A workforce training program that helps needy community college students cover the cost of food, transportation and books is about to expand statewide after showing strong results.
Bernadette Rose Garrett said Hawaii Nutrition Employment & Training, or HINET, helped her succeed at Windward Community College after a tumultuous childhood that included a stint in foster care.
“If other people are investing in you, then you start to believe that you are a great person,” Garrett said. “It helped me gain that confidence to continue and want to do better.”
“My first semester, which is when I got involved in HINET, set me up for my whole career. I got my first 3.0 in forever, since like second grade. My second semester I got straight As.”
The HINET partnership between the state Department of Human Services and the University of Hawaii’s community colleges started as a pilot program at Windward in 2015. It has added a new campus each year: Leeward, Hawaii and then Kapiolani. UH Maui College and Honolulu Community College are launching it this fall, with Kauai to follow.
HINET PROGRESSThe employment training program that helps cover basic living costs started in 2015 and is now at four University of Hawaii community college campuses and growing.
Results so far:
>> 543 enrollees
>> 215 still in program pursuing two-year degree or certificate
>> 140 completed a two-year program, are employed or transferred to four-year campuses
Eligibility:
>> Part-time or full-time student in a career-technical or employment training program
>> $18,018 maximum annual income for a single person, $36,777 for family of four
Donate:
>> Private donations to HINET are matched 50 percent by the federal government. To donate, visit uhfoundation.org/HINET or call 956-8849. To apply for HINET, visit hinethawaii.org.
Students in the pilot program were far more likely to persist in their studies, with 72 percent returning for the 2017-2018 academic year, compared to an average of 54 percent of all UH community college students.
“That’s remarkable,” said Michael Moser, director of career and community education at Windward Community College. “HINET program really is allowing these students to stay in college and focus.”
Aiea resident Deedee Crowton is studying at Windward to become a veterinary technician, after years working at a restaurant and then a plant nursery.
“I’m the first in my family to go to college,” she said. “HINET helped me to take the leap. Between HINET and the (federal) Pell grant, that’s the only way I can afford to go to school. I look forward to gaining as much knowledge as possible and being able to help animals and the people who love them.”
Pankaj Bhanot, director of the Department of Human Services, modeled the program on one in Washington state that takes advantage of generous federal funding. He worked with Moser to get it rolling here.
“Guiding our recipients toward self-sufficiency is the best return on investment you could ever ask for,” Bhanot said. “If they get a job or they move on to further education, either way we have accomplished our goal. Education is the biggest equalizer.”
He sees HINET as a three-fold win for Hawaii:
>> It helps students make ends meet while they get an education that will make them self-sufficient.
>> It produces workers with up-to-date skills for employers in a tight labor market, boosting the economy.
>> It brings money into the state, with the federal government covering all food costs and reimbursing 50 percent of any state and private investment in HINET.
Participants must be enrolled at least part time in a career-technical or certificate program and be eligible for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. They receive about $350 a month toward their food bills and another $100 for transport, such as bus passes or gas. They also can get help with out-of-pocket educational expenses such as tools, uniforms and textbooks.
HINET staff work with students one-on-one to address their basic needs, aspirations and employability, and match them with appropriate training. They help them apply for SNAP benefits and overcome barriers such as finding child care.
Demand for the program is strong, with 543 students enrolled so far. Of those, 215 are still in HINET and pursuing a two-year degree or certificate. Another 140 completed a two-year program, are employed or transferred to four-year campuses.
About 58 percent of participants are Native Hawaiian.
Any private foundation or state money that goes to HINET, including scholarships, earns a 50 percent reimbursement from the federal government. That money is plowed back into the program for future students.
“It certainly is a huge savings to the state because of the federal reimbursement dollars, not to mention the efficiency of getting the SNAP population into college degrees and career-training programs, to get closer to a living wage and self-sufficiency,” Moser said. “That’s what this is all about.”
“It’s been the most rewarding program I’ve ever been involved in, in 24 years of working for the university system,” he added.
This legislative session, UH is seeking funding for one staff member at each community college to expand the program and serve more students. DHS had seeded the pilot program by funding HINET positions under contract, anticipating it would become part of the colleges’ base budget once proven. Senate Bill 50 SD1 would appropriate $520,000 for eight positions, plus supplies.
Garrett, 20, earned her associate’s degree in liberal arts at Windward in December, graduating from HINET, and is now working on her bachelor’s in political science at UH-Manoa and serving as a Student Caucus delegate. She wants to use her experience to help others.
“I don’t regret anything that happened in my life, being in foster care, being adopted — although as a young child I did,” she said. “All those experiences built me up for who I am today. I can help advocate for kids, for all keiki.”
