Non-profit offers free tuition for alcohol, substance abuse counselor training

Non-profit organization Outreach Training Institute is offering scholarships and job placement assistance for its Credentialed Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counselor (CASAC) training program to individuals who qualify as low income and meet other criteria. In addition to free tuition, students will be able to receive career development guidance through services like resume-writing workshops, vocational assistance, and internship and career placement.

Through a grant, those who are unemployed or earning less than $20,000 per year are able to enroll in the program, which is located in Queens. Candidates may be unemployed, working at low wage jobs, on public assistance or re-entering the workforce after a period of disability, but they must have a high school deploma or G.E.D. and be residents of the five boroughs of New York City to be considered. All applicants also must take a TABE (Test of Adult Basic Eductation) reading/writing exam and participate in an interview.

The grant program offers:

• 350 hours of classroom and hands-on training in either 8- or 11-months tracks, leading to the fulfillment of course work required by the state's Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS);
• Preparatory workshops and one-on-one advisement on career development;
• Internship and job placement services as well as post-graduate follow-up assistance;
• Introduction of new skill-building workshops, including basic writing and computer skills, clinical writing, and electronic health record (EHR) practice;
• Student advisement on attendance and course-related matters as well as individual meetings with students on a monthly basis; and
• Comprehensive test-prep services to prepare graduates for the State CASAC Exam.

OTI has been providing skill-building workshops on study skills, clinical writing and practice on EHRs since September 2014. The workshops aim to prepare students for the workforce and also help them advance in the changing industry.

More than 2,000 people have been training at Outreach, according to a company statement, with a large percentage having already graduated and moved on to jobs in the treatment field as substance abuse counselors.