Eligibility and Requirements for Addiction Professionals Scholarship Program

Scholarships Available for Addiction Services Professionals and Aspiring Practitioners

The following scholarships are for individuals who are currently working in or interested in entering the addictions services profession.

Application Process

To apply for one of the programs at a participating entity, please:

• Contact the school or provider of your choice about these exciting educational and scholarship opportunities. You can find the contact information for each respective program in our online directory.  

Directory of participating entities

Deadlines

Applications for most colleges are being accepted on a rolling basis. However, please contact the college of your choice to confirm any deadlines.

• Community colleges: 
  • Applications are being accepted on a continuing basis until all scholarships are awarded. 
• For community-based organizations, Alfred State College, and Stony Brook University:
  • Applications are being accepted on a continuing basis until all scholarships are awarded. 
• For Empire State University: 
  • Spring 2025 Term: Friday, November 22, 2024
  • Summer 2025 Term: Friday, March 28, 2025

New York State residents who are at least 18 years of age with a minimum of a high school equivalency (HSE) diploma and who are employees of one of the following (OASAS, OMH, or DOH programs below will be prioritized to receive scholarships):

• OASAS-certified, funded, or otherwise authorized programs;
• OMH- and/or DOH-certified Integrated Outpatient Services (IOS-SUD); or
• DOH Drug User Health and/or Harm Reduction programs.

After priority populations, the following will also be eligible:

• Individuals working within the addictions field (prevention, treatment, recovery, and/or harm reduction) in an eligible non-OASAS setting such as OMH and DOH programs not listed above and
• Individuals or students interested in working in eligible OASAS, OMH, or DOH settings. 

Additional Resources

• Review requirements and application process for an initial CASAC credential.

New York State residents who are at least 18 years of age with a minimum of a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution and who are employees of one of the following (OASAS, OMH, or DOH programs below will be prioritized to receive scholarships):

• OASAS-certified, funded, or otherwise authorized programs;
• OMH- and/or DOH-certified Integrated Outpatient Services (IOS-SUD); or
• DOH Drug User Health and/or Harm Reduction programs.

After priority populations, the following will also be eligible:

• Individuals working within the addictions field (prevention, treatment, recovery, and/or harm reduction) in an eligible non-OASAS setting such as OMH and DOH programs not listed above and
• Individuals or students interested in working in eligible OASAS, OMH, or DOH settings. 

Additional resources: 

• Explore requirements and the application process for an initial CPP or CPS credential.

New York State residents who are at least 18 years of age with a minimum of a high school diploma or a high school equivalency (HSE) diploma. 

Eligibility will also be determined by region of the state, financial need, appropriateness/readiness for training and extent of lived experience.

NOTE: Current residential treatment clients are not eligible.

Veterans, bilingual (Spanish/English), LGBTQIA+, and those with lived MAT experience are strongly encouraged to apply.

This is a workforce scholarship: Accepting the scholarship means that once you’ve passed the examination, you agree to begin to look for paid or volunteer work within the addiction continuum of care.

New York State residents who will be at least 18 years of age by the completion of the first semester in the program with a minimum of a high school diploma or a high school equivalency (HSE) diploma and who are employees of one of the following (OASAS, OMH or DOH programs below will be prioritized to receive scholarships):

• OASAS-certified, funded, or otherwise authorized programs; 
  OMH- and/or DOH-certified Integrated Outpatient Services (IOS-SUD); or
• DOH Drug User Health and/or Harm Reduction programs.

After priority populations, the following will also be eligible:

• Individuals working within the addictions field (prevention, treatment, recovery, and/or harm reduction) in an eligible non-OASAS setting such as OMH and DOH programs not listed above and
• Individuals or students interested in working in eligible OASAS, OMH or DOH settings.

New York State residents who are at least 18 years of age with a minimum of a high school diploma or a high school equivalency (HSE) diploma and who are: 

Employees of one of the following (OASAS, OMH, or DOH programs below will be prioritized to receive scholarships):

• OASAS-certified, funded, or otherwise authorized programs;
• OMH- and/or DOH-certified Integrated Outpatient Services (IOS-SUD); or
• DOH Drug User Health and/or Harm Reduction programs.
• Individuals with either a CASAC or a CPS credential in good standing.

Individuals with either credential and working in one of the programs listed above will have priority.

After priority populations, the following will also be eligible:

• Individuals working within the addictions field (prevention, treatment, recovery, and/or harm reduction) in an eligible non-OASAS setting such as OMH and DOH programs not listed above and
• Individuals or students interested in working in eligible OASAS, OMH, or DOH settings. 

Once accepted into a certificate program, scholarship recipients will be required to complete all educational hours of their certificate program and a minimum number of internship hours within either the CASAC-T/Intern, CRPA, or the CPP scopes of practice.

Scholarship recipients enrolled in the CASAC 350-hour certificate program must complete all 350 educational hours and 120 hours of field placement/supervised internship hours.

Scholarship recipients who are enrolled in a CASAC program and have a master’s degree or higher-level degree from an accredited college or university leading to eligibility for clinical licensure through the New York State Education Department in one of the following professions: 

• Licensed Master Social Worker/Licensed Clinical Social Worker; 
• Licensed Mental Health Counselor; 
• Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist; 
• Licensed Creative Arts Therapist; and 
• Licensed Psychologist, 

will be required to complete either 100 hours or 85 hours of the CASAC certificate program depending on which program is offered at the entity chosen. Such students will be required to complete 35 hours of field placement/supervised internship hours.

Scholarship recipients completing the CRPA 50-hour certificate program must complete all 50 educational hours and 25 hours of field placement/supervised internship hours.

Scholarship recipients completing the CPP 250-hour certificate program must complete all 250 educational hours and 90 hours of field placement/supervised internship hours.

All field placement/supervised internship hours must be completed in an OASAS-certified program, in OMH/DOH-certified/licensed/authorized integrated outpatient services (IOS-SUD) programs, or in another setting in the addictions continuum of care that has been approved by OASAS. Please contact the APSP entity and program in which you are interested for more information about appropriate settings.

Once accepted into the program, scholarship recipients will be required to complete a 60-hour CRPA program, which includes:

• 50 hours of training; 
• six (6) 1-hour Peer Learning Collaboratives
• up to seven (7) 30-minute coaching calls with Best Practice Trainer (BPT); and 
• a 500-hour internship to completed within two (2) years.

The APSP scholarship will last until you either complete the certificate program or the B.S. in Addictions Studies program.

Recipients of the scholarships toward the bachelor’s program must reapply for the scholarship prior to beginning a subsequent semester. Such scholarship recipients will receive a bachelor’s degree after completion of their program and/or credits toward their bachelor’s degree after the end of each term. 

If a scholarship recipient has not completed all of the credits for which they registered and for which OASAS was charged, subsequent scholarships will be approved on a case-by-case basis. Scholarship recipients will receive a certificate of completion (or sectional certificate for CASAC 100-hour/85-hour students) for their program after completing both their field placement/internship component and their educational hours.

However, please contact the organization or college of our choice to confirm the process.