Using Education Funds
Federal, State & Local Funding Opportunities for Career Readiness
Quality career-development programming requires strong instructional resources, meaningful learning experiences, and sustainable funding. Mission Hope Foundation helps schools and organizations understand how available education funds may align with SimuEmploy and other career-development services.
Depending on the funding source, identified needs, approved plans, and applicable requirements, federal, state, and local education funds may support activities related to career exploration, career and technical education, workforce preparation, work-based learning, educational technology, assessment, and student transition.
Federal Funding Opportunities
Federal education programs can provide resources that support career readiness, career and technical education, technology-enhanced learning, and student development. Two federal programs that schools and organizations may consider when evaluating career-development initiatives are Perkins V and the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
Perkins V
The Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act, commonly known as Perkins V, provides federal support for career and technical education. Perkins V is intended to help students develop academic knowledge as well as technical and employability skills and provides opportunities for students to explore and pursue career pathways.
SimuEmploy includes components that schools may evaluate in relation to their Perkins plans and identified CTE needs. These include career exploration, employability skills, workplace preparation, technology-supported learning, simulation-based experiences, transition planning, and career-readiness assessment.
Potential areas of alignment include career exploration and planning, employability skills, work-based and applied learning, educational technology, workplace communication, transition planning, and data-informed program improvement.
Connecting SimuEmploy to the Perkins CLNA
Perkins V requires eligible recipients to conduct a Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA) as part of local CTE planning. The CLNA helps recipients examine program performance, labor-market needs, student access, program quality, and other factors when establishing priorities for the use of Perkins resources.
When an organization identifies a need involving career readiness, employability skills, career exploration, work-based learning, technology, workforce preparation, or related areas, it can evaluate whether SimuEmploy programming appropriately addresses that identified need.
Mission Hope Foundation can provide supporting information about curriculum, competencies, simulations, assessments, standards alignment, and implementation to assist local leaders in documenting that connection.
ESSA
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) provides federal resources supporting a range of educational priorities. Depending on the specific title, program, and local plan, these resources can include opportunities related to well-rounded education, college and career preparation, student support, and technology-supported learning.
For example, Title IV, Part A, Student Support and Academic Enrichment supports well-rounded educational opportunities, safe and healthy students, and effective uses of technology. Schools should evaluate SimuEmploy activities against the requirements of the particular ESSA program and funding source they intend to use.
Potential areas of connection may include career exploration, college and career preparation, digital learning, technology-supported instruction, professional communication, problem solving, student transition, and career competency development.
State Funding Opportunities
In addition to federal funding, states may provide education resources supporting career and technical education, career readiness, workforce development, work-based learning, educational technology, student transition, and related initiatives.
State opportunities may include appropriations, formula funding, competitive grants, innovation initiatives, workforce-development programs, and other state-administered resources. Funding structures, eligibility requirements, application processes, and allowable expenditures vary by state.
Schools and organizations should review current opportunities through their State Education Agency, state CTE office, workforce-development agencies, and other applicable state departments.
Connecting SimuEmploy to State Priorities
SimuEmploy is designed around broadly applicable career-readiness domains and workforce competencies while supporting alignment with applicable state educational standards.
This structure allows schools and programs to evaluate how SimuEmploy curriculum, simulations, testing, technology, and transition-planning resources correspond with priorities established within their own state without requiring the core program to be redesigned for every jurisdiction.
Mission Hope Foundation can provide supporting program information and standards-alignment documentation to assist organizations in evaluating these connections.
Local Funding Opportunities
Schools and organizations may also have access to local resources that can support career-development programming. Depending on the organization and applicable requirements, these resources may include district instructional budgets, CTE allocations, technology funds, workforce-development partnerships, local grants, community partnerships, and other designated program funds.
Local resources can also complement federal or state initiatives when organizations are developing comprehensive approaches to career readiness. SimuEmploy's modular structure allows organizations to identify curriculum, simulations, testing, and implementation resources that correspond with their particular program needs.
How SimuEmploy Aligns
Career Exploration
Career inventories, career pathways, employment exploration, career interests, and career planning help participants examine opportunities and prepare for future decisions.
Career Readiness
Programming addresses professional communication, workplace expectations, problem solving, teamwork, decision-making, self-advocacy, and other employability competencies.
Work-Based & Simulation Learning
Simulation-based experiences provide opportunities for participants to practice employment processes and workplace situations in supportive environments before encountering similar situations in employment.
Educational Technology
Participants interact with digital learning resources and simulated workplace systems representing processes encountered throughout the Employee Life Cycle.
Transition Planning
Programming connects secondary education with employment, postsecondary education, training, financial preparation, and other aspects of transition into adulthood.
Assessment & Data
Pre- and post-assessment, competency-level reporting, aggregate program data, and developing normative comparisons provide schools and programs with information that can support instructional and program decision-making.
State & National Standards Alignment
SimuEmploy uses defined career-readiness domains and workforce competencies that can be mapped to applicable state and national educational standards.
This approach allows the core curriculum and assessment structure to remain consistent while giving schools and programs the ability to document alignment with standards applicable within their own educational systems.
Curriculum introduces and develops competencies. Simulation provides opportunities to practice them. Testing provides information about participant performance. Together, these components create an integrated system that connects learning, application, measurement, and program improvement.
From Funding to Outcomes
IDENTIFY THE NEED → EXPLORE FUNDING → ALIGN STANDARDS → DELIVER PROGRAMMING → MEASURE RESULTS
Mission Hope Foundation can provide supporting documentation to help organizations evaluate potential funding alignment. Available information may include program descriptions, curriculum documentation, workforce competencies, standards alignment, simulation descriptions, assessment information, and implementation materials.
This approach helps organizations establish a clear connection among an identified need, available resources, program implementation, student learning experiences, and measurable program information.
Bringing Career Readiness Within Reach
Mission Hope Foundation believes that every student should have access to quality career-development programming, regardless of geographic location or economic circumstances. Understanding available education funding can help schools and organizations identify resources that may expand access to career exploration, workforce preparation, simulation-based learning, and meaningful career-readiness experiences.