Instructions: In this task, you are given text for US Congressional and California state bills, your task is to generate a summary for this bill.
Input: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ''Nurse Training and Retention Act of
2007''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress makes the following findings:
(1) America's healthcare system depends on an adequate
supply of trained nurses to deliver quality patient care.
(2) Over the next 15 years, this shortage is expected to
grow significantly. The Health Resources and Services
Administration has projected that by 2020, there will be a
shortage of nurses in every State and that overall only 64
percent of the demand for nurses will be satisfied, with a
shortage of 1,016,900 nurses nationally.
(3) To avert such a shortage, today's network of healthcare
workers should have access to education and support from their
employers to participate in educational and training
opportunities.
(4) With the appropriate education and support, incumbent
healthcare workers and incumbent bedside nurses are untapped
sources which can meet these needs and address the nursing
shortage and provide quality care as the American population
ages.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF GRANT PROGRAM.

(a) Purposes.--It is the purpose of this section to authorize
grants to--
(1) address the projected shortage of nurses by funding
comprehensive programs to create a career ladder to nursing
(including Certified Nurse Assistants, Licensed Practical
Nurses, Licensed Vocational Nurses, and Registered Nurses) for
incumbent ancillary healthcare workers;
(2) increase the capacity for educating nurses by
increasing both nurse faculty and clinical opportunities
through collaborative programs between staff nurse
organizations, healthcare providers, and accredited schools of
nursing; and
(3) provide training programs through education and
training organizations jointly administered by healthcare
providers and healthcare labor organizations or other
organizations representing staff nurses and frontline
healthcare workers, working in collaboration with accredited
schools of nursing and academic institutions.
(b) Grants.--Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Secretary of Labor (referred to in this section as the
''Secretary'') shall establish a partnership grant program to award
grants to eligible entities to carry out comprehensive programs to
provide education to nurses and create a pipeline to nursing for
incumbent ancillary healthcare workers who wish to advance their
careers, and to otherwise carry out the purposes of this section.
(c) Eligible Entities.--To be eligible to receive a grant under
this section an entity shall--
(1) be--
(A) a healthcare entity that is jointly
administered by a healthcare employer and a labor union
representing the healthcare employees of the employer
and that carries out activities using labor management
training funds as provided for under section 302 of the
Labor-Management Relations Act, 1947 (18 U.S.C.
186(c)(6));
(B) an entity that operates a training program that
is jointly administered by--
(i) one or more healthcare providers or
facilities, or a trade association of
healthcare providers; and
(ii) one or more organizations which
represent the interests of direct care
healthcare workers or staff nurses and in which
the direct care healthcare workers or staff
nurses have direct input as to the leadership
of the organization; or
(C) a State training partnership program that
consists of non-profit organizations that include equal
participation from industry, including public or
private employers, and labor organizations including
joint labor-management training programs, and which may
include representatives from local governments, worker
investment agency one-stop career centers, community
based organizations, community colleges, and accredited
schools of nursing; and
(2) submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in
such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary
may require.
(d) Additional Requirements for Healthcare Employer Described in
Subsection (c).--To be eligible for a grant under this section, a
healthcare employer described in subsection (c) shall demonstrate--
(1) an established program within their facility to
encourage the retention of existing nurses;
(2) it provides wages and benefits to its nurses that are
competitive for its market or that have been collectively
bargained with a labor organization; and
(3) support for programs funded under this section through
1 or more of the following:
(A) The provision of paid leave time and continued
health coverage to incumbent healthcare workers to
allow their participation in nursing career ladder
programs, including Certified Nurse Assistants,
Licensed Practical Nurses, Licensed Vocational Nurses,
and Registered Nurses.
(B) Contributions to a joint labor-management
training fund which administers the program involved.
(C) The provision of paid release time, incentive
compensation, or continued health coverage to staff
nurses who desire to work full- or part-time in a
faculty position.
(D) The provision of paid release time for staff
nurses to enable them to obtain a Bachelor of Science
in Nursing degree, other advanced nursing degrees,
specialty training, or certification program.
(E) The payment of tuition assistance which is
managed by a joint labor-management training fund or
other jointly administered program.
(e) Other Requirements.--
(1) Matching requirement.--
(A) In general.--The Secretary may not make a grant
under this section unless the applicant involved
agrees, with respect to the costs to be incurred by the
applicant in carrying out the program under the grant,
to make available non-Federal contributions (in cash or
in kind under subparagraph (B)) toward such costs in an
amount equal to not less than $1 for each $1 of Federal
funds provided in the grant. Such contributions may be
made directly or through donations from public or
private entities, or may be provided through the cash
equivalent of paid release time provided to incumbent
worker students.
(B) Determination of amount of non-federal
contribution.--Non-Federal contributions required in
subparagraph (A) may be in cash or in kind (including
paid release time), fairly evaluated, including
equipment or services (and excluding indirect or
overhead costs). Amounts provided by the Federal
Government, or services assisted or subsidized to any
significant extent by the Federal Government, may not
be included in determining the amount of such non-
