Ohioan Kathy Farmer never imagined that she'd return to college, even though she'd thought about it for several years. A working mother, Farmer says, "I was not sure where to start, and I knew that we had living expenses to pay. So family had to come first." When Farmer discovered Career Pathways it was a great relief. "If I stay on the 'pathway'," she says, "I will be the first to graduate college in my family and finally say we will not be below the poverty line."

Kathy is just one of the many students who will benefit from the funding KnowledgeWorks Foundation has recently provided to three Ohio community colleges for the development of Career Pathways. Driven by the needs of both employers and low-wage workers, Career Pathways connects three crucial systems:

1. education programs at local employers;
   
2. community colleges and adult career centers;
   
3. and community-based organizations that support low-wage workers.

By combining their social, financial, and educational resources, these groups create flexible training and degree programs that target working adults, and the needs of the current job market. As a result, low-wage workers have a clear map from Point A: Low-income Job, to Point B: Higher income Career.

Many Ohioans live on low incomes, some single adults earning as little as $1,500 a month, and families of four earning as little as $3,000 a month. More than one million strong, these working adults hold one of the keys to improving our state's economic and social conditions.

Career Pathways is busy transforming institutional policy, and providing effective models which target low-wage workers by forming regional partnerships with local employers, educational institutions, and social service agencies. Having granted nearly one million dollars to Ohio's community colleges in March, 2005, Pathways also advocates for policy change.