The demand for Substance Abuse Counselors is projected to grow much faster than the national average—20percent or higher—during the period from 2008-2018, with a stated employment in 2008 of 352,000 individuals!  However, before you choose any school, the school you attend should be approved the state association,

• Alabama
• Alaska
• Arizona
• Arkansas
• California
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Florida
• Georgia
• Hawaii
• Idaho
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Montana
• Nebraska
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• Oklahoma
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Vermont

At InterCoast College, The Alcohol & Drug Counselling Studies program is designed for flexibility and classes need not be attended in the order in which they are offered. Start the program at any point in the semester. In order to complete the program and receive a Villanova Certificate in Alcohol & Drug Counseling requires the completion of 12 classes, 905 hours of education along with 41 credit unit.

• Has served at least 6 years (active or reserve/guard) and agrees to serve 4 more years.
• Has at least 10 years in the Armed Forces and is not allowed (either by DoD or service policy) to reenlist for 4 more years but agrees to serve for the maximum amount of time allowed by that policy or statute.
• Is or becomes eligible for retirement during the period from August 1, 2009 through August 1, 2013 (or further).
• Still based on the percentages (40% -100%) – how much time was spent on active duty by the veteran post 9/11/2001
  • For more information concerning transfer of benefits:
    http://www.defenselink.mil/home/features/2009/0409_gibill/

What Ch. 33 (TOE) provides:

• Cost of Tuition and Fees (paid directly from the VA to UTA)
• Monthly housing allowance (BAH) equivalent to that of BAH for an E-5 with dependents – based on percentage of eligibility. (Paid directly to dependent)
  • Dependents must be enrolled in at a MORE THAN HALF TIME rate (51%) to receive BAH payments
  • Dependents enrolled exclusively in on-line training must also be enrolled at a MORE THAN HALF TIME rate (51%) to be eligible for BAH payments. (Effective August 1, 2011)
• Books and supplies stipend (up to $1000 per year) – based on percentage of eligibility. (Paid directly to dependent)
  ACTIVE DUTY COMPLETED BY VETERAN AFTER SEPTEMBER 10, 2001

  At least 36 months	100%
  At least 30 continuous days on active duty and discharged due to service-connected disability	100%
  30 months to 36 months	90%
  24 months to 30 months	80%
  18 months to 24 months	70%
  12 months to 18 months	60%
  6 months to 12 months	50%
  90 days to 6 months	40%

How long does Ch. 33 (TOE) last?

• The veteran assigns months of benefit to dependent (i.e. If a veteran has never used GI Bill at all, they can assign 18 months to one child and 18 months to another).
• The benefits expire on the dependent’s 26^th birthday (for child) or 15 years from the date of transferring (for spouse).

Documents UTA VA office will need:

• VA Form 22-1990-E (if student has never used/applied for benefit before)
  Download this form (PDF)
• VA Form 22-1995 (if student has used benefit before, transferring from another institution)
  Download this form (PDF)
• Certificate of Eligibility
• Signed Degree Plan (signed by advisor)
• No DD214 is required if the veteran is still on active duty
• UTA VA Information Sheet
• Statement of Understanding

Certification Process for Ch. 33 (TOE):

• Student applies for benefits and turns in all required documents to the UTA VA office
  • Two step process: Veteran must apply to transfer benefit and then the dependent must fill out a VA Form 22-1990E.
• Notification of enrollment* must be received by the UTA VA office– either in person or by using Online Certification Request Form.
  *This must be done every semester or every time a student enrolls (or adds) a new class.
• Classes are checked by the certifying official against the most current degree plan. Only those classes on the signed degree plan can be certified to the VA.
• Certifying official submits VA Form 22-1999 (certification) to the VA.
• Process time = Allow for up to 7-10 business days for submittal to the VA during enrollment periods.
  • This benefit provides tuition and fees paid directly from the VA – in order to avoid incurring late fees caused by overdue accounts regarding VA covered benefits, please submit ALL documentation or notifications of enrollment within the given deadline:
    • August 1^st – For Fall Terms certifications
    • December 1^st – For Spring Term certifications
    • May 1^st – For Summer Term certifications
  • Students eligible for Ch. 33 benefits may also want to pursue other avenues in order to avoid incurring late fees:
    • Apply for Financial Aid (www.fafsa.ed.gov)
    • Pay one-third of tuition and fees by tuition deadline date
    • Receive an “Emergency Enrollment Loan” through your MyMav account or at Bursar Services
  • Late fees incurred will be the responsibility of the student.

