Pope part of new spouses education program Published Dec. 14, 2007 By Jason Sibrel Pope Education Counselor POPE AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. -- Pope and Fort Bragg have been chosen to participate in the new Military Spouse Career Advancement Accounts (SCAA) initiative scheduled to allow spouses to begin training as early as January 2008. The Pope Education Center held its first information briefing Dec. 14 at the Military Personnel Flight building room 222. The same meeting will be held Dec. 28 at 9:30 a.m. in room 222. This initiative is designed to advance military spouses into portable careers by providing them with funded education and training in high-growth, high-demand fields including information technology, education, health services, financial services and the construction trades. Career Advancement Accounts can be used to pay for expenses directly related to post-secondary education and training, including tuition, fees, books, equipment, and credentialing and licensing fees. The initiative targets military spouses with a General Education Degree, high-school diploma or some post-secondary education and who are married to active-duty service members in the grades of E1-E5 and O1-O3 with at least one year left here. Military spouses in need of renewing credentials (for example, nursing and teaching certificates) upon relocating here are also eligible. Accounts may be up to $3,000 for one year and may be renewed for one additional year if approved, for a total two-year account of up to $6,000 per spouse. For length of training, Career Center Assessment counselors will be on hand during each Pope briefing. For additional information and program eligibility criteria on Career Advancement Accounts, visit the SCAA homepage at http://caa.milspouse.org/. This is a demonstration project, so it may not be available if you receive a Permanent Change of Station out of North Carolina. Only eight states are participating in this project. Both Pope and Fort Bragg active duty spouses in the above listed ranks may be eligible. Installation/Base Voluntary Education Centers and Airman Family Readiness Centers will initiate military spouse applications and forward them to local One-Stop Career Centers for account establishment and issuance. Education Centers, A&FRC and One-Stop Career Centers will collaborate to provide career counseling, guidance and assessments to support military spouse career and education choices. The local Career Center makes the determination on specific and final criteria eligibility and disperses all approved funds directly to the recipient's account. Briefings are scheduled to be held every second and fourth Friday of each month. Attendance at the briefings will be necessary as program applications and checklist will be provided. These briefings will have limited seating, so call the Pope Education Center at (910) 394-1141 to register. Further information will be provided once registered for a briefing date.