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STATE OF ARKANSAS TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES REVISED 2023 Page 38 of 46 ¾ Increasing the access of low-income parents and other individuals to education credentials that qualify them for higher-paying jobs in their local areas; ¾ Improving the preparedness of the Arkansas workforce for high skill and high-wage jobs; ¾ Developing training courses and educational credentials after consulting local employers and local workforce boards to identify appropriate job opportunities and needed skills and training to meet employers’ needs; ¾ Providing resources on the basis of performance incentives, including participants’: o Enrollment in courses; o Completion of courses; o Obtainment of jobs in targeted job categories; and o Employment retention in targeted job categories. 13.1 Program Design Arkansas Career Pathways is designed to meet the needs of low-income parents and non-traditional students to gain skills that lead to self- sufficiency by providing them access, at no cost, to educational, work-based programs offered through two-year colleges and technical institutions. 13.2 Eligibility In accordance with current state law, Career Pathways uses available Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funds for participants who have custody or legal responsibility for a child under twenty-one (21) years of age and whose family income is less than two hundred and fifty percent (250%) of the federal poverty level. Services provided under the Career Pathways Initiative are considered non- assistance. 13.3 Participant Requirements All current Transitional Employment Assistance (TEA) clients participating in the Career Pathways Initiative are required to meet mandatory work requirements along with their educational activities. All work supports, including childcare, are available. 13.4 Available Services Career Pathways Initiative participants receive the necessary services for