CHANGES TO THE POST 9/11 GI BILL:

http://www.gibill.va.gov/benefits/post_911_gibill/Post911_changes.htm

America’s students are in debt, $1 trillion in debt in fact. But while most college graduates struggle to repay loans with less than 10 percent interest, some military personnel are drowning under significantly more expensive loans.

Holly Petraeus, CIA Director David Petraeus’s wife and an advocate for military families, told a Senate panel today that for-profit colleges are actively targeting military personnel and their families, marketing private loans with inflated interest rates.

“There are some real concerns, there is real aggressive marketing right now to the military and not just to military members, but to their spouses and to their children as well,” Petraeus said.
To pay for the pricey private schools, these colleges often market “expensive private student loans” to service members, said Petraeus, who as the assistant director of the Office of Service-Member Affairs at the newly-formed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is working to protect military families from such predatory loans.

Petraeus said she spoke with an Army wife at Ft. Campbell in Kentucky who had enrolled in an online course through a college she thought was officially associated with the military. She said representatives from the school, which actually had no military affiliation, called her a dozen times per day until she agreed to register.

But help was nowhere to be found once the school received her tuition payment. The woman ended up failing her course because she had trouble logging on, Petraeus said.
“I have a real interest in folks being able to make more informed decisions than, ‘Well, they sounded military friendly and they called me 10 to 15 times per day,” she told the Senate committee. ”There are serious questions about whether the education you get at many of these institutions justifies their high cost.”

While meeting with service members around the country, Petraeus said she also heard horror stories of loan companies charging crippling interest rates. One internet lender, she said, tells service members who visit their site: “We believe that your membership in the armed forces entitles you to special treatment. We speak your language!” That language includes a steep interest rate on their loans that far out-paces rates on government-offered loans.

And when military personel fall behind in their payments, harassing debt collectors take over.

“They may call a service member’s home and unit 20 or 30 times a day, threaten them with the uniform code of military justice, and tell them they’ll get them busted in rank or have their security clearance revoked if they don’t pay up,” Petraeus said. “We’ve even heard of a debt collector harassing a surviving spouse of a service member killed in action, insisting that she had to use the money from his death gratuity to pay off a debt immediately.”

College costs aside, many military members are in debt before they even enlist. Petraeus said that on a recent trip to Texas, “We were told that the average Air Force recruit arrives at Lackland Air Force Base for basic training over $10,000 in debt.”

“A continuing issue for the military is the general issue of indebtedness,” Petraeus said. ”Unfortunately there are still too many young troops learning about wise spending through hard experience and years of paying off expensive debt.”

Each year, we seek out the best places for military spouses to find employment, assessing these employers based on many factors. Among the most critical are these:

• Are they actively recruiting and hiring military spouses?
• What is their current percentage of military spouse employees?
• How do they approach workforce development and the retention of military spouse employees?
• Do they have policies in place to support military spouses during deployments, PCS moves and other challenges that military life can bring?

Eight same-sex couples sued the Pentagon, demanding the same medical, survivorship and other benefits as traditional military spouses. Despite the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the plaintiffs say they and their spouses are denied equal “medical and dental benefits, basic housing allowances, travel and transportation allowances, family separation benefits, military ID cards, visitation rights in military hospitals, survivor benefits, and the right to be buried together in military cemeteries.”

