Addiction Professionals Scholarship Program
Overview
The Credentialed Prevention Professional (CPP) or Credentialed Prevention Specialist (CPS) is intended for individuals interested in helping to prevent the development of substance use disorders. CPP’s and CPS’ use a comprehensive, multi-dimensional prevention services approach which includes the following six performance domains:
- Planning and evaluation;
- prevention education and service delivery;
- communication;
- community organization;
- public policy and environmental change;
- professional growth and responsibility.
Requirements
To become a CPP/CPS in New York state, you must:
- Be at least 18 years of age;
- For a CPS, have earned at least a High School Diploma or High School Equivalency and for the CPP earned at least a Bachelor’s Degree;
- Live or work in New York State at least 51 percent of the time during the application period;
- Have two individuals complete an Evaluation of Competency and Ethical Conduct based on the CPP/CPS Canon of Ethical Principles.
- Document a minimum of 2,000 hours of supervised work experience for a CPS and 4,000 hours of supervised work experience for a CPP;
- Must Document a minimum of 120 hours of education and training for the CPS and 250 hours of education and training for the CPP.
- Must also complete mandatory one-time requirements for both credentials;
- Pass an examination approved by OASAS; and
- Successfully complete a criminal background check review.
All stated requirements are verified in the application process. The complete list of the CPP/CPS qualifications and requirements, as well as the full course curriculum, can be found in the CPP/CPS application.
Human Services Degrees
If you are an applicant who holds an Associate's, Bachelor's or Master's Degree in approved Human Services fields, or are a student pursuing any of these degrees, some of the course work associated with your degree may be claimed toward satisfying some or all of the education and training requirements. In order to determine what coursework may be applicable, your college transcript(s) should be submitted with your application.
Application
The first step in the credentialing process is the submission of a CPP/CPS Application to the Credentialing Unit. Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis, are reviewed in the order they are received, and will remain active for five years from the date of the first initial review.
The OASAS Credentialing Unit, will review your application to verify the eligibility requirements have been satisfied. The Credentialing Unit will issue a review summary based on the contents of your application. Any completed requirements will be noted, and any outstanding requirements will be noted as well. Use the review summary to help determine what else you need to submit for review. You can submit items at any time during the five-year application period without any additional fees. Please ensure that your full name, phone number and e-mail address are present and legible on additional submissions so it can be matched to your original application. You will be issued a new review summary with each submission.
When you are eligible to take the exam, you will be notified and given the registration information. If you are unable to complete all the requirements for either the CPP or CPS by the end of the five-year application period, your application will expire. If you are still interested in pursuing a credential you may submit a new application, with a new processing fee.
You may obtain a CPS and apply to upgrade to a CPP at a later date if your CPS is still active and in good standing and you meet the CPP requirements. To request an upgrade application, you can contact the Credentialing Unit.
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Prevention Practitioner Application (PDS-52)
Initial application for individuals seeking to become a Credentialed Prevention Specialist and Credentialed Prevention Professional.
Download
Examination
We are excited to announce that the Prevention Specialist Examination is now available in both English and Spanish for our candidates. Test takers will be able to switch between English and Spanish during the examination. Additionally, special accommodations can be made for any other language upon request.
The IC&RC computer-based exam for Prevention Specialists consists of 150 multiple-choice questions derived from the IC&RC Prevention Candidate Guide. This exam is offered weekly at secure locations worldwide with monitoring proctors.
Effective March 2023, the Prevention Specialist domains and examinations were updated as follows:
- Planning and Evaluation
- Prevention Education and Service Delivery
- Communication
- Community Organization
- Public Policy and Environmental Change
- Professional Growth and Responsibility
EXAMINATION STEPS
After approval of the candidate's application and pre-registration for the exam, ISO Quality Testing will send the candidate an email with further instructions to complete the registration process. Candidates will be able to choose their preferred location, date, and time for taking the test. Once candidates complete the exam, they will receive a tentative score at the testing center. The official results will be sent via email in approximately four weeks. Candidates must wait for their certificate to be issued before they can consider themselves officially credentialed after passing the examination.
Candidates who do not pass the examination will remain eligible to retest once every 90 days during the active period of their application. There is a non-refundable exam fee of $170 each time the examination is taken. Eligible examination candidates may request an Examination Registration Form by contacting the Credentialing Unit by emailing [email protected]. The exam form includes information on requesting a reasonable accommodation.
Fee Schedule
All fees must be made in the form of a check or money order made payable to “NYS OASAS”. All fees are non-refundable.
Initial Application Processing Fee: $100
Computer Based Examination Fee: $170
Examination Retest Fee: $170
Failure to Update Contact Information Fee: $25
Certificate Reprint Fee: $10