Learn About New CADCA Efforts to Help Develop a Professional Prevention Workforce

CADCA's National Coalition Institute will provide coalition members with new, innovative resources for professional development in the field of prevention at the 21st annual National Leadership Forum held at the Gaylord National Hotel and Convention Center in National Harbor, Md. from Feb. 7-10.

During a workshop being held at the Forum, participants will learn about current trends for professionalizing the field and about a new CADCA partnership with NOVA Southeastern University (NSU) to offer graduate program credits through completion of the National Coalition Academy.

The pre-conference workshop “A Qualified Prevention Workforce: Professionalizing the Field with Credentialing and Graduate Degree Programs” will be offered on Monday, Feb. 7 from 1:45-4:30 p.m. In this session Kristy Miller, Technical Assistance Manager for the CADCA Institute, will co-present with Julie Stevens, Training Specialist and International Certification & Reciprocity Consortium (IC&RC) Board Member, on the essential skill sets and competencies needed to become a Certified Prevention Specialist (CPS) and available graduate degree programs for prevention practitioners. The workshop will allow participants to open a discussion about a prevention specialist’s scope of work and the current state of the field.

“As more certification and academic programs develop, prevention will expand and be viewed as more of a profession than just a field,” says Miller. “By talking about the scope of workforce development, we’ll be able to present opportunities for the academics behind the experience of prevention work and help coalition members build bench strength behind their organizations.”

CADCA also will introduce its new partnership with NOVA Southeastern University’s Fischler School of Education and Human Services (NSU/FSEHS), which will host exhibit booths during the Forum as well as conduct a special presentation at the Academy Convocation. Through the program, CADCA members that acquire a Coalition Leadership Program (CLP) Certification through the National Coalition Academy can transfer six graduate credits toward NSU/FSEHS graduate and doctoral programs at the cost of $125 per credit.

CADCA members are eligible to receive NSU credits upon completion of the National Coalition Academy’s CLP and additional assignments developed by NSU, referred to as the “CLP Plus.” Graduates can transfer the CLP Plus as six graduate credits toward one of three programs:

• A non-degree Certificate of Leadership Program of 15 graduate credits
• A Master’s of Science in Leadership (MSL) of 36 graduate credits or
• A Doctor of Education (EDD) of 66 graduate credits

Not only can eligible participants apply the credits to multiple programs, but also follow assignments and course work according to their particular schedules through self-paced online courses. NSU provides coursework to students through Elluminate, the same versatile and interactive online program used by the Institute to conduct training webinars.

“By combining NOVA Southeastern University’s leadership programs with the Academy curriculum, community leaders attain core skills and competencies that can be applied to their own particular coalitions,” says Jane Callahan, Director of CADCA’s National Coalition Institute. “Through these kinds of partnerships, CADCA can serve as a leader in bringing the movement for professionalizing the field to a national stage.”

The NSU partnership marks the Institute’s second opportunity for higher education at the graduate level. The Institute also currently partners with the University of Oklahoma to allow CADCA members to transfer credits toward a graduate program in prevention science.

For more information on the workshop or graduate program, e-mail institute@cadca.org or call 1-800-54-CADCA,  Ext. 240.