Denying such equal benefits is unconstitutional and “a threat to national security,” according to the federal complaint.
Lead plaintiff Major Shannon McLaughlin and her spouse, Casey McLaughlin, and seven other couples sued Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, Attorney General Eric Holder, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki and the United States of America.

They say: “There is no enumerated power in the Constitution that allows the federal government to define marriage in such a way as to deny plaintiffs the benefits they seek, and the Tenth Amendment entrusts the regulation of marriage to the states. As applied to military benefits in this context, these statutes deny the plaintiffs equal protection, place an unconstitutional condition upon the fundamental constitutional right to marry in accordance with state law, and are legislative penalties imposed on persons in same-sex marriages that constitute impermissible bills of attainder.”
All eight couples say their branched of the military have informed them that “same-sex legal spouses are excluded from the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (‘DEERS’) and that they are therefore not entitled to the benefits that plaintiff[s] sought.”
The plaintiffs say military’s and Attorney General’s enforcement of the Defense of Marriage Act, and the subsequent denial of spousal benefits is an untenable position, as “the President and the Attorney General have acknowledged that DOMA Section 3 is unconstitutional.”

They add: “The military has emphasized repeatedly that providing these benefits is necessary to compete with the private sector to maintain quality enlistment and retention, and that the assurance that a service member’s family will be provided for in the event the service member dies serving their country is important for maintaining morale and faithful service.
“Moreover, the military recognizes the link between the payment of benefits and national security, explaining that service members who are distracted by thoughts that their loved ones are not being card for may render the service members less effective combatants: ‘Success in modern warfare demands the full utilization of every ounce of both the physical and mental strength and stamina of its participants. No soldier can be and remain at his best with the constant realization that his family and loved ones are in dire need of financial assistance.’”
Discriminatory laws “were crafted at a time when gays and lesbians were precluded from openly serving in the military, and when same-sex marriages were not legal in the United States,” the complaint states. “The military is a reflection of our society as a whole. Now that same-sex marriages are legal, and gays and lesbians can serve openly in the military, service members – such as the plaintiffs – with same-sex spouses do serve in the ranks. To maintain the uniformity of benefits … the definition of ‘spouse’ must include these same-sex spouses as well.”

The plaintiffs say the military’s enforcement of DOMA, and of sections of Titles 10, 32 and 38 “cannot be constitutionally applied to deny benefits to same-sex married couples.” They seek an injunction and attorneys’ fees.
They are represented by Ian McClatchey with Chadbourne & Parke of New York, N.Y., and John Goodman with the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, of Washington, D.C.

Military students endure the strain of restarting relationships with friends and teachers, keeping up with work in each new school, and dealing with parental deployment. Certainly, some schools have created welcoming environments and academic supports for this group of students—but not enough. The Department of Defense Educational Activity, or DODEA, partnership program is providing leadership and resources to create these supportive public school environments.

Most Americans are not aware that over 2 million students have had parents deployed since the beginning of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. As their parents fulfill their missions overseas, there are too many examples here at home of military students losing credit for courses already taken in another state after a family’s transfer or receiving unexcused absences for spending a day saying goodbye to a mom or dad leaving on deployment.

Many students from military families fall behind in school following multiple moves because there is no funding for tutoring services, or they struggle emotionally because of the roller-coaster of deployments. New research from the Rand Corp. finds that long deployments—19 months or more—take an academic and emotional toll on military children. Army children whose parents were deployed have long scored lower on standardized tests than those whose parents had shorter tours of duty. Teachers and counselors also reported increased social and emotional challenges for children with a deployed parent, according to the study.
With the heavy use of the military reserves and National Guard in these conflicts, many schools don’t even know if they are enrolling children from military families, let alone providing adequate supportive services.
We are at a juncture where some of these problems can be rectified with bipartisan support. For the first time in this country, the needs of military children in schools are being highlighted from the very top.

