Hi folks, Sorry I couldn't join the call on Wednesday. We had a last-minute funder call get scheduled. Thanks to Judy for the great notes! A few follow-ups from my end: The "Career Pathways Grant Program" referenced in the notes is technically known as the Gateway to Careers Act<https://www.nationalskillscoalition.org/news/blog/strengthening-career-pathways-for-working-students-gateways-to-careers-act-will-help-students-overcome-barriers>. It's one that we have championed from the very beginning. Several NCL members who served on NSC's National Advisory Panel on Skills Equity (thank you!) helped develop our Career Pathways Support Fund<https://www.nationalskillscoalition.org/news/blog/nsc-calls-for-postsecondary-career-pathways-support-fund-in-new-paper> proposal in 2017, which served as the backbone for this legislation, first introduced in 2018. It would provide substantial new federal funding for community colleges and their education and workforce partners to get resources to support career navigation, childcare and transportation, and all kinds of other non-tuition costs that we know can prevent adult learners from succeeding in their educational goals. We are particularly excited that the 2019 edition of the bill now has bipartisan co-sponsorship (last Congress it was a Democratic-only bill) and that some of our immigration colleagues have been joining in the advocacy effort. In particular, the National Immigration Forum has been an invaluable ally on the Hill, and also sent out an e-bulletin to their entire network this week for the bill's introduction. On a separate note, regarding concerns about quality control for short-term Pell - we just put out a 1-pager summarizing the quality assurance in the legislation: https://www.nationalskillscoalition.org/action/take-action/body/Make-Pell-Work_JOBS-Act-will-assure-quality-credentials.pdf We also just concluded a big in-person gathering of advocates to discuss the broader topic of quality assurance for short-term credentials. Look for more on that from my colleagues Amy Ellen and Bryan before too long! -- Amanda Bergson-Shilcock, Director of Upskilling Policy National Skills Coalition 1730 Rhode Island Avenue NW, Suite 712, Washington DC 20036 215-285-2860 (cell) www.nationalskillscoalition.org<http://www.nationalskillscoalition.org> [https://docs.google.com/uc?export=download&id=1WRiuKOEw1QK1JDrV6mfMWOtt8iUK7E-q&revid=0B5x0IzXdtJN9dFVrMDVOdDBrcEdJMzJLc3psZWVIYmp1ZXJ3PQ] <https://www.guidestar.org/profile/30-0075580>