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SDC employees graduate as psych techs
Bonnie Durrance | Sonoma Valley Sun
Sonoma Developmental Center (SDC) employees earn and learn thanks to a sponsorship program that benefits the center as well.
In December, nine SDC employees graduated from the Santa Rosa Junior College (SRJC) psychiatric technician program, and nine graduated from the psychiatric technician program at Napa Valley College.
Of the Napa program, Isaiah Cronk, Juliet Delacruz, Chester John DeLeon, Eligio Floresca, Margie Gulan, Rayna Gull, Gladys Karani, Rita Pauletich, and Elisa Tongol were among 27 graduates feted Dec. 16 at an evening ceremony held in the Little Theatre at the College.
Of the Santa Rosa program, Amelia Baio, Karen Bolles, Heidi Everhart, Marlee Gradias, Howard Leyton, Thomas Miller, John Rerai, Marc Wickwire, Jason Winslow were among 13 graduates honored in an afternoon ceremony at Newman Auditorium on the SRJC campus.
Karen Litzenberg, assistant to the executive director at SDC, said the 18-month Napa and Santa Rosa programs are open to anyone, and that SDC sponsors those of its employees who choose to participate. “It’s a sponsorship program,” she said. “They work part time while going to school and get paid their full salary.”
SDC’s requirements are basic. “They need to be a current employee and be enrolled in a psychiatric technician program and they put in an application for sponsorship. There’s a committee that reviews it and they get recommendations from their supervisors.”
The psychiatric technician program teaches skills the students can use in the care, treatment, and rehabilitation of mentally ill, emotionally disturbed or developmentally disabled individuals. With this additional training, employees can advance in their work with SDC, or go elsewhere, if they choose. “The other piece is money,” said Litzenberg. “For many, becoming a psych tech means more money than whatever they were doing before.” It also works for SDC. “It works as a recruitment tool. Let’s say [employees] may be looking to further their knowledge and increase their opportunities for employment; then going through the psych tech program is one way to do that.”
Upon graduation the students are eligible to take the state board exam and become psychiatric technicians licensed by the State of California.
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