On July 20, Maryanne Pepe and Christina Pecukonis were invited to make a presentation to the Albany City Services Board’s Alcohol, Drug and Gambling Subcommittee that was attended by representatives from OASAS, Albany County Mental Health, Albany County Probation, and several local treatment facilities.
Currently, agencies in the capital district are experiencing a significant shortage of CASAC-Ts (Credentialed Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counselor), which is directly impacting the delivery services to those in need.
The charge of this subcommittee is to develop pathways for the field of substance use/addictions counseling. Information was presented to the committee on both Hudson Valley Community College’s A.A.S. degree in Chemical Dependency Counseling and our CASAC- T micro credential. The presentation allowed for a range of ideas for possible partnerships with the committee and local agencies in an effort to recruit individuals to enter the field of addictions counseling.
We would like to thank Alan Kott, chair of the committee, Barry Walston, committee member, and Steve Giordano, Commissioner of Mental Health, for their interest in our programs. We share their excitement in this potential partnership.