Comprehensive Guide to Colorado Certified Prevention Specialist (CCPS) Certification

Introduction to the Colorado Certified Prevention Specialist (CCPS) Credential

• The CCPS Program: The Colorado Certified Prevention Specialist (CCPS) serves as a professional designation for individuals working in substance use and mental health prevention across Colorado. The credentialing process is managed by the Colorado Providers Association (COPA) certification team.

• COPA Personnel:

  • Precious Collins: Certification Manager, pronouns she/her/hers, and a Ute Mountain Tribal member. She possesses extensive experience in prevention and recovery in the state of Colorado.

  • Katie Akenbroad: Certification Specialist, pronouns she/her/hers, dedicated to helping applicants through the manual and application process.

• Purpose of the Credential: The CCPS is a step-by-step framework to become a key player in addressing violence, substance use, and mental health challenges. It validates the skills and knowledge necessary to implement prevention strategies from the home to the community and state levels.

• Path to Credentialing: Competency is proven through a combination of professional experience, education, work supervision, and passing the International Certification & Reciprocity Consortium (IC&RC) Prevention Specialist exam.

IC&RC Core Competencies and Domains

To earn the CCPS, applicants must demonstrate proficiency in six key areas defined by the IC&RC:

1. Planning and Evaluation: Strategies for designing and assessing the impact of prevention programs.

2. Prevention Education and Service Delivery: Practical methods for instructing and providing services.

3. Communication: Techniques for effective messaging and interpersonal professional exchange.

4. Community Organization: Mobilizing resources and stakeholders at the local level.

5. Public Policy and Environmental Change: Understanding and influencing systemic factors and regulations.

6. Professional Growth and Responsibility: Commitment to ethical development and continuous learning.

Credentialing Timeline and Maintenance

• Application Duration: Applicants have a "soft" two-year timeframe to complete their application once started. However, the system allows up to five years to gather all necessary training and experience.

• Five-Year Rule: All training and experience hours uploaded must have occurred within five years of the final submission/review date.

• Exam Window: Once the committee approves the application, the candidate receives a pre-registration email for the IC&RC exam. The candidate then has exactly one year from that email date to complete the exam.

• Validity Period: The CCPS certification is valid for two years.

• Recertification Deadline: Applications for renewal should be submitted two to three months before the expiration date to avoid lapses.

• Grace Period: A one-year grace period exists after the expiration date during which an individual can still recertify, provided they pay a $50$ reinstatement fee. If the credential is lapsed for more than one year, the individual must start the process over with a new initial application.

Initial Certification: Detailed Requirements

• Personal Information:

  • Government-Issued ID: The name entered on the application must match the applicant’s official government ID exactly (e.g., Driver's License). Middle names are generally not required for testing identification, but first and last names must match to avoid being turned away at testing centers.

  • Residency: Applicants must verify they live or work in Colorado at least $51\%$ of the time.

  • Education: Proof of high school completion is required. Acceptable documents include high school transcripts, a high school diploma, incomplete/complete college transcripts, or a college diploma.

• Prevention Training Requirements (120 Clock Hours Total):

  • All certificates of completion must be dated within the past five years.

  • SAPST (31 hours): Substance Abuse Prevention Skills Training. These are restricted trainings with limited providers and should be completed early.

  • ATOD (24 hours): Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drug specific education.

  • Prevention Ethics (6 hours): Targeted ethics training for the prevention field.

  • Additional/Other Prevention Training (59 hours): It is recommended to prioritize trainings that fill gaps in the six IC&RC domains.

• Experience Requirements:

  • Aggregate Hours: $2,000$ hours of prevention work experience.

  • Duration: Obtained over a minimum of two years.

  • Recency: Experience cannot be older than five years from the application date.

  • Supervised Experience: Of the total hours, $120$ must be supervised hours specifically. This must include at least $10$ hours of supervision per each of the six IC&RC domains.

• Statement of Prevention Experience:

  • A short summary of the applicant’s prevention philosophy and how training has shaped their understanding. (Note: Currently not in the Certemy system but will be mandatory following a 2025 update).

• Code of Ethical Conduct: Each applicant must sign this document to acknowledge best practices and standards of accountability.

Training Limitations and Acceptability

• Documentation Standards: Certificates of completion must include the training center/organization name, the applicant's name, the number of hours completed, and the date of training.

