Volunteers of America Awards CEHHS Staff

DETROIT, MI.- On Friday, March 3, 2017, Angela Capuano, PhD, LP, BCBA-D, and Jennifer L.S. Teller, PhD, represented the College of Education, Health, and Human Services (CEHHS) at the Volunteers of America (VOA) Technical Planning Session for Health Professionals Opportunity Grant (HPOG).

The planning session was held at the Wayne County Community College District - Northwest Campus in Detroit. During the meeting, Drs. Capuano and Teller were honored with the HPOG Champions award for their work in training HPOG participants and identifying placement opportunities.

HPOG is administered by the Administration for Children and Families, US Department of Health and Human Services, to provide education and training for healthcare occupations that turn into a career. Volunteers of America HPOG strives to support participants and their families to ensure successful completion of healthcare training programs and positive retention of meaningful employment in Wayne County.

HPOG’s slogan is “Together, we are ending generational poverty through healthcare careers.” In addition to other partners, CEHHS has been assisting Volunteers of America with the HPOG training opportunities. This year, CEHHS offered training slots to HPOG participants for the Registered Behavior Technician training. Next year’s plans include expanding the opportunities to other certificate, undergraduate, and graduate programming associated with healthcare careers.

HPOG participants are a) individuals receiving federal cash assistance, b) military veterans who are experiencing low income or homelessness, or c) individuals who are at or below 130% of the Federal Poverty Line. Over the five-year grant period, HPOG will support 1,250 individuals.

Supportive services provided by HPOG to participants include training fees, dependent care stipend, vehicle repair, training supplies, uniforms, medical screening, background checks, exam fees, books, and transportation assistance.