Community College of Philadelphia
Pathway to Recovery: Office of Collegiate Recovery Services (OCRS)
Central to all stories of recovery from substance use and abuse is the theme of personal empowerment and transformation. Changing a part of the educational system to embrace a recovery “student first person” system based on the principles of recovery resilience and transformation will require a concerted effort from young students in recovery and traditional professional allies both in the treatment and educational community. The building of these alliances (partnerships) will require the trust, understanding and respect of all parties involved.
Distinguishing “recovery,” which is a personal, individual process, from “wellness,” which involves families and the whole community in a process of trust and understanding from the 12 Step community and those individuals promoting practice guidelines that emphasize the person/family/community paradigm. A significant part of the community of recovery must buy into “wellness” for appropriate policy to be adopted. Our collective recovery consciousness needs to think strategically about the use and impact of language and conceptualize in terms of three simultaneous levels of impact—individual, family, and community/society (White, and Ali, 2010).
The future of substance abuse treatment and recovery in America appears to be more of a struggle between two competing yet related activities. The first is a treatment renewal movement. Led by front line service providers from across the country, the goals of this movement include reconnecting treatment to the process of long-term recovery and rebuilding relationships between educational institutions, treatment organizations, local communities and local recovery support groups. A second movement, the new recovery advocacy movement, rose in reaction to the re-stigmatization, de-medicalization and re-criminalization/penalization of alcohol and other drug (AOD) problems in the 1980s and 1990s. This movement has been led organizationally by a coalition of the Faces and Voices of Recovery, the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, the Johnson Institute, the Legal Action Center, the City of Philadelphia, Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbilites and the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment’s Recovery Community Support Program. The goals of this second movement include reaffirming the reality of long-term addiction recovery, celebrating the legitimacy of multiple pathways of recovery, enhancing the variety, availability and quality of local/regional treatment and recovery support services, and transforming existing treatment businesses into “recovery-oriented systems of care” (White, 1998; White & Kurtz, 2006: White, Evans & Lamb, 2009).
In an attempt to expand on the recovery advocacy movement (the second movement) and build on the colleges current recovery education capital, Community College of Philadelphia, the City of Philadelphia, Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbilities and Young People in Recovery, the Philadelphia chapter, are partnering with each other to establish and support the Office of Collegiate Recovery Services (OCRS) at Community College of Philadelphia.
Community College of Philadelphia Office of Collegiate Recovery Services (OCRS)
The Alcohol and Drug Certification (now the Recovery & Transformation Certificate) at Community College of Philadelphia became operational during the 1985-86 academic year. In the 1990’s changes in recovery advocacy (the second movement) involved a significant paradigm shift for the Community College of Philadelphia’s Behavioral Health/Human Service degree. This shift culminated in 2010 with the Recovery and Transformation Certificate. In 2016 the college awarded 129 Behavioral Health and Human Service degrees and 81 certificates in Recovery and Transformation studies. The current projected expansion of the colleges recovery efforts in 2016-2017 with the City of Philadelphia, Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbilities (DBHIDS) will provide CCP students in recovery a normative collegiate experience through the creation, implementation, and maintenance of peer-to-peer support services on and off campus that provides a holistic network that supports structures ranging from student organizations, curriculum advising as well as the implementation of off campus programs supported by the Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbilities with dedicated housing, space, etc. that emphasizes a recovery plan that combines treatment and education.
The OCRS Philosophy of Service
The OCRS is a resource for college information, friendship and socialization for individuals at CCP in recovery. It also is an outreach program to engage the recovery community in the benefits of a college experience to strengthen and support an individual's recovery plan. All of the services are non-clinical support activities focusing on navigating and at times removing college barriers to students in recovery by providing coaching and peer to peer support. All peer coaches are students who graduated from the BHHS program or a related program at the college. All coaches are in recovery or allies and are now attending, or completed, a four-year college for their bachelor’s degree. The OCRS coaches will help and support new students by sharing their experience and knowledge about how to successfully navigate college life. The support offered is not meant to replace counseling/treatment or 12 Step meetings. The OCRS is meant to help students with life’s challenges by building resilience and coaching guidance in a drug and alcohol free environment. The Office of Collegiate Recovery Services (OCRS) is a place where life skills are shared and new skills are reinforced. It is a place where isolation becomes inclusive and strangers become friends. It is a place where self-determination and recovery transformation is nurtured and acknowledged as a part of being at Community College of Philadelphia.
