Ladders to Licensure

Background

In September 2024, EOHHS announced the release of a Grant Application for the new Ladders to Licensure program (RIGL 42-166). Ladders to Licensure will help increase the capacity and diversity of the health professional workforce by funding partnerships between healthcare providers, institutions of higher education, and others to support employees in paraprofessional roles to pursue higher education and health professional licensure. 

Ladders to Licensure currently funds the following activities:

1. Career Ladder Planning and Design: Funding and technical assistance for partnerships to design one or more career ladders that meet program requirements
2. Tuition Supports: Up to $8,000/ year of last-dollar funding for tuition and related expenses for eligible employees of Ladders to Licensure employer partners
3. Career Ladder Implementation: Implementation funds to implement career ladders that meet program requirements

In December 2024, EOHHS awarded three Ladders to Licensure grantee partnerships. Those three grantee partnerships are:

• Community College of Rhode Island ‘Rise to Registered Nurse’ Partnership, focused on pathways from CNA to RN, with Kent Hospital (Care New England Health System), and RI Hospital, The Miriam Hospital, & Newport Hospital (Brown University Health)
• Rhode Island College ‘Clinical Career Ladders to Licensure’ Partnership, focused on Social Work and Clinical Mental Health Counseling, with Child & Family Services of RI, Community Care Alliance, Family Service of RI, Tides Family Services, and RI Department of Children, Youth, and Families
• William James College ‘Behavioral Healthcare Ladders to Licensure’ Partnership, focused on Clinical Mental Health Counseling, with Communities for People, Tides Family Services, and Family Service of RI

View the Ladders to Licensure progress report (January - June 2025). 

NEW Ladders to Licensure Planning Grant Opportunity

EOHHS is pleased to announce the availability of a Ladders to Licensure (L2L) Planning Grant to support a new partnership that will design career ladders leading to licensure in high-demand fields.

All L2L partnerships must include at least one higher education partner and three or more employers (with a combined workforce of at least 250 employees).  The successful applicant will receive up to $30,000 of planning funds for a six-month period (January – June 2026).  Additional funds may be made available for technical assistance.

There are currently two areas being addressed by Ladders to Licensure partnerships: 1) a pathway from Nursing Assistant to RN, and 2) a pathway from unlicensed behavioral health worker to licensed Clinical Social Worker, Mental Health Counselor, or Applied Behavior Analyst. This new funding opportunity seeks to extend L2L into sectors and/or occupations not yet represented -- including, but not limited to, long-term care, community health centers, substance use, developmental disabilities, and oral health.

Apply for the Ladders to Licensure Planning Grant.

Ladders to Licensure - Pre-Application – Planning Grant Conference slides 9.15.25

Key Dates