title: Pathways to economic opportunity: an overview of innovative career pathway collaborations for Latinos into frontline health care occupations.
abstract: Extraordinary Latino population growth has created demand for bilingual and culturally competent frontline health care providers to address the "culture gap" in health care delivery meeting the linguistic and cultural needs of Latino communities (Cohen, Gabriel, & Terrell, 2002). This article reviews career pathway programs that serve as workforce development models for Latinos seeking opportunity within frontline health care occupations, a sector with high-projected employment growth in the coming decade. The programs examined reflect innovative approaches that target Latino participants for entrance into some of these occupations including registered nurses (RNs), licensed practical nurses (LPNs), human service assistants, and bachelor's level social worker positions that offer low-wage Latinos the possibility of entering a profession where they may earn a livable wage. Implications for policy, research, and practice are discussed.
authors.affiliation: University of Saint Joseph, Connecticut, USA.
authors.forename: Anthony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: De Jesús
authors.forename: Andrés
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Torres
authors.forename: Carmen Vivian
authors.initials: CV
authors.lastname: Rivera
mesh_terms: D002321:Career Choice; D004651:Employment / Q000191:economics*; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000191:economics*; D006280:Health Workforce / Q000191:economics*; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology