Rationale Essay 1

Luz Rivera Roberta Farrell Associate in Science Area of Study: Community and Human Services Concentration: Human Services

Goals and Contexts

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Human Services is a field that I wish to get educated in. This field inspires me and encourages me to explore it so that one day I can help people who are suffering from addiction. Becoming a well-educated and knowledgeable professional in this field was not something that I always knew I wanted to do. I myself have gone through a drug addiction when I was younger. I grew up in Puerto Rico, a country Puerto Rico a country with a high level of drug abuse. As I was growing there was a phase in my life where I made the wrong decisions and went in the path of drugs. I always had a desire to be someone and succeed in reaching many goals, but drugs kept me away from reaching them. I know how drugs can destroy your life and hurt not only yourself but those who surround you. I came to a point in my life where I was tired of the lifestyle I was living and decided to change it. I sought out treatment for my addiction. It was very difficult to admit I had a problem. With the help of my family, friends, and my counselor I was able to get through it and get my life back together. The professional help of my counselor was vital for my recovery and well-being. At the end of the treatment was when I realized that I wanted to help others with the same problem. I have experienced it myself and am very glad that I quit. Just like my counselor was a light in my world, I want to help people believe in themselves. This eager feeling to help others with drug abuse is what encouraged me to get a degree of Human Services changing bad habits is a life decision.

I have learned that in the field of substance abuse and mental health making a life decision includes several aspects that need to be taken into consideration. Patients need to know all of these aspects before making their decision. First is motivation. Is this going to be for my benefit or not? Second is what will it cost me? Is my health worth it? Will it bring positive changes and attributes to my life? Will it make my life more manageable? When all these questions are answered is when recovery can be successful and positive in someone's life.

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. Being able to help someone believe in themselves again and work hard at it is rewarding to me. This field will gives me the opportunity to do so. This career provides me the opportunity to both give and take rewarding experiences. One of the foundations of the recovery process is not to keep the positive knowledge and experiences to you, but to share it with others. To me when working with people I always remember where I came from and where I don't want to return. With the professional help offered through counseling addiction, it can be cured. I want to be. part of many people's recovery Professional Expectations My professional goal is to become a Drug Abuse Counselor in the state of New York. One of the requirements to work as Drug Abuse Counselor is to have a CASAC certification. In order to become a CASAC in New York State, you must: (1) meet specific competency and ethical conduct requirements; (2) meet specific work experience requirements; (3) meet minimum education and training requirements; and (4) pass the ICRC/AODA examination for Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Counselors (OASAS). According to the Department of Labor, an Employment Counselor would provide complete employment counseling services to applicants in need of special assistance in determining and realizing their occupational potentials. Employment Counselors provide vocational counseling and career development information to individuals looking for employment. They use interview techniques and testing devices to assess the individual's vocational needs and capabilities as well as help them understand and resolve their problems to obtaining employment. Employment Counselors assist in developing an employment plan, maintain a record of interviews and provide follow-up assistance as necessary (statejobsny.com)

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A degree in Community and Human Services would be beneficial to me because it would provide me with the fundamental education required to function as a Chemical Dependency Counselor. It would provide me with the knowledge needed to work with people, recognize their strengths, develop their skills, and lead people in carrying out agency goals, visions and missions in an efficient manner. General Education and Educational Planning Requirements Some of the courses that are included in my degree helped to fulfill the SUNY General Education Requirements. According with the SUNY General Education Requirements every associate degree must have at least 21 credits over seven general education knowledge and skill areas. To comply with the SUNY General Education requirement of American History I have chosen American Ethnic History. I believe this course will improve my knowledge of the African American culture and Latino Culture in America. I have also chosen to take Images of Women in Western Civilization to comply with the requirement of Western Civilization and the Arts. I have also chosen to take History of Mathematics to fulfill my Math and Other World Civilization requirements. To fulfill my Basic Communication requirement I have chosen to take Introduction to College Reading and Writing I believe this will help me increase my reading and writing skills. Finally to comply with the SUNY General Education requirement of Social Science I have chosen Human Development and Adolescence and Addictions .Additionally, I have met the required 4-8 credits in Educational Planning with( Planning and Finalizing the Degree and Making Time: Time Management and the Socio-cultural Construction of Time .The chart below shows which general education requirements I have fulfilled and with which course. College Comparison

