The Human Services Program (HSERV) prepares students to enter the Social Work profession by building the skills and knowledge needed to help those in our community who have fallen on less fortunate times. Human development, child welfare, counseling theory and practice, substance abuse treatment, cultural competence, domestic abuse, ethics and prevention are all part of the curriculum.

The HSERV Drug and Alcohol Studies component is the only program in the greater Monterey Bay Region that prepares students for State Certification as Drug and Alcohol Counselors, a requirement to work in alcohol and drug treatment centers in California. HSERV has the largest Service Learning component at Cabrillo. Each semester the HSERV program sends 40 to 50 students out to our community to intern with local Health and Human Services agencies. These students get on-the-job training and supervision in return for their volunteer hours. Each semester HSERV students contribute more than $70,000 in-kind in volunteer social work services to our community. Last fall 40% of our interns were hired by their agencies even before they had graduated!

Should Proposition 30 not pass,the following elements of HSERV's mission and purpose will become highly vulnerable:

• Preparing well-educated, skilled Human Services workers in our community who understand the underlying dynamics that lead to poverty, addiction, abuse, incarceration and other societal ills.
• Maintaining the HSERV program’s accreditation by California Association of Alcohol and Drug Educators.
• Providing a career pathway into the Social Work field.
• Paving the Social Work transfer path to higher education at CSUMB, SJ State and other colleges.
• Offering students a local site for Drug and Alcohol counselor certification.
• Educating and training qualified volunteer support for local Human Services Agencies.
• Expediting HSERV students' education plans for success.
• Offering a self-sustaining program.
• Facilitating students' access to Fast Track to Work funding.