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The following chart details the minimum requirements for certification based on work experience, supervised experience and training/education:

Level	Direct Services/Work Experience	Hours Of Direct Supervision	Hours Of Education	Written Examination
National Certified Recovery Specialist (NCRS)	2000 hours of work experience or 4000 hours of volunteer experience*	150 hours  (50% under direct supervision of QTP per 2060.309)	120 hours 50 hours NCRS Specific 6 hours Professional Ethics and Responsibility 64 hours Performance Domains	NCRS Examination

*1500 hours shall have been in direct recovery support systems services (i.e., Residential Extended Care Facility or Recovery Home).

Work Experience

Work experience is defined as paid or volunteer.  The setting must meet requirements as stated in the above Definition and Setting section.  Applicants must document 1500 hours was spent in direct recovery support systems services.

Supervision

Supervision provides monitoring and feedback to the professional to assure quality services are being delivered.  Supervision in all core skill areas are required with no core skill area performed less than 10 hours.  Supervised hours are understood to be face-to-face supervision.  Hours spent providing extended care/recovery home services are NOT counted as supervision.

Realizing that supervision may take place in a variety of settings and have many faces, IAEC determined not to place limiting criteria on areas of supervision. Rather, it was determined that supervision should be as broadly defined as in the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment/Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Technical Assistance Publication Number 21. TAP 21 defines supervision/clinical supervision as: the administrative, clinical and evaluative process of monitoring, assessing and enhancing counselor performance.  Supervised hours are understood to be face-to-face supervision.

Education

• 120 clock hours of education
  • 50 clock hours of education must be NCRS specific (residential extended care programs, recovery homes)
  • 6 clock hours of professional ethics and responsibility
  • 64 clock hours of education relevant to the performance domains.  Hours need not be NCRS specific. 
• Sources of education are college courses, seminars, conferences, in-services, lectures, etc.
  • 1 college semester hour = 15 clock hours, 1 college quarter hour = 10 clock hours, 1 college trimester hour = 12 clock hours
• Suggested education resources: Illinois Association of Extended Care (IAEC), Illinois Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Professional Certification Association (IAODAPCA), Social Model of Recovery, Illinois Licensure Rule 2060, IAEC Program Standards/Body of Knowledge, Slaying the Dragon, Loosening the Grip, A.A. World Services Approved Literature, ASAM Patient Placement Criteria II

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