Building on the recovery capital of the Behavioral Health/Human Services (BHHS) success the Office of Collegiate Recovery Services (OCRS) will provide management support to the recovering student in pursuit of higher education. The OCRS is designed to address a gap in traditional recovery services offered to young people in recovery returning to college. The college OCRS management program will include a minimum of thirty minutes of life coaching per week with at least one hour of psychoeducational group per week. The life coaching will focus on the management of stressors common to college students in early recovery. In this supportive environment, students will learn self-advocacy skills and how to bolster the coping mechanisms necessary to stay drug and alcohol free while navigating the challenges of a college education.
While in treatment or community transitional housing, students will be afforded the opportunity to attend classes at CCP as a part of their clinical continuum of care. The Office of Collegiate Recovery Services (OCRS) at CCP will work in conjunction with a variety of community based recovery services in order to help facilitate an individuals' transition into college. The goal of this partnership is to offer supportive educational services in order to assist students in making a new beginning or a speedy return back into the classroom and ultimately the workforce.
The Referral network for Office of Collegiate Recovery Services (OCRS)
The primary referral system for the OCRS will come from:
1. City of Philadelphia adolescent and young adult outpatient and residential programs currently under contract with the DBHID.
2. Family court juveniles “aging out” of the foster care system. The foster care system does not fully equip youth with the life skills and support network they will need to succeed on their own. These young adults have faced abuse and have no family on which to rely, and as they begin to leave the system at age 18, they face a real risk of substance abuse, homelessness, incarceration and hopelessness. Many drop out of high school. They need a skill-building environment to teach, encourage, and equip them to become productive members of society.
3. The Bridgeway School. The Association of Recovery Schools (ARS) advocates for the promotion, strengthening, and expansion of secondary and post-secondary programs designed for students and families committed to achieving success in both education and recovery. The ARS, of which Bridge Way School is a member, exists to support such schools which, enroll students committed to being abstinent from alcohol and drugs and working a program committed to recovery.
4. Forensic Intensive Recovery programs (FIR). The FIR program was developed in 1991 to enhance community safety by reducing criminal recidivism due to substance abuse and mental illness through the provision of behavioral health treatment and related services under criminal justice supervision as an alternative to incarceration. The FIR program provides community treatment slots for men and women in lieu of incarceration. Substance abuse treatment and recovery support services are provided to individuals outside of the correctional institution through early parole and re-parole. The program is a collaborative partnership with legal and clinical administrators from the Philadelphia Prison System, District Attorney’s Office, Defender Association of Philadelphia, Philadelphia Adult Probation and Parole Department, the Office of Addiction Services (DBHID), and several private treatment provider agencies under contract with DBHIDS.
5. Faith based initiatives targeting youth ministries. There is particular interest in the potential role that faith and spirituality can play in helping people recover from behavioral health challenges.
Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbilities (DBHIDS)
DBHIDS provides services through a network of agencies while collaborating with the Philadelphia School District, child welfare and judicial systems, and other stakeholders.
DBHIDS embraces a vision of recovery, resilience, and self-determination. DBHIDS continues to shift to a model of care directed by the person in recovery. In this model, professional treatment is one aspect among many that supports people in managing their own conditions while building their own recovery resources. The City of Philadelphia DBHIDS recovery process should be viewed as a lifetime journey.
As a part of that lifelong model DBHIDS will work with CCP to market and develop relationships with the above five referral networks through their web site and contracted service providers.