• Acceptable Formats:

  • Webinars.

  • Online self-paced trainings that provide a CE certificate or proof of attendance.

  • Live conferences and training sessions.

• Non-Acceptable Formats:

  • Offline self-paced trainings (paper-based).

  • Independent studies without standardized oversight.

  • Community meetings without formal learning objectives.

  • Pre-recorded videos/sessions that do not issue a completion certificate.

• Interdisciplinary Training (Treatment, Harm Reduction, Recovery):

  • These are reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

  • A maximum of $4$ hours can apply toward the ATOD section.

  • A maximum of $8$ hours total (inclusive of the ATOD hours) can apply toward the "Additional/Other" prevention training section.

• Clinical Course Restrictions: Courses for clinical licensure (e.g., CAS, CAT, or LAC) are not permitted as they focus on treatment rather than the prevention core competencies.

• College/University Credits:

  • Up to $45$ clock hours can be applied if courses are prevention-related.

  • Conversion Rate: $1$ semester credit = $15$ clock hours; $1$ quarter credit = $10$ clock hours.

  • Requires a transcript plus a class syllabus or course description to verify alignment with IC&RC domains.

• Repeating Trainings: If an applicant attends the same annual conference or workshop multiple times, they must upload a statement describing the unique learning or new content gained from each specific year (e.g., attending the "Shared Risk and Protective Factors Conference" in both 2020 and 2021).

The Certemy Application Process

• Starting an Application: Visit coloradoprovidersassociation.org under the certifications tab to access Certemy.

• Supervisor Invitations: Supervisors must fill out attestations for work experience. Use the "Add New Invitation" feature. It is advised to wait until all hours are completed before sending the invite to prevent the need for manual resets in Certemy.

• Individual Uploads: Every training certificate must be uploaded as an individual file. The committee reviews and approves or rejects each training one by one. Batching multiple certificates in one PDF is not allowed.

• Dual Hour Application: Hours can be split across categories (e.g., a 6-hour training certificate can be split into 4 hours for ATOD and 2 hours for Additional Training), but the same hours cannot be counted in two places simultaneously.

• Accommodations: Any requests for testing accommodations or the Spanish version of the exam must be communicated to the team before the application goes to the committee for review.

Committee Review and Testing Outcomes

• Review Schedule: The CCPS Committee meets on the second Tuesday of every month. Applications must be complete at least $10$ days prior to the meeting date.

• Decision Notifications: Applicants are typically notified the day of or the day after the meeting.

• Review Outcomes:

  1. Approval: Applicant receives a pre-registration email forward (labeled FWD) from SMT and ProMetric.

  2. Request for More Information: The committee seeks clarification on hours or specific training content.

  3. Non-Approval: Rare, occurring only if the applicant's focus is misaligned with prevention (e.g., focus is entirely on recovery/peer support rather than prevention).

• Fees:

  • Initial Registration: $50$.

  • Initial Application: $245$.

  • Redoing Pre-registration (due to no-show or wrong ID): $125$.

  • Exam Retake: $125$ (requires a 90-day waiting period).

Recertification Post-Credentialing

• Requirements: $40$ total hours of continuing education earned within the 2-year certification cycle.

  • $37$ hours of general continuing education.

  • $3$ hours of Prevention Ethics.

• Fee: $200$ renewal fee.

• Training Validity: For recertification, all training must fall between the credential's issue date and its expiration date.

• SAPST Recency: If SAPST was not taken within the last five years, it must be retaken for recertification.

• Recertification Statement of Education: A short summary of how the continuing education contributed to professional growth.

Reciprocity, Grievances, and Resources

• Reciprocity: The CCPS is an IC&RC credential, meaning it may be transferable to other states or jurisdictions in the international consortium. Applicants should start the reciprocity process at least three months before moving. Some states (e.g., Nevada) do not offer a prevention-specific IC&RC credential.

• Grievance Policy: Formal grievances regarding the certification process or concerns about a certified specialist can be submitted via an official form on the COPA website.

• COPA Website Resources: Under the Certifications/Prevention Specialist tab, users can find the manual, Code of Ethics, FAQ documents, and a contact form. The meeting calendar for the certification committee is also listed online.