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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   For more information, contact: Andrea Daitz, RWJF, (609) 627-5937, adaitz@rwjf.org Carmon Cunningham, JFF, (617) 728-4446,  ccunningham@jff.org Mark Popovich, THF, (202) 828-1643, mpopovich@hitachifoundation.org     NEW INITIATIVE LAUNCHED TO IMPROVE QUALITY BY SUPPORTING WORKERS ON THE FRONT LINES OF HEALTH AND HEALTH CARE   Jobs to Careers Proposals Accepted Through May 18, 2006   Click here for more info about the Jobs to Careers initiative, including the call for proposals Princeton, NJ, March 23, 2006 – A new national initiative, Jobs to Careers: Promoting Work-Based Learning for Quality Care, was launched today to support the needs of workers delivering direct health care and services (people such as medical assistants, health educators, laboratory technicians, substance abuse counselors and home health aides), their employers, and the people they serve. Jobs to Careers, a program established by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), in collaboration with The Hitachi Foundation, will support partnerships of employers and educational institutions to advance and reward the skill and career development of incumbent frontline workers. Frontline workers practice in settings such as acute care hospitals, long-term care institutions, behavioral and community health clinics, and public and community health organizations. They provide their patients and clients with preventive and early intervention services, chronic illness management strategies, and long-term and post-hospitalization rehabilitative care. These workers—4.7 million of them in the United States—earn less than $40,000 per year on average. “Ensuring a stable, well-trained frontline workforce is essential to the quality of our nation’s public health and health care systems,” said Victor Capoccia, Ph.D., senior program officer at RWJF. “But workers on the front lines—the people with the most direct contact with patients and clients—often receive limited formal training and low wages. We need to think differently and build systems to develop skills, build careers, recognize and reward these workers, especially as we face new public health challenges and an aging population.”   The Jobs to Careers call for proposals released today encourages new or existing partnerships of employers, educational institutions and other community organizations to apply for grants through this four-year, $15.3 million initiative. Projects supported through Jobs to Careers will expand and redesign systems to create lasting improvements in the way that institutions train and advance their frontline workers. Projects will also test new models of education and training that incorporate work-based learning, an approach to adult learning that formalizes and rewards learning that occurs within one’s job. “People on the front lines of health care help save lives. We need to do a better job of ensuring they have skills and career paths. That is key to improving quality of care and building new opportunities for a group too often overlooked,” said Barbara Dyer, president and CEO of The Hitachi Foundation. “This new initiative is an important step forward. It is exciting for us to collaborate with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and we much anticipate learning from the on-the-ground projects these combined resources will make possible." “The initiative seeks to implement, learn from, advance, and build on proven approaches to improving the capacity of frontline workers to deliver high-quality care and to succeed and advance in the health care industry,” according to Jerry Rubin, vice president at Jobs for the Future and national program director for Jobs to Careers. More information about the Jobs to Careers initiative, including the call for proposals, is available at www.jtcp.org.   ### About the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation www.rwjf.org The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. For more than 30 years the Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in your lifetime. About the Hitachi Foundation www.hitachifoundation.org The Hitachi Foundation is a nonprofit, independent, philanthropic organization established to enhance the well-being of economically isolated people in the United States. The Foundation systematically invests in path breaking practices for use by business and nonprofit organizations to mutually address community problems. These practices alleviate conditions that perpetuate poverty and also help to strengthen business. About Jobs for the Future www.jff.org Jobs for the Future is a Boston-based nonprofit that seeks to accelerate the educational and economic advancement of youth and adults struggling in today’s economy. JFF partners with leaders in education, business, government, and communities around the nation to: strengthen opportunities for youth to succeed in postsecondary learning and high-skill careers; increase opportunities for low-income individuals to move into family-supporting careers; and meet the growing economic demand for knowledgeable and skilled workers. JFF serves as the national program office for Jobs to Careers: Promoting Work-Based Learning for Quality Care.