Certified Prevention Specialist Training

ICDS offers the 50 hour prevention specialist training and the practicum supervision required to obtain your certified prevention specialist credential.

We also provide the required additional 50 hours of training and practicum supervision for individuals who are not currently licensed/certified. This training comprehensively explores the five domains of planning and evaluation, education and skill development, community organization, public and organization policy, and professional growth and responsibility. Prevention services are currently being sought out nationwide.

The CPS training is offered as an online, distance learning course and in a classroom format in Houston, TX. The requirement to enroll in this course is a high school diploma or GED. All requirements to obtain the certification are listed below.

Requirements to become certified:

• 2000 hours of Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs (ATOD) prevention work experience.
• 100 hours of prevention specific education.  Fifty hours of this education must be ATOD specific.  Six hours must be specific to prevention ethics.  One hour of education is equal to 50 minutes of continuous instruction.
• 120 hours of practicum supervision specific to the IC&RC prevention domains with a minimum of ten hours in each domain.
• Applicants must pass the IC&RC International Written Prevention Specialist Examination.
• Applicants must sign a prevention specific code of ethics statement or affirmation statement.
• 40 hours of continuing education earned every two years.
• More information about the certification is available at the ICRC website:  www.icrcaoda.org/credentialing.asp.
• Note that each state's Member Board may have higher standards for this credential.  Please see our Member Board page for contact information.
  

Classroom Course

An intensive workshop that provides 50 hours of training, including face to face instruction, assignments and individual consultation. There are pre- and post-assignments involved in CPS training. The orientation dates for the next three upcoming CPS classes in Houston, TX are June 11th 5:30pm, September 10th 5:30pm and November 5th 5:30pm.  Classes begin following orientation and are held on Wednesday nights for six weeks. The Supervision Practicum is separate from the CPS course. For practicum information or arrangements, contact the Prevention Coordinator at Marcia@cdstudies.com.

Location - Phoenix House - 501 Garden Oaks Blvd Houston, TX 77018 (click here for map). Once you have paid through paypal (no paypal account required), you are signed up for the course(s).

CPS Training	Price	Enroll
9/10/2008	$350
11/5/2008	$350

Online Course

The 50 hours prevention specific course and the 50 hour Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs (ATOD) course are available online. Both courses include individual instruction, assignments and individual consultation. Online CPS and ATOD training have open enrollment. There are pre- and post-assignments involved in CPS training. The Supervision Practicum is separate from the CPS and ATOD courses. For practicum information or arrangements, contact the Prevention Coordinator at Marcia@cdstudies.com.

Courses	Price	Enroll
Online CPS Training	$350
Online ATOD Training	$350

Defining Prevention

Many States and organizations have their own definitions for substance abuse prevention. A formal SAMHSA/CSAP definition is:

(Source:http://preventionplatform.samhsa.gov/MacroHQ/Glossary2/viewgloss .cfm?action=terms&letter=P&gloss=all&sect_id=1&topic_id=99&CFID=33 6820&CFTOKEN=20 068893)

But SAMHSA has also defined prevention in broader terms that acknowledge a frequent association of substance abuse and mental health and describe prevention focus and strategies likely to be effective:

“In 1998, the National Institute of Mental Health Ad Hoc Committee on Prevention Research offered a broad definition of prevention activities:

Prevention refers not only to interventions that occur before the initial onset of
a disorder, but also to interventions that prevent co-morbidity, relapse, disability, and the consequences of severe mental illness for families (NIMH, 1998).

“This definition acknowledges that prevention strategies may be effective not only in keeping a substance abuse disorder from occurring, but also in delaying onset of a substance abuse disorder or mental disorder, reducing the severity of one or both disorders, or preventing relapse in a person who has experienced one or both disorders. The programs described in this chapter as well as the full range of SAMHSA’s substance abuse disorders and mental disorders prevention activities reflect this more inclusive definition. Thus, consistent with the 1988 IOM Report, disease prevention and health promotion are two key components of the public health approach to healthcare in this country (IOM, 1988). Prevention is an essential part of a continuum that includes treatment and rehabilitation (Note: Today, what is referred to as rehabilitation in this source is referred to generally as maintenance and recovery). Prevention efforts may occur at any point along this continuum.

“Research studies reveal that to be effective, prevention programs must be comprehensive, family-focused, and include appropriate cultural, developmental, and gender perspectives. In addition, they need to focus on risk and protective factors that are both identifiable and modifiable (SAMHSA, 2002c)."