CRSS & CPRS Credential Process

CRSS: Certified Recovery Support Specialist
CPRS: Certified Peer Recovery Specialist

What are they?

  • Professionals trained to incorporate their unique personal recovery experiences with mental health and/or substance use challenges to support the recovery of others.
  • Credentials for people in recovery who provide professional peer support services for persons recovering from mental health and/or substance use challenges.
  • Credentials that verify that a person has the knowledge and skills that meet minimum acceptable standards of the Recovery Support profession, regardless of having an academic degree.
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Where do I start?

  • Go to www.iaodapca.org, click on credentialing, scroll down to Recovery Support Specialist (for CRSS) or Peer Recovey Specialist (for CPRS).
  • Download all listed documents for the applicable credential (Model, Study Guide, etc.).
  • Print 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.
  • 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. Your application can stay open for up to one year.
  • 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.
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Fees

  • Application Fee.………………………………… $100
  • Exam Fee...………..………………………………. $200
  • Biennial Recertification Fee.…………….…$150
  • Continuing Education Unit (CEU) Petition Fee.………………………………. $25
  • Continuing Education Unit (CEU) Extension Fee…………………………….. $50
    • one-time extension of 1 month only

*For information on applying for financial assistance with the Application, Examination, or Annual Certification fees, please see the CRSS Success program page2 on the IDHS website.

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Application Requirements

Work Experience

  • 2,000 hours (from within the past 4 years)
  • Can be either paid or volunteer
  • 51% of work duties must involve providing mental health recovery support services
  • Must be supervised, whether paid or volunteer
  • Primary responsibility providing recovery support services to an individual/group
    • Prepare recovery plans
    • Document client progress
  • Clinically supervised by individual knowledgeable in Performance Domains

Supervision

  • 100 hours of supervision received in Performance Domains:
    • From paid or volunteer work
  • Supervision:
    • Hours individual spends being observed, directly/indirectly performing services
    • Time spent with supervisor discussing work performance and/or topics relevant to job duties

Education

  • High School Diploma or GED
  • 100 clock hours (CRSS):
    • 40 hrs CRSS Specific (min. 10 hours in each Performance Domain)
    • 6 hrs Professional Ethics and Responsibility
    • 54 hrs Core Functions
  • 100 clock hours (CPRS):
    • 40 hrs CPRS Specific (min. 10 hours in each Performance Domain)
    • 16 hrs Professional Ethics and Responsibility
    • 44 hours Core Functions (Must include 5 hours specific to family and 5 hours specific to youth)

Examination Process

  • Once an application is approved by Illinois Certification Board (ICB), applicants will be notified of eligibility to schedule their exam. The exam will be administered via computer at one of multiple testing sites across the State of Illinois that are contracted by ICB.
  • The exam measures competency in the CRSS/CPRS Performance Domains. Competency refers to an individual's ability to make decisions based on recovery support principles.
  • The exam consists of 75 multiple choice questions and the applicant has up to 2 hours to complete it. Accommodations may be available upon request.
  • Applicants may retest if they do not receive a passing score (minimum of 500 out of 800).
  • For assistance with exam preparation, please see the Study Guides listed under each credential at iaodapca.org.
  • Examination fee: $200.00 (*See Fees section of this document for more information.)
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What comes next?

  • After passing the exam, a certificate will be made available for download on the Certemy website. CRSS/CPRS professionals may choose to print and frame or display the certificate, if they wish.
  • It is the responsibility of the CRSS/CPRS professional to maintain their certification number in a secure location.
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Maintaining Your Certification

  • CRSS/CPRS professionals are required to earn Continuing Education Units (CEUs) throughout each of the 2-year certification periods in order to apply for renewal.
  • Establish a filing system for maintaining documentation related to your credential.
  • Keep copies of certificates from any training programs attended.
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Every Two Years

Biennial Recertification Fee of $150 is due every two years by the anniversary of certification date

  • Invoice will be sent via email 60 days before the due date

40 CEUs for CRSS  -  30 CEUs for CPRS

  • Due every 2 years by anniversary of certification date
  • Submit documentation of CEUs to ICB via the online portal link, which is provided with the fee invoice. Emailed CEUs are not accepted.
  • Request extension if more time is needed to obtain CEUs
    • $50 fee for 1 month extension
    • One-time only, no further extensions allowed
  • ICB will review CEUs. If approved, new certificate will be issued upon receipt of annual fee.
  • New certificate will be valid for another 2 years.
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More Information on CEUs

  • 1 clock hour of training = 1 CEU
  • Relevant college credit hours (as determined by ICB) can be used for CEUs
    • 1 semester credit hour = 15 CEUs
    • 1 quarter credit hour = 10 CEUs
    • 1 trimester credit hour = 12 CEUs
  • To be valid, CEUs must have been obtained within the 2-year certification period.
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Topics of Continuing Education

CRSS I & II  -  CPRS I & II

  • Out of the total CEUs required for certification, a smaller portion must be specific to the knowledge and skills in the CRSS/CPRS Performance Domains/Core Functions.
  • The rest of the CEUs do not need to be specific to those domains, but they must at least still be relevant to them.
  • Each CEU can only be used once.
  • All CEUs submitted for recertification must be either:
    • Have been pre-approved by ICB (have an ICB Program Number on the certificate) OR ?
    • Be submitted for approval by the applicant using the CEU Petition Form along with a $25 fee, which is in addition to the recertification fee
  • For renewal, the number of CEUs in each category differs between the CRSS and CPRS; see the table below for details.

For renewal, the number of CEUs in each category differs between the CRSS and CPRS:

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CRSS CPRS
Total CEUs required every two years 40 30
Hours specific to CRSS/CPRS At least 15 of the 40 required CEUs must be specific to mental health recovery and/or peer support in the recovery process. (Examples: CRSS domains of advocacy, professional responsibility, mentoring and recovery support)

At least 20 of the 30 required CEUs must be specific to recovery and/or peer support in the recovery process. (Examples: CPRS domains of advocacy, professional responsibility, mentoring, recovery support, and harm reduction)

Note: Of these 20 hours, 6 must be in CPRS Ethics
Hours not specific to CRSS/CPRS Remaining required CEUs (up to 25) can be on knowledge or skills related to the core functions of CRSS professionals (Examples: evidence-based practices, trauma-informed care, conflict resolution, confidentiality, legal systems, crisis intervention, roles/boundaries, cultural competency, etc.) Remaining required CEUs (up to 10) can be on knowledge or skills related to the core functions of CRSS professionals. (Examples: evidence-based practices, trauma-informed care, conflict resolution, confidentiality, legal systems, crisis intervention, roles/boundaries, cultural competency, etc.)

References

1. CRSS Success Scholarship Fund

Send any questions about this document to:  DHS.DBHR.RecoveryServices@illinois.gov