Frequently Asked Questions about the Certified Recovery Support Specialist (CRSS) and Certified Peer Recovery Specialist (CPRS) Credentials
1. What are the CRSS and CPRS?
The acronyms CRSS and CPRS can be used to refer to either the credential itself (e.g., "how do I earn my CRSS?"), or the person who holds the credential (e.g., "I am a CPRS"). People who have earned the CRSS or CPRS credential are professionals trained to incorporate their unique personal recovery experiences with mental health and/or substance use challenges to support the recovery of others. The CRSS and CPRS credentials are for people in recovery who provide professional peer support services for persons recovering from mental health and/or substance use challenges. They are also credentials that verify that a person has the knowledge and skills that meet minimum acceptable standards of the recovery support profession, regardless of whether they have an academic degree or not.
2. Does my lived experience make the CRSS or CPRS credential a good fit for me?
Only you can determine whether you are eligible to pursue the CRSS or CPRS credentials. No documentation of your lived experience is required. Here are a few questions you might ask yourself to determine if one of these credentials are a good fit.
- Am I comfortable with my present and/or past challenges with mental health or co-occurring mental health and substance use challenges being known by my colleagues and the people I serve?
- Am I able to share information about how I am/was able to overcome these challenges? Am I willing to do so?
- Do I feel that my experiences related to dealing with mental health or co-occurring mental health and substance use challenges have value for others going through similar challenges?
- Am I willing to learn how to share my experiences in a way that promotes hope and supports another person in their journey toward recovery?
If you feel you can confidently answer yes to 3 out of 4 of the above, you may want to pursue the CRSS or CPRS. If more than 1 of the above gives you pause, then they may not be the credentials for you.
3. How does a person obtain the CRSS or CPRS?
Here are the steps that are recommended for you to take if you are interested in earning either the CRSS or CPRS credentials:
- Visit the Illinois Certification Board website at iaodapca.org, click on credentialing, scroll down to Recovery Support Specialist (for CRSS) or Peer Recovery Specialist (CPRS). You'll want to download all listed documents for the applicable credential (Model, Study Guide, etc.), print or save them, and carefully read the Model, which explains the requirements for the credential.
- Once you have read and familiarized yourself with the Model, you can begin to gather the necessary documentation for your application. You can use the link on the ICB Credentialing page to start an application on their online portal, Certemy. You do not have to have all documentation ready at the time you open your application. It will require you to create an account so that Certemy can save your progress as you complete each step of the application
- Once you have completed all steps in the online application, including uploading all required documentation and paying the application fee, you will submit it for final review. After ICB reviews the application, they will reply with either an approval to take the exam, or a list of any missing or incomplete documentation. Applicants have up to one year to supply any missing or incomplete documentation.
4. What are the application requirements for the CRSS and CPRS credentials?
The work experience and supervision requirements for both credentials are the same, but the education requirements are slightly different:
-
Work Experience (CRSS & CPRS)
- 2,000 hours (completed within the past 4 years)
- Can be either paid or volunteer (or a combination of both)
- Must be supervised, whether paid or volunteer
- Clinically supervised by individual knowledgeable in Performance Domains
- 51% of work duties must involve providing recovery support services
- Primary responsibilities should be providing recovery support services to an individual/group, such as preparing recovery plans or documenting client progress
-
Supervision (CRSS & CPRS)
- 100 hours of supervision in Performance Domains from paid or volunteer work
- Supervision includes:
- Time individual spends being observed, directly or indirectly, performing services
- Time spent with supervisor discussing work performance and/or topics relevant to job duties
-
Education
- Both CRSS & CPRS require either a High School Diploma or GED
- CRSS requires 100 total clock hours, divided as follows:
- 40 hours CRSS Specific (10 in each CRSS Performance Domain)
- 6 hours Professional Ethics and Responsibility
- 54 hours Core Functions
- CPRS requires 100 total clock hours, divided as follows:
- 40 hours CPRS Specific (10 in each CPRS Performance Domain)
- 16 hours Professional Ethics and Responsibility
- 44 hours Core Functions (must include 5 hours specific to family and 5 hours specific to youth)
5. What are the questions on the CRSS and CPRS exam?
The questions on the exam measure competency in the CRSS & CPRS Performance Domains (Advocacy, Professional/Ethical Responsibility, Mentoring/Education, Wellness/Recovery Support, Harm Reduction).
Competencies are the measurable knowledge, skills, abilities, and behaviors critical to successful job performance. Therefore, the CRSS & CPRS exam measures both an individual's knowledge and their ability to make decisions based on recovery support principles. In other words, the exam questions test an applicant's knowledge of "facts" that can be memorized and the applicant's ability to understand and apply those "facts" to the tasks of recovery support.
Exam Basics:
6. How much does the CRSS/CPRS exam cost? Can I take the exam more than once?
The exam fee is $200. There may also be a separate 'proctor fee' that is charged by the testing site, but that fee will vary from site to site. Proctor fees range from $7-$32. Scholarship funds may be available to cover exam and proctor fees. For more information and to apply for a scholarship, please contact any of the colleges listed on the CRSS Success Program5 . If an applicant does not pass the exam, they may test again but must pay the fee again. There is no limit to the number of times an applicant can take the exam, and there is no minimum wait time before requesting to retest.
If a person needs to retake the exam, they would have received a new pre-registration form with their exam scores. That form needs to be completed and sent back to ICB with the exam fee. A person has 1 year from the date they last took the exam to retest. If they do not test in a years' time, then their file will expire and they will need to reapply with a new application.
