Scholarships available for counselors

editorial@queenscourier.com

The Outreach Project (OP), a drug and alcohol treatment agency, is offering 95 full scholarships, to people striving to become Credentialed Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counselors (CASAC).
The Department of Health provides 75 of the full scholarships to individuals who have been laid off from a position in the healthcare field; those who are in dangered of losing their job as hospital workers or substance abuse counselors because they lack the credentials; or those who are currently employed by a New York State-approved substance abuse treatment provider.
Additionally, the Outreach Training Institute (OTI), a division of OP, provides 20 full scholarships to prospective students who earn less than $25,000 a year and hold a high school diploma or GED. Applicants whose income exceeds this amount but claim dependents on their tax return forms might be eligible for partial scholarships.
Partial scholarships are also available.
Indeed, only 13 percent of the CASAC students pay the full $4,450 tuition.
“People should know that if they are not eligible in one of the categories, they can be eligible in another,” Mark Armiento, director of OTI, said.
Since its initiation the CASAC program has successfully trained people from all walks of life: former police officers, as well as former inmates; people who have been homeless at one point in their lives and those who make over $40,000; rehabilitated alcoholics and drug abusers and people in their 20s, all who aspire to get a great career start.
The 11-month-long program consists of 350 hours of coursework required by the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services for licensed treatment counselors. Although the students come from many different backgrounds and some of them return to school after 20 years, the graduation rate is over 80 percent. The program also opens the doors to a college education, since both St. John’s University and Long Island University recognize the program as 30 credits towards a Bachelor’s degree.
Even in an economy inclining towards recession, the Department of Health projects an increase of 34 percent in the number of openings for substance and alcohol abuse counselors. The average annual salary for a licensed treatment counselor is between $35,000 and $40,000.
Almost 15 million Americans have a problem with drinking, including about 3 million teenagers between the ages of 14 and 17.
Alcohol contributes to over 100,000 deaths annually, most of them preventable, according to statistics.
Outreach Project has been providing drug and alcohol services in the New York Metropolitan Area since 1980. Apart from the CASAC course, the agency offers adolescent treatment programs, intensive treatment for women with children, counseling for HIV positive individuals and their families, and a number of outpatient treatment programs, targeting people involved in the juvenile and criminal justice systems.
For more information about the CASAC diploma program, eligibility requirements, or to apply, call 718-847-9233 or visit the OTI office, located at 117-11 Myrtle Avenue in Richmond Hill.