Rehabilitation Counseling program earns $1.1 million grant

The St. Cloud State University Rehabilitation Counseling program has earned a five-year $1.1 million federal Rehabilitation Long-Term Training grant for training rehabilitation counselors.

The grant from the Rehabilitation Services Administration will provide $200,000 per year for tuition assistance and professional development stipends from 2020-2025. The program is designed to ensure that skilled personnel are available to meet the growing need for highly-qualified scholars who have an expertise in serving consumers with disabilities.

Students receiving the scholarships will work at a public vocational-rehabilitation agency or non-profit community rehabilitation program that operates under contract with the federal-state rehabilitation system after completing the program or pay back the funds at a later date.

Associate Professor and Community Psychology, Counseling and Family Therapy Department Chair Amy Knopf was the primary author and primary investigator on the grant. Assisting with writing the grant were: Bradley Kuhlman, Barbara Vesely, Grant Director Katie Ramos, Peter Eischens ’14, and Rehabilitation and Addiction Counseling student James O’Bando.

This is the third $1 million grant the Department of Community Psychology, Counseling and Family Therapy has earned. 

The Rehabilitation Counseling program earned a $1 million Rehabilitation Long-Term Training grant from the U.S. Department of Education in 2014, and the Rehabilitation and Addictions Counseling program also earned a $1 million Rehabilitation Long-Term Training grant in 2015.