Hello
My name is Tom Liszewski. I am a counselor and health educator at Ferris
State University in Michigan. This is the first time that I have posted on
a list serve. Our campus of 10,000 students is in rural Central Michigan
and there is a shortage of substance abuse services available in the
county. In fact, there is one agency in town with one counselor and she
reports a caseload of 70 clients and 12 hour days. She sounds over worked.
My problem is that we have a number of students attending here from
throughout the state. Several each semester get arrested locally or back
home for MIP and/or drunk driving. They are required to complete an
alcohol education outpatient program. I did this type of work for many
years prior to working hi higher ed, so I have the background to provide
this service, and have been over the last several semesters to about 75
students per semester in a group setting. Now the university is beginning
to charge $200 for the service to help supplement the time I spend by
hiring a part time counselor to attend to the students on our waiting list.
I am in a quandary about leaving the students to the local substance abuse
agency as the level of care may be compromised, but they only charge around
$50, and I dislike charging students $200 for a 6 hour program.
I was wondering what do other colleges and universities do with students
who run into legal problems as a result of their drinking. Do they provide
on campus services, and if so, do they charge a fee, and if so, how much?
Thanks for any input you might have towards clarifying what is the
"standard practice".
Tom Liszewski
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