Background

In 2022, LeadingAge California was awarded over $25 million by the California Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) to implement The Gateway-In Project©, which will add 2,700 Certified Nurse Assistants and Home Health Aides to the workforce pipeline through training and job placement.

California has the largest number of older adults in the country, and it is projected an additional 275,000 direct care workers will be needed by 2026 to meet the growing population. Certified Nurse Assistants (CNAs) and Home Health Aides (HHAs) are a critical part of this workforce. In California, over 50% of CNAs work in nursing care facilities or community care facilities serving older adults. CNAs and HHAs play an essential role in these facilities and in home and community-based settings, often serving as the principal caregivers and having the most personal contact with residents than any other staff member or family member.

By providing training, wrap-around supports and incentives for career development for those entering or already in the field, The Gateway-In Project© will make significant headway in turning the tides on the ongoing workforce shortage crisis pervading the health care workforce that supports older adults across the state.

Read the press release here.

Hear From Our Graduates

Over 1,200 students have completed training through The Gateway-In Project

I am so grateful for LeadingAge California and The Gateway-In Project for giving me the opportunity of advancing my education. I now work as a Certified Nursing Assistant and am also working towards my degree in nursing. This program was the push I needed to jumpstart my lifelong career within the medical field.

Khatherine Pacorsa, CNA

Graduate from Pacific Health Education

Thank you LeadingAge California. I am ecstatic and grateful for this opportunity. I must say this is the first time in my history of employment to actually be geared towards working in a profession that I am passionate about. Because of The Gateway-In Project scholarship, I have successfully graduated from LA Skills Academy.

Vivian Gay, CNA

Graduate from LA Skills Academy

Thank you very much to The Gateway-In Project for granting me a scholarship to study with the Home Health Aide training program at Allegiance Career Institute. We gained knowledge and had a good learning experience. I have applied the knowledge I learned to the patients I take care of at my work.

Suwanna Vairojanakich, HHA

Graduate from Allegiance Career Institute