Today, Beyond 12 and Children Now released Addressing the Health Care Workforce Crisis Begins with Diversifying the Student Pipeline, a policy brief that highlights the need to increase the number of health care professionals in California, reviews the benefits of diversifying student pipelines into health professions, and makes key recommendations for state policymakers to consider that would increase the number of first-generation, low-income and underrepresented students of color who enter health care professions.
California is facing a looming health care workforce crisis: the state does not have enough of the right types of health workers in the right places to meet the needs of its growing, aging, and increasingly diverse population. This shortage has become even more apparent as we approach the one-year mark of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Unfortunately, the pandemic is having a devastating effect on college attainment. Based on initial reports from the National Student Clearinghouse, postsecondary matriculation declined 21.7% in fall 2020. Ongoing enrollment has also declined at unprecedented levels, including a 10% decline at two-year public institutions. Ensuring that underrepresented students can obtain higher education degrees is a critical first step to addressing this crisis, and we must take action now.
In order to increase the number of first-generation, low-income and underrepresented students of color who enter health care professions, state leaders must invest in:
- Diversifying pipeline and advising programs at post-secondary institutions;
- Broadening the availability and accessibility of academic programs and supports; and
- Increasing institutional and financial aid and paid internship opportunities.
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