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Nov. 13, 2014

The Department of Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology (CECP) in Western Michigan University’s College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) was awarded a five-year, $999,782 Rehabilitation Long-Term Training -- Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Rehabilitation Services Administration.  The grant supports students seeking the rehabilitation counseling degree with an emphasis in employer relations option offered at 51¸£ÀûÉç. Rehabilitation Counseling is the profession of working with individuals with disabilities to attain or maintain competitive employment through counseling, employer relations, job placement services, and advocacy.

CECP offers a 53 credit hour generalist rehabilitation counseling Master’s degree; a 65 credit hour rehabilitation counseling Master’s degree with an emphasis in employer relations; and, a 76 credit hour dual Master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling specializing in blindness and low vision.

The purpose of the long term training grant in vocational rehabilitation counseling is to prepare 30 qualified rehabilitation counselors (RC) with an emphasis in employer relations to facilitate job placement for/with people with disabilities seeking competitive employment.  The grant is also designed to produce rehabilitation counseling graduates to meet the significant personnel shortages in the field.  Graduates understand the benefits of employment as a rehabilitation counselor in State Federal Rehabilitation Services Agencies such as the Michigan Department of Human Services (DHS)/Michigan Rehabilitation Services (MRS) and the Department of Energy, Labor, and Economic Growth (DELEG)/Bureau of Services for Blind Persons (BSBP).  The grant averages $200,000 per year with subsequent funding based on annual performance through the five year grant cycle.  The total cost of the Rehabilitation Counseling with an emphasis in employer relations grant is $1,123,444, of which 89% is supported by U.S. Department of Education, Rehabilitation Services Administration’s Long Term Training Grant in Rehabilitation Counseling.

Nearly 81% of the Federal grant budget directly funds rehabilitation counseling students at 51¸£ÀûÉç.  Grant supported funding for a qualified applicant includes in-state tuition, fees, and approved professional conference/development attendance expenses.  Dr. Jennipher Wiebold, Associate Professor and the Rehabilitation Counseling Program Coordinator, is the Principal Investigator with Co-Principal Investigator Dr. Patrick Munley, Professor and Chair of the Department of Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology.   If you would like to learn more about the rehabilitation counseling programs at 51¸£ÀûÉç, please contact the Rehabilitation Counseling Program Coordinator, Dr. Jennipher Wiebold at @email.