Substance Use Disorder and Mental Health Counselor Apprenticeship

As part of the Promising Leaders in the Care Economy (PLACE) Hub, FHI 360 is partnering with New Ways to Work to develop a Substance Use Disorder and Mental Health Counselor Apprenticeship. This apprenticeship equips direct services employers with the resources they need to recruit workers with life experiences relevant to the communities they serve.

Through a combination of paid on-the-job learning (OJL) and coursework, apprentices will gain an alternative, rigorous, and rewarding point of entry into a profession that traditionally requires post-secondary education. Upon completion, program participants receive a national credential from the U.S. Department of Labor. To learn more, read our fact sheet.

Peer Support Specialist Apprenticeship

As part of the Promising Leaders in the Care Economy (PLACE) Hub, FHI 360’s Peer Support Specialist Apprenticeship partners with the Public Works Alliance (PWA) to train apprentices who have experienced recovery from personal and societal challenges. These include substance use disorder, PTSD, the re-entry process, and many other challenges. This shared experience enables apprentices to support others who are going through similar hardships.

By partnering with FHI 360, employers can use this apprenticeship to reinforce a holistic approach in their mental health services. Apprentices who complete their apprenticeship earn a national credential from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). To learn more, consult our fact sheet.

Promising Leaders Apprenticing in the Care Economy (PLACE) Hub

FHI 360’s Promising Leaders Apprenticing in the Care Economy (PLACE) Hub brings together experts in workforce development to expand existing nationally registered apprenticeship programs (RAPs), such as the Youth Development Practitioner Apprenticeship (YDPA) and develop new opportunities within the care economy such as youth services, peer support, substance-use counseling, and mental health counseling.

Upon completion, apprentices under the PLACE Hub receive a nationally recognized credential from the U.S. Department of Labor. Read the fact sheet to learn more.

Breaking the Cycle: How Two YDPA Apprentices Are Healing Their Communities

“To me, that’s the biggest message with this apprenticeship — this is the perfect way to learn how to change lives.”

As we celebrate National Apprenticeship Week 2024, we highlight two Lake County Youth Development Practitioner Apprentices who use their work to break the cycles of trauma and heal their communities: Luis Garcia Jr. and Jenessa Armstrong. Click here to read about their journeys in becoming the person they wanted to have in their corner growing up.

Career MAP Overview

Designed in partnership with the Greater Washington Urban League (GWUL), the Career Mobility Action Plan (MAP) project takes a holistic approach to career mobility and success. A groundbreaking pilot, Career MAP is designed to remove barriers that families with low income confront as they pursue employment that can sustain them.

An Innovative Approach to Developing Talent for Youth-Serving Employers

FHI360’s Youth Development Practitioner Apprenticeship program offers employers the opportunity to recruit and train employees while giving back to the community and filling their talent pipeline. YDPA targets both existing professionals and opens options for new professionals with lived experience in the communities they serve. Occupations include youth service intake counselors, outreach workers, or justice reentry case workers among others.

Workforce Development Inside the Walls: A Rapid Employment Model

FHI 360 has launched the Post-Release Employment Program (PREP) to fast-track participants from behind bars to employment within six weeks. Participants complete two-thirds or more of the employment training pre-release with expedited connection to employers upon graduation. PREP is designed to respond to the critical needs and challenges of individuals returning from jails or prison into their communities.

Going the Extra Mile: A Case Study of Rural Reentry in Arkansas

Going the extra mile: A case study of rural reentry in Arkansas provides an exploration of a rural community in southeast Arkansas that takes a unique, individualized approach to reentering young adults ages 18-24. The received wisdom on rural reentry is that it is generally more difficult than reentry in an urban setting. Phoenix Youth and Family Services, which serves a rural part of Arkansas, has excelled on key outcomes as part of FHI 360’s Compass Rose Collaborative (CRC)1, a project funded by the U.S. Department of Labor to improve the education and employment outcomes of young adults,
ages 18 through 24, after involvement in the U.S. criminal justice system.
Phoenix Youth and Family Services provides wraparound support services to its participants to help juveniles, young adults, and families secure a safe, healthy, and strong life

Providing Education Inside the Walls: A Michigan Pilot

In 2021 FHI 360 began a collaborative project with the Michigan Department of Education, Office of Career and Technical Education, to test a replicable 360 model designed to enhance the career and technical educational program offerings for teachers within Michigan juvenile justice facilities and potentially juvenile facilities throughout the nation. FHI 360’s technical assistance specialists in justice, education, workforce, community development, and research and evaluation, provided four hours of comprehensive and responsive training and technical assistance to 34 teachers and direct service staff at four Michigan juvenile justice facility schools. Learn more about how educational programs offered in facilities reduce recidivism and improve employment outcomes.

Compass Rose Collaborative Young Adult Leadership Council Information Sheet

Launched in 2019, the Young Adult Leadership Council is a key component of NIWL’s Compass Rose Collaborative, a young adult reentry program. This program combines the principles of youth-adult partnerships with reentry programming.