On Wednesday, November 6, from 12:00 to 1:00 PM, IARF, CBHA, IABH, and the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) will be conducting a Lunch and Learn Webinar on the Behavioral Health Student Loan Repayment Program. As you will remember, this year’s program includes additional practitioner levels and higher award amounts than in previous years. The webinar will provide a thorough breakdown of the eligibility requirements for this specific loan repayment program, as well as the application process. This webinar is for practitioners who intend to apply for the program and for supervisors who have staff interested in applying that may not be able to attend during the work hours.

Click here to register for the webinar on November 6!

As a reminder, qualified applicants for the BH Student Loan Repayment Program will receive a grant award, for a maximum of four years, to be used towards payments on the individual’s educational loans; the grant awards for this year’s program will include the expanded award amounts and practitioner levels (see below). Qualified individuals must be a resident of the state and have worked 12 consecutive months as a behavioral health professional within a community mental health center, behavioral health center, substance use treatment center, or state-operated psychiatric hospital in an underserved or rural federally designated Mental Health Professional Shortage Area in the state. Beginning this year, the award amounts per practitioner level/designation shall not exceed:

• $40,000/year for a psychiatrist;
• $20,000/year for an APN or PA;
• $20,000/year for a psychologist with a doctoral degree;
• $15,000/year for an LCSW, LCPC, or LMFT;
• $12,000/year for a professional possessing a master’s degree in counseling, psychology, social work, or marriage and family therapy;
• $6,000/year for a professional possessing a bachelor’s degree in counseling, psychology, or social work; and
• $4,000/year for a substance use professional, CADC, or CRSS

For more information and to begin the application process, click here.

ALL OF THIS INFORMATION WILL BE DISCUSSED IN DETAIL DURING TOMORROW’S WEBINAR WITH ISAC!  

The DePaul College of Education scholarships are open TODAY 9/16 through 10/13! Log in to Scholarship Connect to apply. The scholarships open once per academic year, every Fall Quarter.

For questions about the scholarships, please reach out to Maya Muschitz at mmuschit@depaul.edu. If you are having technical difficulties within Scholarship Connect, please contact the Financial Aid Office through OneDePaul.

Apply today!

The AHC Emerging Leaders program was developed to allow student and new professional leaders to participate in AHC activities, receive mentorship, and connect with professional networking opportunities.

Emerging Leaders will be selected to serve for the 2025-26 term (July 2025 to June 2026). Master’s level students, doctoral level students, and new professionals (having graduated in the past year) will be selected as AHC emerging leaders. Recipients must be an AHC member at the time of award and fall into the master’s, doctoral, or new professional categories. Emerging Leaders choose an area of interest within the division and receive mentoring related to that area. Emerging Leaders will provide a minimum of 50 hours of service to an AHC committee, project, or task. Emerging Leaders will also have opportunities to learn the responsibilities associated with serving in elected leadership positions within our association. They will also receive FREE conference registration for the 2025 AHC conference.

Emerging Leaders will receive a free conference registration for the 2025 AHC Conference in Tampa, Florida that will include a leadership training and recognition at the AHC Awards Ceremony.

Interested applicants should submit:

1. A completed Emerging Leaders application
2. CV/Resume
3. Two letters of reference describing your leadership skills and experiences, and your value of humanistic practices (letters cannot come from members of the AHC selection committee)  to ahcemergingleaders@gmail.com no later than November 1, 2024. The selection committee will notify applicants of the status of their application by November 22, 2024.

We particularly encourage applications from individuals who are eager to develop leadership skills and are deeply committed to AHC’s vision of inclusivity, community, and social justice. The review committee is especially interested in candidates who identify with historically marginalized groups and will give strong consideration to applications that reflect a range of diverse experiences. Selection criteria include:

• Demonstrated affiliation with and commitment to the counseling profession
• A record of active participation in professional counseling organizations and conferences
• Dedication to inclusivity, diversity, and social justice
• A clear vision for their leadership goals including how the EL experience will help achieve that vision

Applications can be found here: AHC Emerging Leaders Program 2025-2026

If you have any questions, please contact the Emerging Leaders Committee chairs: Dr. Amanda M. Evans and Dr. Bogusia Skudrzyk at ahcemergingleaders@gmail.com.

The Fall Student Teaching & Internships Scholarship is open Wednesday, September 4th, through Sunday, September 22nd! This award is offered to College of Education students who are currently (Fall Quarter 2024) participating in their capstone clinical experience – student teaching, counseling internship, or another field-based capstone. Counseling interns may only receive this scholarship for one academic quarter of their internship. The maximum award amount is $3,000. The application will be open Wednesday, September 4th, on Scholarship Connect.

Please see below for a message from Nicole Cissell, Clinical Director at BGF Children’s Therapy, regarding available positions:

Hello!

I am the Clinical Director at BGF Children’s Therapy. We provide in-home and center-based behavior therapy for children diagnosed with Autism. I am reaching out because we are searching for individuals to work one on one with the children we serve during this summer and into Fall 2024. Ideal candidates are working on their Bachelor’s or Master’s in a related field and have some experience with children. We train our staff in behavior analytic principles and the skills necessary to work with children diagnosed with Autism. We have hired students from DePaul in the past and have been very happy with their work and dedication. Hourly rates range from $20-$25, depending on experience.

If you know of any students who might be interested, please provide them with my contact information. Students can email (nicole@bgftherapy.com) or call (312-806-7937).

Below is information on timely resources and events from the Illinois Student Assistance Commission:

Register for CCE Conference – Before heading off for the Independence Day holiday, be sure to register now to attend the 2024 College Changes Everything^® (CCE) conference. Please take advantage of this valuable professional development opportunity as the annual event provides a day of important conversations to explore how we can tackle shared challenges in new and different ways. The conference fosters an ecosystem with multiple sectors coming together as a community of concerned stakeholders to learn and work together to support college access and success and career readiness for student success.  We invite you to take advantage of this opportunity to be part of this community of change makers. More information about the conference is available on the conference website. Please share this e-mail with your colleagues and others in your network so they can register, too.

Virtual Meetings with ISACorps Members for FAFSA Completion – If you know of any recent high school graduates who are in need of assistance with completing their FAFSA or Alternative Application for Illinois Financial Aid, they can now book a virtual one-on-one meeting with an ISACorps member using the Teams Bookings page. They can book a virtual meeting up to 7 days in advance, and there’s an option to meet with a Spanish-speaking ISACorps member. Although the target audience is recent high school graduates, ISAC welcomes anyone needing assistance. Thank you for spreading the word.

Helping Illinois reach its Goal 2025: to increase the proportion
of adults in Illinois with high-quality college degrees and
postsecondary credentials to 60% by the year 2025

Attention First Year CMHC Counseling Students!

There will be a mandatory, in-person 2^nd Year Professional Practice Orientation on Saturday, October 19^th from 10:00 am – 12:30 pm. This is mandatory for all CMHC students completing Practicum and Internship in 2025-2026.  This meeting will take place in person on Lincoln Park Campus (location TBD). We will be discussing all things related to Practicum and Internship that you will encounter during your Professional Practice in 2025 – 2026. Look for additional future communications on CSL News and via email and please plan accordingly.

Please reach out to Jay Lesenko if you will not be completing Practicum and Internship in 2025 – 2026 so they can update their records, and reach out to Jay Lesenko or Dr. Hamm if you have any questions.