“Most Americans are not aware that over 2 million students have had parents deployed since the beginning of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
President Barack Obama’s recently released directive “Strengthening Our Military Families” includes detailed plans for focusing on and improving educational outcomes for military students. First lady Michelle Obama and Jill Biden, a college educator and the wife of the vice president, are also making strong attempts to draw national awareness to these students’ unique and challenging circumstances by visiting schools that create military-friendly environments. They expanded their efforts in April when they announced an organized campaign focused on supporting military families.

But there is far more that policymakers and education leaders should be doing. Teachers and other school personnel should be educated about the learning challenges faced by the more than 1.3 million military children currently in our nation’s public schools.

Our universities’ schools of education need to provide preservice training for prospective teachers on the issues children in military families bring to the classroom. Teachers and administrators need to recognize how frequent mobility can affect a child’s academic growth and social-emotional development. They should be aware of the upheaval a soldier’s deployment can cause in a household. And they should be equipped with effective strategies for both welcoming new families and integrating respect for the military lifestyle into their teaching practices.
Currently, only two universities are providing master’s-level degree training that focuses specifically on the needs of military students in schools and on creating a school climate that is welcoming and sensitive to the concerns of military families. This means organizations such as the Military Child Educational Coalition, which advocates for the needs of military children and provides resources to families, provide most of the training only after teachers receive their university degrees.

The pending reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act offers an ideal opportunity for extending best practices found at some military-connected schools—and in DODEA schools—to all students of military families.

Schools should be aware of how many military students they are serving. Transition services, such as assessment and communication between sending and receiving schools, should automatically be in place for both incoming and outgoing students. There should be a system of electronic transfer of records to minimize any delay in appropriate or needed services. Administrative leaders should consider the impact of deployment and frequent mobility when considering school policies. The ESEA reauthorization also provides an opportunity to fully fund the federal impact-aid program so schools have the resources they need to provide these services.
California has just taken the lead by creating a military-connected school-survey module open to all 10,000 schools in the state—a strong step toward better understanding the experiences of military students and parents in public schools. Other states should follow California’s lead.

The voluntary Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children aims to address some of the common education barriers for military students. Through heroic efforts, the military community is addressing the timely transfer of records and working to guarantee that students receive credit for courses taken in other states, and ensuring eligibility for sports and other extracurricular programs. But only 36 states have adopted the compact, and there are no enforcement provisions.

Let’s show military families that our schools will not continue business as usual during the longest war in our history. Let’s invest a down payment of gratitude by supporting military-connected schools in their mission to provide the very best education our nation can offer.

• applies to eligible spouses of active duty military members of the U.S. Armed Forces, including the U.S. Coast Guard and full-time National Guard, who are applying and referred for certain positions at DOD activities in the U.S., its territories and possessions, and in overseas areas;
• applies only within the commuting area of the permanent duty station of the sponsor;
• applies only if the spouse entered into the marriage with the military sponsor prior to the reporting date to the new duty assignment.
• does not apply when the sponsor is separating or retiring.

Military Spouse Preference Program Eligibility:

• The spouse must be rated among the best qualified applicants for the position.
• The spouse must be located in the same geographical area as the sponsor’s (the active duty member) permanent duty station.
• Relocation of duty station must be based on a regular Permanent Change of Station (PCS) and not for separation or retirement.
• The marriage between the spouse and the military active duty sponsor must have taken place before the reporting date to the new duty station.
• Military spouses must provide a copy of or original sponsor’s PCS orders during the DoD application process.
• To be deemed among the best qualified applicants military spouses claiming eligibility must obtain a score of 80 or higher. This does not include veteran’s preference points.
• Whenever there are violations of veteran’s regulations, or problems arising out of situations of nepotism MSP does not apply.
• Individuals claiming preference must be spouses of active duty military members of the U.S. Armed forces including U.S. Coast Guard.
• MSP applies only to DoD competitive service positions.

