- Q: One of the requirements of this application is "the program shall employ a student success coach with responsibility to help students identify barriers to success and identify resources to overcome these barriers." This language appears on page 4 item 8.c. of the NOFO. My question is, can we contract with a recovery support organization to hire a coach for the our program? The individual would not be an employee of SIUE, they would work for the community organization, but be assigned to the SIUE program to provide the recovery and student success coaching to the training program participants.
A: Yes, the entity can contract with a recovery support organization to provide the coaching service and/or to accomplish other grant requirements.
- Q: Under program components and expectations, item 4. Curriculum states, "the program will develop a curriculum which covers all required education hours outlined in the ICB Accreditation Standards…with a total of a minimum 110 clock hours." Item 5. Classroom component indicates that the classroom component shall consist of a minimum of 125 clock hours of training." Is 110 hours or 125 hours the minimum requirement?
A: The discrepancy between the two is because item 4. Curriculum is 110 hours "covers all the required education hours outlined in the ICB Accreditation Standards", whereas item 5. Classroom component is 125 hours, which includes an additional 15 hours described in 5 (b): "The classroom component shall additionally include a minimum of 15 clock hours of workplace readiness training which includes job search, resume writing and application skills and interview skills."
- Q: Is there a definition of "a person in recovery"?
A: To obtain the CRSS, individuals must have lived experience in recovery from mental health or co-occurring mental health and substance use challenges. To obtain the CPRS, individuals must have lived experience in recovery from substance use disorder, mental illness, or dual diagnosis of mental illness and substance use disorder. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has defined recovery as "A process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential." There is no requirement of a minimum number of years in recovery for individuals to participate in the CRSS Success Program. Just as recovery is unique to each person who experiences it, so is the definition of recovery. No person is to be compelled to share details of their diagnosis.
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Q: Is a Letter of Support Required with the DMH Grant Application?
A: No, a letter of support is not required with the DMH Grant Application.
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Q: Is there somewhere we can learn more about the process of applying for accreditation?
A: That would be Illinois Certification Board. DMH has a copy of the document from ICB and we will provide a link to where it can be found.
See Illinois Certification Board - Peer Recovery Support Training Program - Accreditation Standards - CRSS and CPRS
- Q: For the advisory board: Can the former students be former students of another success program? Or do they need to be from our program (if applicable)? A: Yes, it can be former students from another program if you're in a community with multiple 814 programs. The grantee has the choice to identify former students from site where the 814 program has been in operation.
- Q: Are organizations only able to organize their curriculum based on semester hours if they are offering college credit and the organization is not an educational institution?
A: If a non-educational institution is applying for the grant, they must include detailed information in their proposal regarding how the program will be structured to meet the 110 classroom hour requirement.
- Q: Where can the ICB Digital Learning Policy be found?
A: TBD (ICB hasn't posted the Digital Learning Policy on their website. DMH may need to make an online accessible version for potential applicants to reference.)
- Q: Can internships begin prior to the completion of the coursework?
A: Yes, internships can be done concurrently with classroom hours. However, there are pros and cons to consider. Classroom instruction is key to student preparedness. Preparedness for an internship is important for student success. The Behavioral Health Workforce Center is measuring student preparedness through internship site supervisor surveys. Preparedness measures may drop significantly if your program decides to do the internship concurrently with the classroom hours. Additionally, student wellness is a high priority in this program. Trying to compress the coursework or the completion of the internship may be counter to student wellness. The entire program is designed for students who are attending to their own mental and physical wellness, so it's important no to push the program at a pace that unnecessarily puts them at risk. Rather, we want to design a program that sets them up for success versus getting it done fast. On the other hand, offering them concurrently would permit students to complete the program more quickly and could potentially result in more students being able to complete the program. It would be important for the organization to utilize the advisory council for input on making a final determination.
- Q: How many times can a student take that exam with the fees covered by the grant?
A: The grant permits the organization to pay exam fees for each student up to two times to obtain a passing score. Beyond that, the student could apply for scholarship funds to cover the exam fee if needed, to make a third (or more) attempt.
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Q: Is homework time (done outside of class) allowed to be counted in the 110 education hours?
A: No.
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Q: Can you describe a bit more about the expectation for students to be able to "transfer" between programs? Do you mean that if they were enrolled in to one training program and decide to switch to a different one that they should automatically be enrolled?
A: The expectation is that a student who has started in one 814 program would be able to apply to another 814 program without having to start over. The organization should have a policy in place regarding how such potential transfers will be handled.
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Q: Can you share what programmatic information is reported monthly? We know that the invoices are submitted monthly but not aware of a monthly programmatic report.
A: There are no monthly program reports required. Invoices are required monthly. Program reports are required quarterly,
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Q: How do we choose applicants if we have more individuals apply to the program than we receive funding for, if we are not allowed to have any other requirements to identify individuals joining the program? Should our admission policy then be first apply to the program is the first let into the program, even if we know the trainee may not be able to meet program requirements? For example students that apply and only want the class and tell us they will NOT complete the internship.
A: The program shall not establish additional pre-requisites such as a requirement for students to complete a different set of classes outside the 814 program prior to being eligible to apply for the 814 program. For determining how to select students from a pool of qualified candidates, it is recommended that organizations develop an application process with a scoring rubric. The application process can include a student statement of interest, student statement of intent to pursue employment in the behavioral health field, letter(s) of recommendation, etc. DMH can assist organizations in developing the application process and scoring rubric. A narrative approach tends to be best, but it also puts a lot of weight on program staff who score the applications. The application could include a question regarding student intent to complete the entire program (classroom hours, internship, and certification exam), since these are measures and standards required of the grantee by DMH. These are nuances that might become part of your application packet which can assist in screening the applications.
- Q: When students enroll in the internship classes, our faculty meet with them once a week on Zoom. Does 33% of the face-to-face component apply to weekly field experience meetings with faculty?
A: It is the understanding of DMH that the 33% face-to-face requirement doesn't apply during the field experience.
- Q: We would like some clarity regarding the required section on student enrollment, retention, and transfer. The NOFO states that the proposal should "Describe how your organization will develop a plan to ensure student retention is maintained at a minimum of 80%." Could you please clarify what IDHS has in mind regarding a definition of retention? We typically understand retention as continuing from one year of a program to the next; however, our CRSS program only has a duration of one semester. We have considered the below possibilities so far. Would you please let us know if one of these is correct, or if another approach is more appropriate?
- The rate at which students who enroll in our CRSS program complete all program requirements, including completion of their field placement/internship
- The rate at which students who enroll in our program complete the 2 courses, CRSS 261 and CRSS 262, that do not include the field practicum.
A: The rate at which students who enroll in our CRSS program complete all program requirements, including completion of their field placement/internship.
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Q: The NOFO states that our proposal should "Describe how your organization will develop a clear enrollment and transfer policy, to include admission/enrollment and transfer procedures and requirements." We have had some differing interpretations of what to include for the transfer-related pieces of this. Should our policies and procedures relate to students transferring into our CRSS program (e.g. from another CRSS program), out of our CRSS program (e.g. into a 4-year degree program), or both?
A: Transfer policies are expected to describe how a student who has participated in the 814 program can transfer into the 814 program with your organization.
