Human Services
Contact Information
Program Coordinator: Gwen Williams
Location: FA 206
Phone: (808) 455-0365
Fax: (808) 455-0633
Email: gwenw@hawaii.edu
Enrollment in the COSAC program offers learners opportunities to develop the knowledge and skills required by the International Certification and Reciprocity Consortium (ICRC), which governs Hawai‘i state certification of substance use disorder counselors. The certificate fulfills most of the substance use disorder specific education requirements for Hawai‘i state certification and may satisfy a portion of the experiential hours requirement.
Our program provides education and skill development for people interested in pursuing a career as substance use disorder counselors, as well as for people currently working in the field who wish to hone their knowledge and skills. The certificate program in substance use disorder counseling may offer an additional specialization for people with advanced degrees in such areas of social work, psychology, counseling, law enforcement, nursing, education, and rehabilitation counseling. Those with advanced degrees may often qualify to substitute previous course work in counseling for some of the required program courses. Please contact the Coordinator to discuss options.
Learners will focus on developing both basic and intermediate-level knowledge and skills required for entrance level substance use disorder counselors. They will be encouraged to develop personal maturity through self-exploration, and adoption of a professional demeanor that will support their entry into the substance use disorder counseling field.
Learners can fulfill a sizable portion of the National Association of Drug and Alcohol Counselors’ (NAADAC) Twelve Core Functions of the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselor requirements with completion of a substance use disorder counseling certificate program. The course work will also assist one in preparing for the state certification exam. Please be advised that completing Leeward CC’s certificate program is not the same as obtaining the state certification. Contact the Department of Health, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division (ADAD), Certification Unit for additional information about such requirements. (http://hawaii.gov/health/about/admin/health/substance-abuse/index.html).
It is highly recommended that the learner work to complete an AA degree in Liberal Arts if they currently have no degree. All of the HSER courses support the elective credit requirement for the AA degree. Completion of the certificate equals 2,000 hours toward the ADAD education and experiential requirement with the potential for securing an additional 400 fieldwork hours, when signed off by a CSAC supervisor, which contributes toward the ADAD experiential hours requirement.
Certificate of Competence, Substance Abuse Counseling
18 credits
In order for a learner to enroll in human service (HSER) courses, one either must have completed ENG 22 or 24 with a C or better or be eligible to register in ENG 100 based on an ENG placement test criteria, or previously have completed ENG 100.
The 18 credits for the program does not include the three credit prerequisite course requirement HSER 100, Self Exploration. One may concurrently enroll in HSER 100 with HSER 140, 245, 268 and 270 during the first semester if s/he meets the English requirement noted above. The learner will need to request a prerequisite waiver from the instructors teaching HSER 140 or 245 prior to being able to register concurrently for the other program courses. One must take HSER 268 prior to enrolling in HSER 270. Entering in the fall allows for completion of all course work within the two-year period. Arriving in the spring semester, typically tacks on an extra semester.
In most cases, learners must complete the prerequisite course, HSER 100, and the four clinical courses (HSER 140, 245, 268, and 270) prior to entry into the second year HSER 294 and 295 Seminar I & Fieldwork II courses. Fieldwork involves placement at a substance use disorder treatment facilities and the potential completion of 200 hours each semester for a total of 400 hours, and requires attendance at an evening seminar each of the two semesters. HSER 294 is offered only in the fall semester and HSER 295 is offered only in the spring semester and must be taken in that order.