Limited English Proficiency Pathway Program

LEP Pathway Program

Photo: Asian and Caucasian women at an outdoor meeting The Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Pathway Program provides specialized services to WorkFirst parents, refugees, and immigrants with limited English skills to increase their employability and place them into jobs that lead to self-sufficiency. LEP Pathway parents must be receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) to be eligible for the LEP Pathway Program. Services can be provided in a client's primary language and in culturally appropriate ways. In addition, the LEP Pathway Program provides work experience and employment services.

Services & Benefits Provided

North Seattle will provide the following services to LEP students:

Services & Eligibility Profiles
Services Provided Eligibility Profile

English as a Second Language (ESL) classes will be provided for WorkFirst Limited English Proficient (LEP) Pathway individuals to help them gain language skills necessary to enable them to obtain and maintain employment.

NSCC will provide ESL Classroom instruction at Levels 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6

ESL must be stacked with an employment related activity such as Work Experience or Community Service. ESL classes will be conducted in the morning hours allowing for Work Experience or Community Service activities to take place in the afternoon.

NSCC provides customized ESL or vocational ESL programs. NSCC's Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) Programs in Computerized Accounting, Certified Nursing Assistant (NA-C), and IT for Healthcare provide career and technical education in high-wage, high-demand occupations to prepare ESL students for work. Students will receive contextualized language instruction from ESL faculty while they complete career and technical classes for high-wage, high-demand occupations.

These programs are for Level 5 ESL students or higher and are considered to be core activities. Level 4 ESL students may receive permission by the instructor to start an I-BEST Program.

NSCC is partnering with the YWCA to provide Work Experience (WEX), an unpaid, work experience program providing a core work activity for LEP TANF parents. The WEX provides skills, training, knowledge, and experience necessary to obtain employment.

Work Experience can be stacked with ESL class time to meet the 20 hour core activity requirement and provide ESL students with an opportunity to gain job skills.

NSCC is also partnering with the YWCA to provide Community Service (CS) a structured, unpaid work activity in which LEP TANF parents work for the direct benefit of the community under the support of public or non-profit organizations. CS programs are limited to projects that serve a useful community purpose. It is intended to improve employability of parents not otherwise able to obtain employment.

Community Service can be used for parents who need a countable work activity while they are waiting for another work activity to start or are involved in barrier removal activities.

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Eligibility Requirements

Parents who meet the following requirements are eligible for the program.

WorkFirst LEP parents are required to participate in federally mandated core activities a minimum of 20 hours per week. Non core activities can be added to ensure successful participation in WorkFirst activities or to exit from TANF. Full-time participation is the goal.

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Documentation Requirements

Applicants for the program must provide the following documentation:

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