TOP STORY >> New Airman and Family Readiness Center grant for spouses

By Airman 1st Class Mercedes Muro 

19th Airlift Wing Public Affairs 

The Airman and Family Readiness Center is now accepting applications until April 17 for the 2015 Air Force Aid Society Spouse Employment Training Grant. 

The A&FRC received the grant to give spouses the opportunity to receive their certified nurse’s assistant license through a three-week program. 

The A&FRC is looking to fill 10 slots with spouses of active-duty Airmen within the ages of 18-25 with at least a high school diploma or GED certificate for the program. 

Spouses are required to have their own transportation and child care to apply for the grant. 

Selected applicants are required to attend the course beginning May 11-May 27, Monday-Friday, from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Arkansas Nursing Assistant Academy in North Little Rock. 

Graduates will have a CNA certificate that will allow them practice anywhere within the state of Arkansas. If they move, graduates won’t be able to use their Arkansas CNA license. Instead, they are required to take their new resident state’s certification.

“It’s such a great opportunity for the spouses here at Little Rock,” said Sharon Thompson, the A&FRC chief. “Employment is a huge issue all across branches of service. We wanted to be able to provide something is portable, so we chose health care because that is such a broad career field. Although the license isn’t transferable, the training still is. No matter where they go, they can still use their training.”

Not only will the grant give spouses the opportunity to become CNAs, it also allows the A&FRC an opportunity to request more grants. 

“We’ve been asked by the AFAS to follow up with the grant,” said Mike Rudisill, an A&FRC community readiness specialist. “We’re going to track this first group through the course, their hiring process and then six months after they’ve been hired. We want to find out how successful the process was in order to receive more grants and give more people career opportunities.”

The A&FRC has high expectations for the grant to impact the student’s career. 

“We’re hoping that the course will provide them an introduction to health care,” said Rudisill. “If nursing is what they want to get into, then the program will provide them an avenue to that career.” 

To apply for the grant and start your health care career, call the A&FRC at (501) 987-6801.