Outreach Awarded New York State Department of Health Workforce Training Initiative Grant of $959,708

Funds will help fill need for CASAC-Credentialed workers among healthcare workforce

January 1, 2017

Outreach Training Institute (OTI) has announced that full scholarships are being made available to New York City and Long Island health care workers for the institute’s 350-hour Credentialed Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counselor (CASAC) training program with funding provided by a the New York State Department of Health Workforce Retraining grant. The Institute is also excited to announce funding which will support a new training program for Master’s Level Behavioral Healthcare workers who can achieve their CASAC-T certifications in 135 hours (6 months).

For the full 350-hour CASAC Certificate Program: those eligible are health care workers who are either 1) currently employed in a facility licensed by OASAS or Mental Health, or any other Health Care facility, 2) have been recently laid off or are 3) at risk of being laid off from the previously mentioned work settings. Applicants must have at least a high school diploma/G.E.D. and meet other admissions criteria. They cannot be credentialed Qualified Health Professionals (QHP).

For the 135-hour CASAC Certificate Program: those eligible are Master’s Level health care workers employed in a healthcare setting. Eligible applicants include those who are a master of and/or have a license in: Social Work, Mental Health Counseling, Marriage and Family Therapy, Licensed Psychotherapists, Licensed Creative Arts Therapists. Full scholarships are available to those who work in New York City, Long Island, and a designated number of scholarship packages are being offered to members of Local 1199 of the Service Employees International Union SEIU in the Northern Metropolitan Region. Applications will be available for Spring 2017 enrollment sometime in late January/February 2017.
OTI’s training opportunities are also available to those outside the healthcare system. Tuition costs may apply, but a number of other need-based scholarships are available, particularly for those earning less than $28,000 per year. The general cost of tuition for the 350-hour training program is $4450.

The CASAC Training Program prepares individuals to be New York State-licensed alcohol and substance abuse counselors. The 350-hour Courses are taught in Richmond Hill, Queens; and Brentwood, Long Island per the following:

• Richmond Hill (Queens Campus):
  5-Month Program: Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday 9 AM to 4 PM
  11-Month Program: Tuesday 6:30-9:30 PM and Saturday 9 AM to 4 PM
• Brentwood (Long Island Campus):
  11-Month Program: Monday 9 AM to 4 PM and Thursday 9 AM to 12 PM or
  Monday 6:30-9:30 PM and Saturday 9 AM to 4 PM

Details on the new 135-hour program are presently in development. For updates, visit opiny.org.
Outreach is a nonprofit organization committed to addressing the issues stemming from drug and alcohol abuse by providing the highest quality of life-changing drug and alcohol treatment and training services.

For more information about Outreach’s treatment and training services, call the OTI Training Coordinator, at (718) 847-9233, Ext. 2309 (for NYC programming), or (631) 951-2613, Ext 3150 (for Long Island) or visit www.opiny.org.