Immigrants may be priced out of program
CNM has eliminated an in-state-tuition eligibility waiver for training of home health aides
Central New Mexico Community College has trained 120 Spanish-speaking immigrants as home health aides since 2016, but many potential new students may be priced out of the program next semester because of their immigration status.
Last summer, the college eliminated an instate-tuition eligibility waiver that allowed people residing here to automatically qualify for in-state tuition if they take fewer than six credit hours per semester.
The waiver meant immigrant home health aide trainees paid just $161 per student for the program.
Now, with the waiver eliminated, CNM is charging out-of-state tuition amounting to $636 per student, unless an applicant can prove legal residency. That’s a requirement under state rules outlined by the Department of Higher Education.
But program supporters say that undermines the state’s ability to offer critical training to workers who are already providing home health and personal care to New Mexico’s elderly and disabled population. It hurts vulnerable individuals and their families, while stunting upward mobility for low-income workers who could qualify for better wages and working conditions through official certification, said state Sen. Jerry Ortiz y Pino and Rep. Javier Martínez, both Albuquerque Democrats who support the program.
They expect to seek changes in Higher Education Department regulations in next year’s legislative session.
“We’re talking about the state’s future workforce getting adequate education,” Ortiz y Pino said. “This program is a valuable, creative way to prepare for the onslaught of elderly people who need quality care.”
Martínez called the program a “common-sense approach” to economic development that can improve living standards for low-income families, both for the workers who provide care and for the people who struggle to afford it.
“It’s hard to understand why an immigrant who has lived here for maybe 20 or 30 years and wants to pursue an education must pay out-of-state prices,” Martínez said. “We’re trying to diversify our economy, and this completely shuts out a sector of our workforce based on a technicality.”
For budget reasons, CNM decided last year to recruit more foreign students to raise revenue through out-of-state tuition, said Chief Advancement and Community Engagement Officer Samantha Sengel. To avoid new foreign recruits taking advantage of CNM’s six-credit-hour eligibility for in-state tuition, the college eliminated its waiver, forcing all students to now meet Higher Education Department eligibility requirements.
Maintaining the waiver for immigrants who reside here could be seen as “subverting” state residency rules, Sengel said. The college did provide scholarships for program participants in the fall and spring, but that will end next semester.
“As a college, we’ve never thought about immigration,” Sengel said. “We try to assure everyone has access. … It’s a conundrum we’re in as a state and country.”
Higher Education Department representatives were not available for comment.
CNM created the program in partnership with Encuentro, an education and advocacy group for Latino immigrants, to address a lack of Spanish-language training for home health aides. The 90-hour curriculum exceeds state requirements to certify trainees as aides and personal care assistants.
That’s one of the fastest-growing workforce sectors in the nation, said Encuentro Executive Director Andrea Plaza.
“Today’s ‘silver tsunami’ is changing our economy, and we need to train a huge support base to provide services,” Plaza said.
About 85 percent of all home health aides nationally are women, about 65 percent of them women of color, and 22 percent of them immigrants, said Alvin Warren, program officer with the Kellogg Foundation.
Kellogg is one of a half-dozen charitable foundations and private sector organizations that have contributed funds for the program.
Encuentro used the money to pay for students’ tuition and related costs. It also provided 30 hours of additional training assistance to help participants succeed each semester, and it built a new online platform, EnCasa Care Connections, to link people seeking care with program graduates.
Many of the trainees are women with limited education who already provide health and personal care services.
“Many are working with elders and disabled people without any formal training in their own language,” Plaza said. “They often prepare meals for diabetics or manage oxygen tanks, and they need training for that.”
To date, five classes of 24 students have graduated. As of December, about 200 people were on the program waiting list.
The latest graduating class celebrated its accomplishment Wednesday evening at CNM.
One graduate, Mexican immigrant Zoila Gutierrez, said she’s provided health assistance and personal care for 10 adults since 2016.
“This program has taught me to provide much more professional care,” Gutierrez said. “I’m a lot more confident now in what I’m doing, and I’m able to provide more compassionate care to patients.”
María González de Vega, an immigrant from Juárez, said she joined the program to improve the care she provides her 16-year-old daughter, who has cerebral palsy. It included CPR training.
“Where we live, it takes 20 or 30 minutes for an ambulance to arrive in an emergency,” González said. “I’m going to continue studying now at CNM to become a nursing assistant. I want to help more parents with special-needs children like me to provide quality care.”
CNM originally developed the program curriculum under a U.S. Department of Labor grant to align workforce training with the needs of an aging population. It then built the Spanish-language course with Encuentro.
“It’s a true partnership to make sure students are successful,” said Tamra Mason, dean of the School of Health, Wellness and Public Safety. “The program elevates students’ knowledge about best practices to care for people.”
Unless Encuentro finds another teaching partner, or more funding for scholarships, the Spanish-language program could end, Plaza said.