Isabel Byon 0:00

The New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports , or OASAS , provides this podcast as a public service . Thoughts and opinions expressed do not necessarily represent or reflect those of the agency or state . This is Addiction the Next Step .

Jerry Gretzinger 0:17

You are listening to Addiction: The Next Step , the podcast brought to you by the New York State Offices of Addiction Services and Supports . I'm your host , Jerry Gretzinger . Thanks for checking us out here . Today we're going to be talking about additional efforts to support the addiction workforce .

Jerry Gretzinger 0:33

I mean , we've talked so many times about how critical that is , how important it is to support that , and there is a lot being done . So , again , part of what we're focusing on today and to help us do that is Jennifer Faringer . She's here . She's the director of DePaul's National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence from the Rochester area . Jennifer , thanks so much for sitting down with us .

Jennifer Faringer 0:52

Thanks , Jerry .

Jerry Gretzinger 0:52

Hey , before we get into the scholarship piece of things , I want to introduce people to the organization . I just said that you're with Talk to us . I know they've been around quite some time . You've been working with them a long time . Tell me what it is , what it does .

Jennifer Faringer 1:04

Yeah , so NCADD , the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence . We're actually one of the oldest councils in New York State and in the country Been around since 46 . Long time . I haven't been there quite that long , although some days , and we're part of the larger DePaul , which is primarily mental health , residential , senior living , etc . So we're the only part of DePaul that deals with addiction and our space is education and prevention . So we do community-based , school-based and professional education as well .

Jerry Gretzinger 1:38

That's great and that's terrific to know that it's been around so long and continues to do so much , and so I talked about today . We're talking about supporting the workforce , we talk about the scholarship , and you said a lot of what you do is about education , right ? So talk to us about how the connection came between your organization and the scholarships and the funding for those , and how it's all kind of been coming together to support the workforce .

Jennifer Faringer 2:02

So we have a reputation . We're the only education training provider in the region . In the Finger Lakes region We've been offering the CASAC program , or the ACT program we call it , for about 30 years now . A little bit over 30 years run a class , 60-month class , offering the 350 hours toward the CASAC . So when the opportunity presented itself through the workforce efforts , through OASAS , of offering scholarships , we were honestly at a point of wondering does it make sense to even continue our program Because there were less students and affordability is the issue . You know people wanting to get in the field but not being able to afford it .

Jennifer Faringer 2:45

So we certainly jumped on that and the scholarship opportunity through OASAS literally allowed us to scholarship every student in the program . We have a full , uh , vibrant program again , as we had in the old days that's great and they're incredibly grateful for the opportunity this is allowing them free tuition , yeah , and to be able to participate in the 16 month program .

Jerry Gretzinger 3:08

Yeah , so I mean that I think that part of the story is great too , because you know we always talk about , whenever it comes to anything with addiction , reducing barriers right . So here we are . You know wanting people to be able to pursue their studies in this , and a barrier often is , as you said , cost . What , what were we looking at ? I mean what ? What did going through the program cost people that now they don't have to worry ?

Jennifer Faringer 3:29

Ours is probably one of the least expensive in the state $3,500 but it's still $3,500 . We always had a monthly payment plan . So again , and we looked for other opportunities within the in the county , for example Rochester Works or Access VR . So we look to help people find ways to fund it . But I mean , this is full funding .

Jennifer Faringer 3:52

This is full and complete funding for a very large number of people .

Jerry Gretzinger 3:56

Yeah, it's so , so great that that's able to happen , so let me do this favor . So if people are out here listening and they hear about this wow , this is great . You know the . It's fully funded and the scholarship covers all the costs I'm interested . Who do I need to be to be successful in this program ? Like , what do you see as far as the folks who pursue this ? What is their background ? You know what makes them a successful participant . What should people think about ? Passion , yeah .

Jennifer Faringer 4:20

Passion and commitment , you know , to wanting to help . So we've always had , in our history of providing this program , kind of the ultimate of diversity . So diversity in terms of ethnicity , in terms of age , in terms of in the field not in the field . In recovery , not in the recovery . So it's different than when you go through a university-based program where everybody comes into a bachelor's or a master's with about the same level of education , with a training program . People come from all spaces , whether high school , ged , which is OASIS's minimum requirement , but we have those with bachelor's , we have those with master's , you know , and I just encourage students to be open to the experience of all because it makes for a very rich adult education program .