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After reviewing three different colleges associate degrees in Human Services, I believe I have designed a degree program for myself that fulfills all the necessary criteria. The program I have designed is an Associate in Science. In Community and Human Services with a concentration in Human Services. The colleges that I compared my degree plan to were, Mohawk Valley Community College, Herkimer Community College, and Monroe Community College. With all of these colleges a certain amount of core classes and electives were necessary for the Human Services Program. These credits ranged from 62-65, depending on the college. After comparing the core classes, I was then able to match them to some classes already taken and ones that I have yet to take for my degree program. These core classes at these three schools were Introduction to Human Services, which I matched to the class, Introduction to Human Services that I took here at Empire State College; Human Service Systems, which I compared to;Delivering Human Services: Consumers, Agencies and Communities Basic Help Skills, which I compared to Interviewing Skills and Techniques; Models of Helping which I compared to Crisis Intervention; Family and Society , which I have taken at ESC; Chemical Dependency which matched with the Chemical Addiction: Theories and Practices that I took at ESC. Also each college required a certain amount of human service, social science, and sociology electives which ranged in credits. I have matched these electives with Human Development, Human Service Ethics, Family Violence and Abuse, Crisis Intervention and Family and Society. The general education courses and the concentration courses that I have selected have a definite link and support each other. For example my studies of Human Development, Family and Society Studies and Introduction to Human Services are linked because they deal with people, and why they behave the way they do. Taking Human Development provided me with the basic knowledge needed to progress to a more involved area of study in Family and Society and

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Human Services. In addition Introduction to College Reading and Writing prepared me with basic writing and communication skills that will be required of me as I progress and begin my studies of Interviewing Skills and Techniques and Delivering Human Services: Consumers, Agencies and Communities

Area of Study Guidelines Based on Empire State Colleges Area of Study Guidelines, as stated in the catalog, the objectives of this area of study will properly prepare me. To address the Area of Study Guidelines for knowledge, many of my courses will add to the knowledge that is necessary to have a career in Human Services. These courses include Introduction to Human Services and Family and Society .Human Development have also provided me with knowledge to further my career.

The Second of Study Guidelines is Skill. This area teaches students aspects of management, advocacy, and Human Service Organizations. I have selected courses at Empire State College to further my skills. I have selected the course Human services and Delivering Human Services: Consumers, Agencies and Communitiesto teach me the workings of the Human Service agency. I also have selected Interviewing Skills and Techniques to develop basic skills needed by a Human Services worker. Because of the stressful nature of the Human Services field special care must be taken when managing Human Services workers. I have also selected to take the Crisis Intervention course to increase my ability to advocate families in a crisis situation.

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The third essential foundation is Attitudes and Values. This foundation provides a Human Services worker with a broader understanding of ethics and the diverse populations that receive services through Human Services Agencies. Many of my courses will add to the knowledge that is necessary to have a career in Human Services. These courses include Human Services Ethics andDelivering Human Services: Consumers, Agencies and Communities. I also have selected courses at Empire State College to further my skills in diverse populations. I have selected the course Chemical Addiction: Theories and Practices ,Adolescent Psychology ,Disabled in America and American Ethnic History .These courses provides a Human Services worker with a broader understanding of ethics and the diverse populations that receive services through Human Services Agencies. A broad understanding of culture and the different needs of different populations is essential for a Human Services Worker. The fourth Area of study Guidelines is Experience, Application, and Practice. This area allows Human Services students to apply their classroom knowledge to real life situations. To fulfill this area I have chosen to take the courses Family Violence and Abuse, Crisis Intervention and Interviewing Skills and Techniques Degree Structure There is a clear structure to my degree plan. It starts off with some general education courses (Images of Women in Western Civilization, History of Mathematics, Human Development, American Ethnic History and Introduction to College Reading and Writing.) that provide me with the skills, and knowledge base needed to progress to areas of study (Crisis Intervention, Chemical Addiction: Theories and Practices, Adolescence and Addictions, Family Violence and Abuse, and Disabled in America ) that will/have teach me about people, cultures, behavior, and communication skills required in my field of interest. Finally my degree plan

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suggests courses (Human Service Ethics, Delivering Human Services: Consumers, Agencies and Communities, Making Time: Time Management and the Socio Cultural Construction of Time, Interviewing Skills and Techniques and Crisis Intervention) That will provide me with the experience, values and foundation needed to be successful and productive in the profession I desire upon earning an Associate of Science degree in Community and Human Services with a Concentration in Human Services. Conclusion I believe that the combination of past education, present experience with Empire State College, life experience, and employment experience I will be prepared for continued and advanced work in this field.

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References: OASAS Credentialing Services- CASAC Credentialing Process. Retrieved on October 13, 2011 fromhttp://www.oasas.state.ny.us/sqa/credentialing/casacprocess.cfm

Department of Labor. Division of Employment and Workforce Solutions/Employment Counselor. Retrieved on October 13, 2011 from statejobsny.com/details.asp?retrieve=23162009119-164639-505 State University of New York General Education Requirement. State University of New York, Empire State College, 2011. Web. http://www8.esc.edu/ESConline/Across_ESC/academics.nsf/allbysubject/State+University+of+ New+York+General+Education+Requirements?opendocument