Federal contributions.
(2) Required collaboration.--Entities carrying out or
overseeing programs carried out with assistance provided under
this section shall demonstrate collaboration with accredited
schools of nursing which may include community colleges and
other academic institutions providing Associate, Bachelor's, or
advanced nursing degree programs or specialty training or
certification programs.
(f) Activities.--Amounts awarded to an entity under a grant under
this section shall be used for the following:
(1) To carry out programs that provide education and
training to establish nursing career ladders to educate
incumbent healthcare workers to become nurses (including
Certified Nurse Assistants, Licensed Practical Nurses, Licensed
Vocational Nurses, and Registered Nurses). Such programs shall
include one or more of the following:
(A) Preparing incumbent workers to return to the
classroom through English as a second language
education, GED education, pre-college counseling,
college preparation classes, and support with entry
level college classes that are a prerequisite to
nursing.
(B) Providing tuition assistance with preference
for dedicated cohort classes in community colleges,
universities, accredited schools of nursing with
supportive services including tutoring and counseling.
(C) Providing assistance in preparing for and
meeting all nursing licensure tests and requirements.
(D) Carrying out orientation and mentorship
programs that assist newly graduated nurses in
adjusting to working at the bedside to ensure their
retention post graduation, and ongoing programs to
support nurse retention.
(E) Providing stipends for release time and
continued healthcare coverage to enable incumbent
healthcare workers to participate in these programs.
(2) To carry out programs that assist nurses in obtaining
advanced degrees and completing specialty training or
certification programs and to establish incentives for nurses
to assume nurse faculty positions on a part-time or full-time
basis. Such programs shall include one or more of the
following:
(A) Increasing the pool of nurses with advanced
degrees who are interested in teaching by funding
programs that enable incumbent nurses to return to
school.
(B) Establishing incentives for advanced degree
bedside nurses who wish to teach in nursing programs so
they can obtain a leave from their bedside position to
assume a full- or part-time position as adjunct or full
time faculty without the loss of salary or benefits.
(C) Collaboration with accredited schools of
nursing which may include community colleges and other
academic institutions providing Associate, Bachelor's,
or advanced nursing degree programs, or specialty
training or certification programs, for nurses to carry
out innovative nursing programs which meet the needs of
bedside nursing and healthcare providers.
(g) Preference.--In awarding grants under this section the
Secretary shall give preference to programs that--
(1) provide for improving nurse retention;
(2) provide for improving the diversity of the new nurse
graduates to reflect changes in the demographics of the patient
population;
(3) provide for improving the quality of nursing education
to improve patient care and safety;
(4) have demonstrated success in upgrading incumbent
healthcare workers to become nurses or which have established
effective programs or pilots to increase nurse faculty; or
(5) are modeled after or affiliated with such programs
described in paragraph (4).
(h) Evaluation.--
(1) Program evaluations.--An entity that receives a grant
under this section shall annually evaluate, and submit to the
Secretary a report on, the activities carried out under the
grant and the outcomes of such activities. Such outcomes may
include--
(A) an increased number of incumbent workers
entering an accredited school of nursing and in the
pipeline for nursing programs;
(B) an increasing number of graduating nurses and
improved nurse graduation and licensure rates;
(C) improved nurse retention;
(D) an increase in the number of staff nurses at
the healthcare facility involved;
(E) an increase in the number of nurses with
advanced degrees in nursing;
(F) an increase in the number of nurse faculty;
(G) improved measures of patient quality (which may
include staffing ratios of nurses, patient satisfaction
rates, patient safety measures); and
(H) an increase in the diversity of new nurse
graduates relative to the patient population.
(2) General report.--Not later than 2 years after the date
of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the
Secretary of Labor shall, using data and information from the
reports received under paragraph (1), submit to Congress a
report concerning the overall effectiveness of the grant
program carried out under this section.
(i) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section, such sums as may be necessary.
Output:
Nurse Training and Retention Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish a partnership grant program to award grants to eligible entities to carry out comprehensive programs to provide education to nurses and create a pipeline to nursing for incumbent ancillary healthcare workers who wish to advance their careers.

Includes as eligible to receive a grant: (1) a healthcare entity that is jointly administered by a healthcare employer and a labor union representing its employees and that carries out activities using labor management training funds; (2) an entity that operates a training program that is jointly administered by one or more healthcare providers or facilities, or a trade association of healthcare providers, and one or more organizations that represent the interests of direct care healthcare workers or staff nurses who have direct input as to the organization's leadership; or (3) a state training partnership program that consists of nonprofit organizations that include equal participation from industry and labor organizations including joint labor-management training programs.

Requires a healthcare employer, to be eligible for a grant, to demonstrate that it: (1) has an established program within its facility to encourage the retention of existing nurses; (2) provides wages and benefits to its nurses that are competitive for its market or that have been collectively bargained with a labor organization; and (3) provides support for programs funded under this Act through specified mechanisms.

Sets forth requirements for matching funds, collaboration with nursing schools, types of programs funded, types to be provided preference, and program evaluations.