Nursing Expansion Grant
Increasing the nursing workforce by expanding training programs and career pathways.
About
Nursing Expansion Grant
The Department of Labor (DOL) Nursing Expansion Grant Program addresses bottlenecks in training qualified nursing professionals by helping individuals gain the skills necessary to fill quality healthcare jobs through worker-centered sector strategy partnerships. Specifically, these grants will increase the number of nursing instructors and educators, and will support the creation of equitable opportunities for frontline healthcare professionals to advance on a career pathway to better meet our nation’s need for critical care today and for years to come.
This grant program is through a user fee paid by employers to bring foreign workers into the United States (U.S.) under the H-1B non-immigrant visa program. To further meet the demand for skilled workers in high-growth industries and economic sectors, a portion of these fees have been set aside for the H-1B Skills Training Grants to fund projects that provide workers training and related activities to assist them in gaining the skills and competencies needed to obtain or upgrade employment in high-growth industries or economic sectors. For more information, please see DOL's H-1B Skills Training Community.
DOL Nursing Expansion Grant Program information:
The U.S. Department of Labor awarded 25 DOL Nursing Expansion grant the following types of entities: 14 education/training providers including nine public/state-controlled institutions of higher education and including a Native American Tribally-Designated organization, an Asian-American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution, and a Hispanic Serving Institution; six nonprofit healthcare organizations; three workforce development entities; a nonprofit community organization; and labor management organization.
If you have any questions at all, please email the Nursing Expansion mailbox: NursingExpansion@dol.gov
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Event Summary
This peer-to-peer learning community session provides all Nursing Expansion Program grantees with an opportunity to proudly share strategies, practices, and processes implemented during their grant period that have helped them meet or exceed their grant goals.Moderator(s)
Ryan Ruggiero
Mathematica -
Event Summary
Maintaining participant momentum along nursing career pathways has proven challenging for many programs. As part of a new two-part Career Pathways small group series, AIR hosted a session focused on strategies to support advancement from nursing assistant to licensed practical nurse/licensed vocational nurse (LPN/LVN).
Moderator(s)
Chris Herzog
AIRPresenter(s)
Lori Collins
AIR -
Nursing Expansion Peer-to-Peer Participant Support Lifecycle Strategy: Recruitment and Enrollment
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The goal is to reintroduce grantees to the Participant Support Lifecycle (PSL), with a focus on the first two phases: recruitment and enrollment. First introduced at the 2024 in-person convening, the PSL is a tool and resource that can help grantees map out their strategies and identify where they might refine strategies to achieve grant targets.Moderator(s)
Kara Conroy
Senior Researcher and TA Coach
MathematicaPresenter(s)
Ryan Ruggiero
Researcher and TA Coach
Mathematica -
Event Summary
This session featured Dr. Sarah Mossburg, PhD, RN, who provided an overview of how AI is being used in the nursing workforce, the emerging skills nurses need to succeed, and the opportunities these advancements create for grantee programs.
Moderator(s)
Dallas Oberlee,
Senior Associate
Director of Project Operations
SPRA
Presenter(s)
Dr. Sarah Mossburg, PhD, RN
Principal Researcher Healthcare Transformation
American Institute for Research (AIR)
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Event Summary
This event featured an opportunity for apprenticeship grantees to connect with each other, while also linking experienced apprenticeship programs with those interested in adding apprenticeships in the future.
Moderator(s)
Darcee Dimon
TA Consultant American Institute for Research (AIR)
Presenter(s)
Kate Nessan
Associate Vice President, Community ImpactHannah Dieterle
Alluvion Health, Next Nurse Program ManagerKayla Gorecki
Alluvion Health, Clinical Educator
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Performance Reporting Orientation 2026: New H-1B Reporting Requirements for Nursing Expansion Grants
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Change is coming! The new H-1B Participant Individual Record Layout (PIRL) 2025 will change how Nursing Expansion grantees collect, track, and report participant data and how participants show up on the Quarterly Performance Report (QPR). Employment outcomes will undergo a significant shift in how they are captured, which will impact all grantees and the associated grant targets. Learn about what’s changing and how to prepare for the transition.
Moderator(s)
Maya Kelley, Supervisory Workforce Analyst, U.S. Department of Labor
Presenter(s)
Kristen Hefley, Workforce Analyst, U.S. Department of Labor
Tessa St John, Analyst, Social Policy Research Associates
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Event Summary
This virtual peer-to-peer event explored approaches and common challenges related to collecting post-program data to meet reporting requirements. A current grantee shared their experience implementing strategies for maintaining contact with participants and tracking outcomes after program completion. Grantees had opportunities to ask questions, exchange ideas, and discuss solutions in small groups. Links to the event recording and slide deck are included below.Moderator(s)
Ryan Ruggiero
Researcher
MathematicaKara Conroy
Senior Research
MathematicaPresenter(s)
Molly Collins and Katie Simpson
Montana State University Billings -
Event Summary
During this virtual event, Chanel Castañeda and Kaylar Recker from the Office of Grants Management (OGM) used examples to illustrate key information on the allowability, valuation, documentation, and reporting of cost-sharing (match) and leveraged resources for the Nursing Expansion Grant. This topic was selected based on grantee responses to a Grants Management Topic Survey.
Moderator(s)
Lori Collins, Senior TA Consultant, American Institute for Research (AIR)
Presenter(s)
Chanel Castañeda
Supervisor
U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Grants Management, Division of Compliance, Assistance, and PolicyKaylar Recker
Grants Management Specialist
U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Grants Management, Division of Compliance, Assistance, and Policy -
Event Summary
This event featured two Federal Project Officers (FPOs) presenting information on the monitoring review process, including its benefits and best practices. The FPOs illustrated how the Core Monitoring Guide is used during monitoring visits, shared common findings, and highlighted important grant management resources. Grantees were able ask questions.Moderator(s)
Dallas Oberlee, Social Policy Research AssociatesPresenter(s)
Almendra Garcia
Federal Project Officer
U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training AdministrationElina Mnatsakanova
Federal Project Officer
U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration -
Event Summary
This event featured Federal Project Officers (FPOs) Almendra Garcia and Brie Burleson sharing their perspectives on the why, how, and what of participant case files, including:
- best practices for participant case file management
- what they look for in the case files during a monitoring visit
- common challenges and issues they have seen in the past
Moderator(s)
Chris Herzog
Principal TA Consultant
AIRPresenter(s)
Brie Burleson
Federal Project Officer
U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration
Almendra Garcia
Federal Project Officer
U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration
