in nursing that can lead to increased employment and higher earnings.
The evaluation assessed whether study participants randomly assigned to a group that could enroll in Carreras en Salud had better education and employment outcomes than a group that could not enroll in the program but could use other employment and training services in the community.
The evaluation found that the program had positive impacts on credential receipt but not employment or earnings. The program significantly increased receipt of college credentials requiring at least one year of study (3 percentage points), receipt of any college credential (12 percentage points), and college enrollment. The program had no detectable impact on full-time college enrollment, average quarterly earnings, employment, access to career supports, confidence in career knowledge, or family economic well-being.
Carreras en Salud is one of nine programs being evaluated as part of the Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education (PACE) project, sponsored by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.