2024 Noncredit Exemplary Award Winner
CREDIT WORKFORCE PROGRAM
Community College of Baltimore County, mD
Opioid-Impacted Family Support Program
The Opioid-Impacted Family Support Program, sponsored by the Community College of Baltimore County and funded by a $2.1 million grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), is a targeted workforce development program responding to the opioid epidemic in central Maryland and the surrounding communities. Designed to expand service access for individuals and families impacted by substance use, the OIFSP is a workforce training program that provides accelerated training toward a workforce credential for entry-level clinical counselors, combining classroom and on-the-job training through co-operative work experience and an apprenticeship registered with the Maryland Apprenticeship and Training Council (MATC).
The objectives of this project include: incorporating experiential learning and on the job training, training through a registered apprenticeship program, equipping new paraprofessionals to enter the workforce, and serving 1130 families impacted by substance use.
The OIFSP seeks to address the significant workforce shortage in substance use disorders counselors and paraprofessionals by leveling barriers to entry into the workforce and accelerating the path to credentialing as a ‘one stop shop’ for those who are unemployed or underemployed in the behavioral health workforce. The ideal candidate for participation is experiencing unemployment or is underemployed in a related behavioral health paraprofessional role, with a strong desire to move through the ranks as a certified clinician in an ‘earn while you learn’ model.
This training program is invaluable in Maryland, to meet the state’s designated workforce shortage. Behavioral health paraprofessionals trained through this program are uniquely poised to support the needs of the family and ameliorate the impact of trauma due to substance use in a state that lost over 2700 citizens to opiate overdose deaths in 2021.
Upcoming & recent events
The 2024 NCWE Annual Conference was a huge success! Leaders in workforce education shared insights, built connections, and explored innovative ideas.
Want to be part of 2025? Connect with us about sponsoring, speaking, or exhibiting.