Military Spouse Preference Program Registration: Registration may be accomplished at the losing A-coded activity up to 30 days prior to the sponsor’s reporting date or, upon relocation, at any A-coded activity in the commuting area of the sponsor’s new duty station. If not currently employed by DoD, an eligible spouse may register at an A-coded activity in the gaining area or, if registration is desired in advance, at any A-coded activity in the losing area. Spouses are not eligible if their sponsor relocates in conjunction with retirement or separation. Military spouse preference applies to temporary employment when it is expected to last one year or longer.

Skills: May register for up to 5 skills provided they are well qualified. High Grade: Spouses may register at a grade no higher than that previously held on a permanent basis or if the spouse’s only Federal service was overseas under time-limited appointment, he/she may register for the highest grade held, if they have appointment eligibility under Executive Order (E.O.) 12721. Spouses who are not current Federal employees who have E.O. 12721 and reinstatement eligibility may register under either option, whichever is more beneficial.

Separation Date: No date is entered on the registration. The computer enters the date of one year from the date of registration or file maintenance.

Release Date: No date is entered on the registration. The computer enters the date of one year from the date of registration or file maintenance. (NOTE: Both the spouse and the registering activity are notified that the “S” program registration will be terminated 12 months after initial registration or the last extension/file maintenance action. Any file maintenance or extension submitted by the registering activity and processed in Dayton extends the registration for one year. If automatically terminated, the spouse may re-register if otherwise eligible.)

Area of Referral: Employee may register for any location in the commuting area of the
sponsor’s new duty location.

Registering Activity Change: To change the registering activity of an active Program “S” registration, a new registration must be submitted (all registration elements must be completed and resubmitted).

Offer Response Time: Registrants in the continental U.S. (CONUS) must accept or decline offers from CONUS activities within 2 calendar days and registrants outside CONUS must respond within 3 calendar days.

Another private scholarship programs for military spouses.  For high school seniors are on the lookout for last-minute scholarships to help pay for college, the MacDill Officer’s Spouses’ Club is offering a scholarship to Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Polk, and Manatee county sons and daughters of active, retired or deceased military personnel.

The MacDill Offer’s Spouses’ Club (MOSC) is a social group of military spouses who provide friendship and support as well as help raise funds for charities.  The group holds luncheons every third Thursday throughout the school year. The group does not meet during the summer.

This year, the club has decided to offer two $500 scholarships — one to a senior student and one to a military spouse.

According to FishHawk Ranch resident Rowena Mateo-Sjovall, publicity committee coordinator, application information and forms will be available at the Airman and Family Readiness Center at MacDill Air Force Base and at the MacDill Family Resource Center in Brandon. Applications are to be returned to MOSC via U.S. mail and must be postmarked no later than April 25 for consideration.

The scholarship fund is to be used during the 2011-2012 school year at an accredited college. It is to go toward higher education-related expenses, which could include books and housing.

If you are a high school senior looking to add additional funding to your college education, visit www.macdillosc.com for additional information on the  requirements.  Remember the deadline is fast approaching, so make sure you have all your paperwork in quickly to be considered.

The military spouse scholarship is also available to a military spouse returning or enrolling in school.

In addition to the application, each applicant will have to provide copies of their military affiliate’s identification and orders of PCS to MacDill.  The applicant must write an essay answering the question, “What are your career goals and what has influenced you in choosing that career?”  The last major item that the applicants need to provide is a one-page list of extracurricular activities, volunteer organizations and any leadership positions within these organizations.

As Service members and their families have a few tax advantages at their disposal, as well as a few extra days in which to complete their taxes this year, a Defense Department tax expert said.

Army Lt. Col. Evan Stone, director of the Armed Forces Tax Council pointed out several new and existing tax laws military members and their spouses should keep in mind as the deadline draws near. at American Forces Press Service.