Young People in Recovery (YPR)
Young People in Recovery (YPR) is a national grassroots advocacy organization, which aims to influence public policy, making it easier for youth to find and maintain their recovery from addiction. YPR chapters wear two hats: Advocacy & Action. YPR is focused on improving access to treatment, educational resources, employment opportunities, and secure, quality housing on the local, state, and national levels. By creating a national network of young people in recovery, YPR empowers young people to get involved in their communities by providing them with the tools and support to take charge of their futures
The Pathway to Recovery at Community College of Philadelphia
All individuals referred into the college from the above networks must be registered as CCP matriculating students. Following their admission process all students will be assigned a mentor from the Office of Collegiate Recovery Services (OCRS) who will coordinate and support a student’s group and individual coaching sessions. The OCRS mentor will help the student to initially register for an English course and complete BHHS 121 Foundations in Addiction studies and/or BHHS 131 Faith and Spirituality in Recovery or BHHS 106 Group Process. During the Phase 1 process the student will complete nine (9) credits of study and meet with a college adviser to pick a major course of study. Depending on the student, Phase 1 could be spread out over two semesters (one year of academic study) with Phase 2 culminating in a degree could occur over an additional eight semesters for a total of about four or five years of study to complete their associates degree. Irrespective of the time spent in Phase 1 and/or Phase 2 the coach will work closely with and support students as they proceed through the college academic process.
All OCRS students will be assigned to a weekly one-hour educational support group and half hour individual sessions. Faculty coaching will occur for three (3) years with CCP academic advising continuing until the student completes his or her degree (four or five years). The Colleges thirty-year experience in addiction and recovery education indicates that approximately 50% of our graduates’ transfer to four year institutions.
Community College of Philadelphia is in a unique position to accommodate students in recovery. It offers programs that prepare one for in-demand careers or transfer in the fields of architecture and construction; art, design and media; business and technology, health care; law and public service; liberal arts; science; behavioral health and human services; and technical trades like culinary arts and automotive technology. Day, evening and weekend classes are available for full-time and part-time students, and both credit and noncredit courses can be taken at the Main Campus, our three Regional Centers, and neighborhood and corporate locations. On line and hybrid courses are also available to all students, and some programs may be completed entirely on line. The College also offers comprehensive academic, support services for students with disabilities, plus an array of career and personal support services.
Funding Office of Collegiate Recovery at Community College of Philadelphia
Beginning in the fall 2016, Community College of Philadelphia will fund an “extended time” project to support a Director of the Office of Collegiate Recovery Services. The college will set aside on the main campus two offices and one conference room for the Office of Collegiate Recovery Services.
The Director of OCRS will spend the fall and part of the spring term:
1. Working on a brochure for the project with the CCP Marketing department.
2. Meeting with various DBHIDS referral sources to facilitate college entry.
3. Developing a relationship with agencies like PRO-ACT and various Schools of Social Work to enhance possible field placement experiences for graduate students.
4. Seeking a funding source to offset costs to support coaching activity.
To contain costs and reduce overhead part time life coaches will be hired to work with students enrolled in the OCRS. Life coaching is different from consulting, advising, therapy, or counseling. The life coaching process addresses specific personal projects, general conditions and transitions in the student's personal life, relationships or evolving profession by examining what is going on right now, discovering what are a student’s challenges and helping students choose a course of action to make their life more positive and productive. During the Spring and Fall 2017 terms four (4) part time life coaches will be hired to begin working with students in recovery.
Finally, it is highly recommended that during this multi-year educational initiative the partners (CCP, YPR and DBHIDS) institute a research demonstration project “Pathways to Recovery”.
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References
Free to Choose: Transforming Behavioral Health Care to Self-Direction. (2005). DHHS Publication No. SMA-05-3982. Rockville, MD: Center for Mental Health Services, SAMHSA.
SAMHSA, (2013). Promoting Recovery and Independence for Older Adolescents and Young Adults Who Experience Serious Mental Health Challenges. HHS publication No. SMA-13-13-4756.
Scoles, P. (2015). Faith, Spirituality and Resilience in Recovery. Cengage Learning.
White, W. (1998). Slaying the Dragon: The History of Addiction Treatment and Recovery in America. Bloomington, IL: Chestnut Health Systems.
White, W. and E. Kurtz. (2006). Linking Addiction Treatment & Communities of Recovery: A Primer for Addiction Counselors and Recovery Coaches. This report was supported through funding from the Clark Hagen Trust - PNC grant and the Northeast Technology Transfer Center under a cooperative agreement from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT).
White, W.L., Evans, A.C. & Lamb, R. (2009). Reducing addiction-related social stigma. Counselor, 10(6), 52-58.
White, W and S. Ali. (2010). Lapse and Relapse: Is it time for a new language? Retrieved May 20, 2015 from dbhids.org/technical-papers-on-recovery-transformation.