Jerry Gretzinger 5:08

Yeah , I think it would because , like you said , you have so many different backgrounds and levels that they're coming from .

Jerry Gretzinger 5:13

Um , so what ? What do you find are other concerns that people have when they first , you know , make that inquiry like , well , I want to do this , but

Jennifer Faringer 5:21

timing , life , work schedules , and then they're stuck .

Jennifer Faringer 5:27

I mean , our schedule is our schedule . The program is Tuesday , Thursday evenings and it is what it is , and you know . So we really talk to students . We do an in-depth student interview for every person interested in coming in to really try to assess their level of commitment . Especially in this case , because we were offering scholarships , we went to ensure the best you can during a one-hour interview that someone is really committed for the full run right , that they have secured the time , the block with their personal life , their professional life . But the reality is things do change with some , but so far , I mean , we're two , three months into the program and everyone's still there .

Jerry Gretzinger 6:10

And are they ? Their classes are provided on location .

Jennifer Faringer 6:12

We no , no , no , we provide the program at our site .

Jerry Gretzinger 6:16

Okay , right , yes ,

Jennifer Faringer 6:16

and it is full .

Jennifer Faringer 6:17

I do want to make that clear because we're still . We continue to get calls from all over the state . So we are local . We are in person , not online , so that wasn't really clear . I know in the original promotion of this program that each program is based in a different part of the state . Some are online , some are in person . Ours is in person and this particular class happens to be absolutely filled to the top . We can't take one more .

Jerry Gretzinger 6:46

And you know what that's being full is . Some people say it's a problem . But it's a good problem to have it , is it ?

Jennifer Faringer 6:52

It means potentially 30 people coming into the field , and we all know , with a workforce crisis , we're in need of folks .

Jerry Gretzinger 6:59

And , as you mentioned too , you've seen those numbers sort of rebound right Because it was different , and now it's just chock full again .

Jennifer Faringer 7:05

Part of that during COVID . I mean , we'd always been in in-person class all of our time , other than , obviously , during COVID . We went virtual , which is a very different experience . So this class we'd already made a commitment If we go forward with the class , we're going to bring it back in person and it's just so nice to have people back in the room interacting . I mean , it's completely different than doing it virtually .

Jerry Gretzinger 7:29

Okay . So if people are hearing this and like , yeah , okay , you know what this works for me , I want to be a part of this . Where do they need to go online ? Who do they need to call ? What's the information ?

Jennifer Faringer 7:37

Well , we are again . We are full . Our classes are 16 months in length . I don't know what the future holds in terms of OASIS offering future scholarships . They certainly can check out our website , www . ncadd-ra . org . There's a whole page on the Addiction Counselor Credential Training Program , but again , it is full and it is in person and no , we are not offering it hybrid so there are other programs in the state that are offering it .

Jennifer Faringer 8:09

So what I typically tell people is check with one of the other programs for availability but , we're well into this scholarship process , so it might be that others are in the same full capacity .

Jerry Gretzinger 8:20

I don't know right , but certainly , uh , for your organization , once this , this , you know , iteration of it is done , it's not over ,

Jennifer Faringer 8:27

it's not over .

Jennifer Faringer 8:28

Exactly , exactly , whether there'll be a similar situation with full scholarships for everybody . That's the first time in our 30 years that's happened .

Jerry Gretzinger 8:37

So stay tuned on that . Hopefully we'll have the same kind of news we can share going forward . Thank you , jennifer . Thank you so much for sitting down with us today walking us through all that . I think it's wonderful to hear that it's full and we're hoping for many more classes that we can fill to the brim

Jennifer Faringer 8:51

Great

Jerry Gretzinger 8:52

All right .

Jerry Gretzinger 8:52

Thanks so much .

Jerry Gretzinger 8:53

All right , and thank you very much for listening to us here on Addiction: The Next Step , the podcast brought to you by OASAS . Also , you can go to our website looking for information , oasas . ny . gov , and our hope line is 877-8-HOPE-NY . I'm Jerry Gretzinger , be well .