Health & Human Services Management Certificate Program

Details

Catholic Charities-Haitian Multi-Service Center
Black Ministerial Alliance
Suffolk University
Health and Human Services Management
Certificate Program
Gaining knowledge, building confidence, creating a
network, and building a better health and human
services system. Better managers, manage better!
2008-2009 Program

For more information, contact:
HHS Management Admissions Committee
Haitian Multi-Service Center, 185 Columbia Road, Dorchester, MA 02121
(617) 506-6600

CATHOLIC CHARITIES-Haitian Multi Service Center/Black Ministerial
Alliance/SUFFOLK UNIVERSITY Health & Human Services Management
Certificate Program
Community-based organizations in the not-for-profit sector are faced with a dearth of
qualified younger staff both to provide smooth transitions when senior managers
choose to leave, and to perform the extraordinarily demanding functions of middle
managers in today’s technologically sophisticated and regulatorily exacting human
services environment.
Although training programs do exist in public and human services management, we
have identified serious barriers to seeking formal training among younger not-forprofit
staff, including:
¨ lack of financial resources to pay for education,
¨ inadequate release-time from work responsibilities, and
¨ a perception that the existing programs are not tailored to the specific skill
sets required by human services managers.
It is not uncommon for graduate level courses to cost in excess of $2,000 each even
at accessible schools, with multi-credit courses, and multi-course programs, the norm
rather than the exception. Should young managers choose to make the economic
investment to undergo formal training, often the community-based organization is
unable to reimburse them for the cost. Furthermore, these study programs often take
place after regular working hours or on Saturdays, requiring an additional sacrifice in
terms of domestic and personal time, at a span in their life course when most middle
managers are raising families. Finally, most training programs address the needs and
concerns of managers in large not-for-profit organizations, such as hospitals, and the
coursework is often irrelevant to managers in small and mid-sized community-based
organizations.
In order to address these barriers and provide a useful program of formal training,
CC-HMSC and Suffolk University have developed a one-year, integrated learning and
working Health & Human Services (HHS) Management Certificate Program that will
effectively begin to address the scarcity of qualified not-for-profit middle managers.

A TIMELY SOLUTION
The HHS program will consist of five 5-week Training Blocks. As indicated in the
following chart, each 5-week Block will consist of two modules. The topics for the
modules were selected after surveying CC-HMSC middle and senior managers
extensively, and after consultation with Professors Marie Matava and Clarence
Cooper, of Suffolk University’s Public Management Department.

Cost
The tuition cost for the Certificate Program is $3,000/student. For the 2008-2009
Program, however, qualified students from Partner agencies (DSS, MAPS, CC, BMA)
will get a $1,000 scholarship. Students may incur some expense for educational
materials (as noted below), and each Student is required to pay a non refundable
$50 application fee. Application fees must be mailed in with the application, checks
made out to CC-Haitian Multi Service Center, and mailed to 185 Columbia Road,
Dorchester, MA 02121.

PARTICIPANT SELECTION
Applicants for the program must meet the following basic criteria:
1. Have management responsibilities, or be in line to assume them in the near
future.
2. Have a written recommendation and approval of their direct supervisor.
3. Commit to completing the entire one-year program and to remain in the
employ of their current employee for at least one year after graduation.
4. Agree to invest a maximum of $50 per Training Block ($250 maximum for
the program) in educational materials, if required for graduate credits.
5. Agree to inclusion of program completion as an element of the annual
performance evaluation.
4
COMPLETION
Participants who complete the ten modules in the five Training Blocks will receive a
Certificate in Health & Human Services Management, issued jointly by Catholic
Charities-Haitian Multi Service Center and Suffolk University. Those participants who
excel in the successful completion of the program will receive a Certificate with
Distinction.

CC-HMSC/BMA expects that the experience will motivate participants to continue
their graduate-level studies. Graduates of the HHS program who complete their work
at graduate level may apply nine (15) graduate level credits (over $9,000 in tuition)
toward the following programs at Suffolk University:
Master of Public Administration 45 cr.
Master of Health Administration 49 cr.
MPA/ Master of Science in Mental Health 60 cr.
MPA/ Master of Political Science 54 cr.
MPA/Master of Science in Criminal Justice 54 cr.
Certificate of Advanced Studies in Public Administration 15 cr.
Sponsoring Agency Responsibilities
Agencies who wish to sponsor an employee(s) for enrollment in the HHS Program
must agree to give enrolled employees paid time-off in order to attend classes and to
adjust their work requirements accordingly.
In return, all HHS enrollees will commit themselves to continued employment with
their sponsoring agency for at least one year following their graduation.

Application Process
Information sessions will be held each June for interested applicants and agencies.
Applications are due July 15th. and admission decisions will be made by August 1st for September enrollment.
Each Program cycle is expected to enroll thirty students.