Photo provided Apprenticeship participants Kyle Strong, left, and Chris Hendricks review program material at the ASAP Hub on Thursday.
The Alliance for Substance Abuse Progress, Ivy Tech Community College and several other partners at the state and local level have launched what officials have described as a first-of-its-kind program seeking to equip recovery residence managers with the skills needed to succeed at supporting those going through recovery.
The program, called the House Manager Apprenticeship Training Program, has been initially funded through a two-year, $500,000 state workforce innovation grant and combines around 2,000 hours of on-the-job training, classroom instruction and a series of online modules through Ivy Tech, officials said. The grant is from the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration’s Division of Mental Health and Addiction.
Last month, the first cohort of participants — five house managers currently living at local recovery residences — started the program, which officials said they expect to take one year to complete.
Recovery residence managers, also known as house managers, are responsible for supervising and coaching residents at sober living homes, as well as supporting resident recovery through case management and treatment plans, building relationships with community partners and ensuring the safety of residents.
“The manager of those recovery houses, which is a really critical position, doesn’t necessarily have an established job description thus far,” said Kurt Kegerreis, executive director of WorkOne Southeast Indiana, which received the grant to fund the program. “The intention is to work with Ivy Tech and ASAP and create an apprenticeship by which that kind of standardizes that role. That’s something then any recovery house in the nation could potentially replicate to define that role.”
ASAP Executive Director Sherri Jewett characterized the new program as “exciting” and “innovative.”
“As far as we know, we couldn’t find anything like it across the country,” she said.
The program consists of a series of in-person classes and online modules through Ivy Tech, according to Rachel Roll, executive director of Ivy+ Career Link at Ivy Tech Community College.
The online modules include administrative skills, house managers’ role in supporting recovery, effective supervision and coaching techniques, building relationships with community partners, safety inside the home (also in-person) and success skills, according to officials involved with the program and a program brochure.
The safety inside the home module also includes an in-person coursework. Other in-person courses include on-the-job training, as well as certifications in CPR, Addiction Peer Recovery Coaching and Mental Health First Aid.
“Ivy Tech was selected as the training partner for this program,” Roll said. “As an apprentice, you have to complete a couple thousand hours of on-the-job training. That’s being handled by the recovery homes. But then Ivy Tech is coming alongside to provide more of the online programming.”
The first cohort started last month and has already received their CPR certification, officials said.
Indiana Recovery Homes, Transformational Living Ministries, Ascension and community partners who are managing ASAP recovery homes are participating in the program, officials said.
“We really hope the program takes off, and it’s just something that can be replicated across the state,” Roll said.
