Training Calendar

Recruit, Cultivate and Retain (RCR) is a leadership series designed for mid-level managers working in employment and community inclusion service provider agencies. By joining RCR, you will have the opportunity to develop immediately usable skills for developing your own career and promoting increased job satisfaction for staff you manage. In community with other program managers, we will re-energize, create solutions to complex problems and share expertise.

Goals:

• Learn strategies for recruiting, developing and retaining staff
• Increase your leadership skills as a manager and leader
• Develop a plan for advancing your career
• Hone systems and processes for developing staff into leadership positions
• Connect with other leaders that are managing employment and day services
• Deepen and develop relationships across organizations in your community

The Substance Abuse Rehabilitation Technician (SART) program is a collaborative training initiative offered by the University of Maine at Augusta (UMA) Mental Health & Human Services Program and the University of Maine at Farmington (UMF) Rehabilitation and Human Services Program.

The online 10-course SART Certificate Program provides students with the necessary coursework to meet the education requirements for entry-level licensure in substance use disorder treatment in Maine. Whether you’re interested in becoming a substance use treatment counselor, pursuing a degree in a related field, or looking to enhance your existing qualifications, the SART certificate offers a comprehensive educational foundation.

Are you interested in becoming a job coach? Maine’s new Job Coach Training course provides the foundational knowledge and practical skills you need to support job seekers with disabilities in long-term employment!

What Will You Learn?
In this free, self-paced, online training, you will learn how to support job seekers throughout their employment journey, from teaching workplace skills to promoting independence. Topics include:

• disability awareness
• workplace relationships
• systematic instruction
• workplace safety

Course Details
This course was created and authorized by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services. Completing the course is a requirement of becoming a job coach in Maine who can work with people with disabilities for the DOE, DHHS, and DOL.

This is a self-paced online course. Log in and learn at your convenience. You will have 8 weeks to complete the course at your own pace.

Questions? Reach out to Kelly.Wanzer@umb.edu

Obtain your ACRE Certificate to become an Employment Specialist in Maine.

This two-part course bundle includes the ACRE-approved coursework, plus the required activities and fieldwork. Part 1 covers all 13 lessons approved by ACRE, and Part 2 covers the fieldwork activities. When you complete Part 1 and Part 2, you will receive an ACRE certificate, and your name will be added to both the ACRE Certificate Registry and the Maine Working Together Certificate Registry.

Part 1: Twenty-five (25) hours of online lessons, including:

-Foundations of Employment Services
-Principles of Career Development
-Strategies for Job Development: Part 1
-Strategies for Job Development: Part 2
-Business Perspectives
-Performance Coaching and Support: Part 1
-Performance Coaching and Support: Part 2
-Using Work Incentives Toward Self-Sufficiency
-Funding
-Ticket to Work
-Networking
-Job Creation
-Cultural Humility

Part 2: Twelve to fifteen (12–15) hours of supplemental activities accessed via an online learning platform, including:

-completing community-based fieldwork assignments that align with work employment professionals are already doing
-contributing to discussion forums
-analyzing and responding to realistic client scenarios

How Long Do Learners Have to Complete the Course?

Learners have 180 days to complete both Part 1 and Part 2.

After 180 days, the learner will no longer have access to the course materials required to earn their ACRE certificate. Learners are expected to monitor their time to complete the work during this timeframe.

Please send any questions to Kelly Wanzer at kelly.wanzer@umb.edu.

Successfully fading and maximizing the use of natural supports in employment is critical to the success of people with disabilities. Join us to learn more about why fading and natural supports are important for people with disabilities, programs that support them, and businesses that hire them.

Through asynchronous and synchronous instruction, you will learn when and how to:
• identify and use natural supports at the jobsite
• implement systematic instruction and task analysis
• build the independence and confidence of the individual in the workplace

Who should attend this training?
People working toward their job coach certification and anyone providing support services to individuals and students with disabilities should attend this training.

Learners must complete the following requirements:
• Monday, November 2 – Friday, November 13, 2026: Complete the 3-hour online asynchronous training
• Wednesday, November 18, 2026, from 10:00am–12:00pm ET: Attend the live Zoom session

Registration is limited to 40 learners.

Questions? Email Kelly.Wanzer@umb.edu

Monthly learning opportunities for 2026!

Direct support staff, supervisors, and managers from residential, community, and employment programs can join Zoom calls to learn about strategies, tools, and resources they can use to help people make meaningful community connections, develop valued roles, and learn about and explore employment.

November Topic: Maine Best Practices—hear stories about how providers have supported people to build strong community connections.

Sessions will be held on the last Tuesday of the month through November 2026. No registration required.

Join the monthly meeting using this link.

If you require accommodation, such as real time transcription and captioning (CART) or American Sign Language (ASL) or other language interpretation, please contact OADS at April.Keyes@maine.gov at least 2 weeks prior to the session date. You may also contact Lisa.Cline@maine.gov with questions.

Who can benefit from Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS), and are we reaching them?

This webinar will unpack the difference between eligible and potentially eligible students with disabilities and examine how employment service providers, schools, and community partners can work together to expand access. Participants will explore practical strategies for promoting Pre-ETS and reaching students in both traditional and non-traditional school settings, connecting more young people with services that can help prepare them for employment.

Audience: This webinar is intended for employment service professionals (ESP), vocational rehabilitation counselors (VRC), special education teachers, and others who support students with disabilities as they engage in secondary transition services and prepare to reach their education, training, employment, independent living, and community inclusion goals after high school.

You can become a Career Planner! Learn the skills you need to work with people one-on-one, engage with businesses to connect people to companies, capture and organize accurate information, and develop written career plans.

This training includes three (3) webinars that are each 2 hours long, and one in-person day in Augusta.

Dates for February 2027 and registration link coming soon!

Course Requirements:
• You must be fully certified as a Work Support Professional or an ACRE Employment Specialist to attend this training.
• You must attend all sessions and complete an evaluation to receive the certificate.
• You must complete assigned homework between sessions.
• The course will be limited to the first 20 enrollees.

Registration is limited and on a first-come, first-served basis. For questions, contact: Lisa.D.Sturtevant@maine.gov.