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<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cWe\u2019re still battling the opioid crisis, particularly with fentanyl,\u201d she said. \u201cIn fact, in 2022, the Board of Supervisors declared a substance abuse and mental health crisis in Silicon Valley. So this is considered a crisis area.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite widespread support from faculty, county leaders, and local treatment providers, there is also hesitancy from the college itself.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think the hesitancy is the actual proposal,\u201d said Cook. \u201cI just think it is hard for them to move forward sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n
What is needed to get the proposal moving is more publicity, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome publicity will help encourage them to just go ahead and go over the line,\u201d Cook explained.<\/p>\n
The BS program will fill a longtime gap in the field of drug abuse treatment, according to Cook.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now, people can either get an associate or they have to go all the way up to a master\u2019s,\u201d she explained. \u201cWhat people in my field have never had the opportunity to do is to get a bachelor\u2019s-level degree with a focus on program management and leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n
The success of the proposal will have longstanding benefits not only for patients but also for the professional workforce.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf they are able to do this, the treatment programs have agreed to increase their salaries,\u201d Cook said. \u201cIt\u2019s an upwardly mobile opportunity for people who, historically, had economic and socioeconomic disadvantages.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of them have had histories of addiction themselves, and so this opportunity for them allows them to move into another level of achievement that has never been afforded them before.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe goal of this is to make them program managers, clinical leaders.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is an incredibly important opportunity for them,\u201d Cook continued.<\/p>\n
Leandra Canion is an employee at Pathway Society, an organization providing substance abuse and counseling services to adults and families suffering from drug abuse. Gary Montrezza is the CEO of the Society. Both support the proposal.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had to work very hard to stand out in a field where all of the management positions require a higher degree,\u201d Canion said.<\/p>\n
\u201cGary saw something more in me than I may have seen in myself. He created positions for me within our agency so I could grow professionally and gain more responsibility.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat took 17 years for me to achieve will take maybe 2\u20135 years for individuals that graduate from SJCC\u2019s BS program,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n
There is a great demand for qualified clinicians in the region, Canion said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost agencies are short-staffed and the staff they have are working sometimes up to 60 hours per week, putting them at risk for \u2018burnout,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s critical that we increase the number of individuals to work in our field to avoid \u2018burnout\u2019 and to also be able to pay them a competitive wage.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis BS program will attract more individuals to our field because they will be able to earn a fair wage,\u201d Canion continued.<\/p>\n
Montrezza is optimistic about the program\u2019s value.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe BS in Alcohol and Drug Studies provides much needed career options to expand management and leadership opportunities for current and new practitioners; validate addiction studies as a career path to a greater number of students; and solve workforce shortages that require the academic preparation a baccalaureate degree affords,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe anticipate that approval of the BS will only enhance the current workforce while building a foundation of enough future treatment professionals trained to address the complexities of modern treatment.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
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