7. What if I need an accommodation to take the CRSS/CPRS exam?
ICB policy states, "Accommodations for individuals with disabilities and/or religious obligations must be submitted in writing no less than thirty days prior to the examination date. Official documentation of the disability or religious issue must be provided with the written request."
According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), "private entities offering covered examinations need to make sure that any request for required documentation is reasonable and limited to the need for the requested modification, accommodation, or auxiliary aid or service."
With documentation that supports the need for the requested modification and written notice no later than thirty days prior to the exam date, ICB will offer appropriate modifications to the exam process. Once an applicant has received an official letter notice from ICB with the details of their approved accommodations, they must reply to ICB with the date and location they are scheduled to take the exam. ICB will then coordinate arrangements for the accommodations with the testing site. Applicants are encouraged to check back with ICB a few days prior to their exam date to confirm that the requested accommodations have been arranged with the testing site.
8. What training courses are required to fulfill the 100 hours of education?
There are no required courses; there are required hours. Each individual is responsible for seeking out training and education that meets the requirements as described in the CRSS and CPRS Models and as approved by ICB. The Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery provides free training opportunities that meet the ICB requirements for CRSS-specific and CPRS-specific hours. In addition, multiple other free training opportunities exist. For a list of potential sources of education hours, please see our Resources for Education Hours. Please note that this list does not guarantee approval by ICB and some courses on the list may have associated costs.
9. What are the CRSS & CPRS Performance Domains and Core Functions?
The Performance Domains/Core Functions are the areas of competency and titles of the Performance Domains/Core Functions in which CRSS and CPRS professionals are expected to perform tasks and demonstrate knowledge.
- Performance Domains include actions or tasks, which start with words such as assist, promote, maintain, or utilize.
- Core Functions include corresponding areas of knowledge, which start with words such as define, explain, identify, or understand.
The titles of the Performance Domains/Core Functions are slightly different between the CRSS and CPRS. Please see the CRSS and CPRS Model documents for detailed lists of examples for each area.
-
CRSS
- Advocacy
- Professional Responsibility
- Mentoring
- Recovery Support
-
CPRS
- Advocacy
- Ethical Responsibility
- Mentoring & Education
- Recovery/Wellness Support
- Harm Reduction
10. What kinds of continuing education classes do I need to take to maintain CRSS or CPRS certification?
Both the CRSS and CPRS require that professionals submit proof of their continuing education in order to renew their certification every two years. A smaller portion of those Continuing Education Units (CEUs) must be specific to the knowledge and skills in the CRSS/CPRS Performance Domains/Core Functions (as described in the answer to #4, above). The rest of the CEUs do not need to be specific to those domains, but they must at least still be relevant to them, and can include a wide variety of support services skills such as communication, leadership, crisis intervention, trauma-informed care, confidentiality, cultural competency, conflict resolution, or evidence-based practices. Each CEU can only be used once.
11. What does it cost to obtain and maintain the CRSS and/or CPRS credentials?
The costs for the CRSS and CPRS are the same for both credentials. To obtain the credential, an applicant must first pay the Application Fee ($100), and once approved to sit for the exam, the Examination Fee ($200). To maintain the credential, the CRSS or CPRS must pay the Biennial Recertification Fee ($150) every two years by the anniversary of their certification date. An invoice will be sent to the email address on file as a reminder, 60 days before the due date. Financial assistance may be available for these fees as part of a scholarship fund that is administered by several colleges and universities across the State of Illinois. You do not have to be a student of these institutions to apply for financial assistance. For questions about these funds, please see contact information for these institutions on the CRSS Success Program5
The only other potential costs of maintaining the CRSS and/or CPRS credential are associated with earning and submitting required continuing education hours. Some sources of CEUs charge for their courses; however, there are numerous free and low-cost courses available online that are suitable for fulfilling these requirements. A list of courses that ICB has pre-approved for CEUs is available on the ICB Continuing Education Bulletin. Other lists of relevant courses are found in the CRSS Study Guide¹ and on the Illinois Mental Health Collaborative website8, although not all of these listings have been pre-approved by ICB.
A reminder of the due date for CEUs will be sent via email, along with the invoice for your biennial fee, 60 days before the due date (every two years). When requesting renewal of your credential, if you choose to submit a CEU that was not on the ICB pre-approved list, you will be asked to pay a CEU Petition Fee of $25. If your credential is set to expire and you need more time to earn/gather/submit the required CEUs, you will be asked to pay a CEU Extension Fee of $50 to extend your expiration date by 30 days. This is the maximum extension allowed.
12. Can either CRSS or CPRS bill Medicaid?
- It depends on who the CRSS or CPRS is employed by.
- Only CRSS are qualified to provide Medicaid billable services when employed by providers certified under Communtity Mental Health Services Program JCAR Admin. Code 059 Part 132.
- Both CRSS and CPRS are qualified to provide Medicaid billable services when employed by providers licensed to provide Substance Use Treatment Services under 77 III.Admin.Code 2060.
References
1. CRSS Study Guide
2. The International Certification & Reciprocity Consortium
3. CPRS Candidates Guide pdf
4. CPRS Study Guide pdf
5. CRSS Success Program
6. Obtaining Education Hours For the CRSS and CPRS Credentials
7. ICB-Approved CEUs
8. Illinois Mental Health Collaborative
Send any questions about this document to: DHS.DBHR.RecoveryServices@illinois.gov