Here are the summary of the tax advantages for military families

2011 Tax Advantages for Military Families

Federal Tax Advantages for Military Families

1. The government reduced the Social Security tax from 6.2 percent of wages to 4.2 percent solely for the 2011 tax year. “For example, a specialist with over two years of service would probably see about a $40 increase per month in his pay,” But while take-home pay is on the rise, tax brackets won’t change. Congress extended the 2010 tax brackets through 2011 and 2012.
2. Other tax laws specific to military members and their spouses: The Combat Zone Tax Exclusion – Under this exclusion, for any day a member spends in a combat zone, that entire month’s worth of base pay is excluded from gross income for income tax purposes. There’s no limit to this exclusion for enlisted members and warrant officers; however, officers are limited to $7,714.80.  “Anything above that would be included in the member’s gross income,”
3. Deployed service members and their spouses also have at least a 180-day extension to file or pay taxes from the date they leave the combat zone. To invoke this extension, people should write “combat zone” across the top of their return.
4. Service members on duty outside of the United States also are entitled to an automatic two-month extension, pushing the deadline to June 18. However, unlike with the Combat Zone Tax Exclusion, while they gain an extension to file and pay taxes, the interest on any taxes owed still will accrue from April 18 until taxes are paid.
5. A significant tax break involves military allowances – Under competitive compensation, housing and food allowances are nontaxable for income tax purposes, reducing taxable income at the end of the year and creating a savings of about $2,000 to $7,000, depending on salary.

State Tax Advantages for Military Families

1. The Service Members’ Civil Relief Act has long granted service members the ability to retain their state of domicile for state tax purposes rather than the state where they are stationed. For example, a service member may be stationed in Virginia, but owns a home, pays property taxes and votes in Ohio. That member is entitled to claim Ohio as the state of domicile and not file state income taxes for military wages in Virginia.
2. The government amended this same law in 2009 through the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act. In the past, a military spouse who moved to a new state and established a new residence there typically would claim that state as the state of domicile and pay state income taxes there, Stone explained. Now, spouses who move to a new state, reside there solely to live with their service member and are there pursuant to military orders won’t gain or lose a state of domicile for state income tax purposes. Some states, he added, also may require the spouse to have the same domicile as the service member to be eligible.  However, the law is complicated and each state may apply different guidance on the application of the relief act.

To help with this tax law and others, service members and their spouses have a host of free, expert tax-preparation services at their disposal from on-base centers to online software.

It’s important that you know how valuable your comments are.  We read them very carefully.  Your words tell us where to focus our attention and where to go next.  Your best ideas allow us to tailor the military spouse employment program to your needs.

For example, you’ve asked that spouse employment programs support aspirations to all career fields, rather than a select few.  Message received.  We will to strive to help you pursue any career that fits your interest and experience.

Others have asked that we show potential employers how volunteerism is on par with work experience.  We will do this.  I am aware of the tremendous service you provide through your volunteerism.  We want employers to understand the skills and leadership that you demonstrate through your volunteer work.

We use your comments when we champion your cause.  The spouse licensure issue is a good example.  We posted a discussion board where spouses can describe their experiences, the good and the bad, with state licenses and certifications as you move from state to state.  We are sharing your comments with state law makers as we work with them on this issue.  They are seeing your first-hand accounts of the costs, obstacles and frustrations you encounter as you strive to continue your career.

We are making progress.  So far this year, 11 states have introduced legislation to break down licensure barriers.  We will continue to work with each state and address the barriers that spouses face.  We’re not there yet, so we need you to continue providing your comments.  It really makes a difference!

We’ve posted another discussion board, asking which career you want to pursue.  By reading about your career aspirations, we can best channel our efforts and energy toward meaningful support in terms of assisting you with career opportunities.

In the future, expect more opportunities to share your questions, comments and suggestions.  We are fully committed to supporting and empowering you to pursue a rewarding career. Thank you.  I look forward to hearing from you.

Source: http://www.dodlive.mil/index.php/2011/03/military-spouses-your-comments-help-us-boost-spouse-career-opportunities/

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