Mississippi Administrative Code › Title 24 - Mental Health › Part 4 - DMH Addictions Therapist Standards & Requirements › Chapter Seven - Renewal

Current through June 25, 2024
RENEWAL GENERAL INFORMATION
* Renewal is only applicable to individuals holding full
				certification (CATs and LCATs).
* Provisionally-certified individuals (PCATs)
DO
				NOT
renew.
* Individuals holding CAT and LCAT are required to renew
every four (4) years
on a certification
				schedule established by the Division.
RENEWAL DEADLINE
*
The renewal deadline
is
September
				30th
(or closest prior working
				day) of each four-year certification period.
*
Renewal deadlines will
be every
four years
- September 30, 2012,
				September 30, 2016, September 30, 2020, etc.*
* Qualified individuals will renew their certification on or
				before the established renewal deadline in order to maintain Current or
				Inactive Status.
* Individuals who fail to renew by the established deadline
				will have their credential automatically changed to Lapsed Status. Lapsed
				Status means the credential is expired, and the individual no longer holds the
				credential.
*Prior to January 1, 2012, the DMH Addictions Therapist
				credentialing program was organized by two-year certification
				periods.
RENEWAL REQUIREMENTS
Employment Requirement
Renewing individuals must either continue to be employed in the
				"state mental health system" or hold Inactive Status.
An individual who is no longer employed in the state mental
				health system at the time of renewal no longer meets the employment criteria
				for DMH professional credentialing. Unless the individual holds Inactive
				Status, he/she may make a request to change his/her certification status
				category. Certificate status information is located in Chapter Nine.
Continuing Education (CE)
				Requirement
A minimum of
80
successfully
				completed continuing education (CE) hours
(20 hours per year) is
				required for renewal.
Continuing education hours or college course work counted for
				renewal must have been successfully completed
during the
				current four-year certification period
.
Renewal periods run
				from October 1st to September
				30th of the appropriate four-year cycle.
CEs earned outside of the current four-year certification
				period will not be counted; CEs may not be carried over from one renewal cycle
				to the next.
One continuing education hour is equal to 60 consecutive
				minutes in an appropriate CE activity.
Of the
80-hour
CE renewal
				requirement,
the following stipulations are
				included
:
1)
48 of the 80 required hours
must be related to the
			 field of
alcohol and other drug
(AID)
abuse
			 treatment
(may be inclusive ofA/D prevention
			 activities).
2)
Of the remaining 32 required
			 hours, 28 must be **behavioral heallh-related
(which may or may not
			 include alcohol and other drug abuse prevention/treatment services-related
			 topics)
AND must also cover the requirements listed in numbers 5 and 6
			 below
. (**Relevant DMH-required training indicated in the current
DMH Operational Standards for Mental Health, Intellectual/Developmental
			 Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Community Service Providers
may be
			 counted as "behavioral health-related" CEs).
3) Individuals may count
up to
			 four (4) hours in non-A/D or behavioral health-related areas
, such
			 as technology or administrative types of training, which they or their programs
			 deem important or necessary for continued professional enhancement.
4) Up to 16 of the total required 80 hours
			 may be obtained by
presenting
applicable (alcohol and
			 other drug abuse prevention/treatment-related) training events.
5)
At least two (2)
of the required 80 hours
must be
in the area of
cultural competency
.
6)
At least two (2)
of the required 80 hours
must be
in the area of
ethics
(related to the field of behavioral
			 health).
7)
A minimum
			 of 40 of the required 80 hours
must be accrued through
participation
in
live,
			 face-to-face
continuing education activities; thus, no more than
			 40 of the required 80 hours may be earned through online or distance learning
			 educational activities.
8) Two (2)
			 three-semester hour (or equivalent)
graduate-level behavioral
			 health-related
college courses from an approved educational
			 institution, taken during the appropriate certification time period, will be
			 accepted to fulfill the entire continuing education requirement. One (1) three
			 semester hour (or equivalent)
graduate-level behavioral
			 health-related
college course from an approved educational
			 institution, taken during the appropriate certification time period, will be
			 accepted to fulfill half (or 40 hours) of the continuing education
			 requirement.
9)
Courses
			 claimed for continuing education hours must be beyond the course work necessary
			 to meet the educational requirement for DMH professional
			 credentialing
.
10)
During the individual's FIRST renewal cycle only
, the
			 CE renewal requirement may be prorated, if necessary, as requested by the
			 renewal applicant. Renewing individuals for whom it is their FIRST renewal
			 cycle are required to report a minimum of
two (2) CE hours per
			 month of'credentialing, beginning with the month of full certification issuance
			 and ending with the renewal deadline month (September 30").
(One
			 (1) of these two (2) hours per month must be related to the field of alcohol
			 and other drug (A/D) abuse prevention/treatment, and the remaining one (1) of
			 these two (2) CE hours per month of credentialing must be behavioral
			 health-related
(which may or may not include alcohol and other drug
			 abuse prevention/treatment services-related topics). For example, an individual
			 who first obtained his/her CAT credential in the month of January of a renewal
			 year (which ends September 30") would be required to report 18 CE hours; at
			 least nine (9) of these 18 hours MUST BE alcohol and other drug (A/D) abuse
			 prevention/treatment related, and the remaining nine (9) hours must be
			 behavioral-health related, which may or may not include alcohol and other drug
			 abuse prevention/treatment services-related topics.
This
			 provision is only applicable to the individual's first renewal cycle; the
			 renewal fee is not prorated.
11) DMH allows for the pre-approval of
			 various conferences and workshops/educational activities, etc., for DMH
			 professional credentialing continuing education hours.
DMH Addictions Therapists desiring information on
				activities which have received CE pre-approval may contact the DMH Division of
				Professional Development or visit the DMH website for further
				information.
12)
			 For continuing education activities which have not been through the CE
			 pre-approval process, the continuing education activities will be subject to
			 the approval of the Division of PLACE at the time of renewal.
13) Opportunities for CE accrual include, but
			 are not limited to: training provided through the certified individual's place
			 of employment (including DMH-required training as indicated in the
DMH
			 Operational Standards for Mental Health, Intellectual/Developmental
			 Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Community Service Providers),
DMH-sponsored training opportunities, and/or conferences/workshops approved by
			 the Division through the DMH Division of Professional Development.
14) Continuing education activities should be
			 presented by a qualified presenter and contain clearly-outlined learning
			 objectives. Meetings, regular work activities, staffing sessions, breaks,
			 social activities, etc., do not count towards fulfilling the CE
			 requirement.
15)
Any
			 activity completed for the purpose of achieving the DMH Addictions Therapist
			 certification (such as DMH Addictions Therapist Web-Based Training Component
			 courses) is not eligible for CE credit
.
Reporting the Continuing Education
				Requirement
Documentation of successful completion of continuing education
				hours (e.g., training records, staff development printouts, official college
				transcripts, conference certificates, etc.) should be housed with the Staff
				Development Officer (SDO) at the individual's
current
place of employment. The renewing individual should also keep a copy.
As part of the renewal process, each renewing individual is
				asked to attest to the fact that he/she has obtained the required number of
				appropriate continuing education hours.
Unless randomly-selected for audit, renewing individuals in
				Current Status
do not
submit CE documentation to the
				Division of PLACE.
Individuals in Inactive Status must report CE
				activities at the time of renewal.
For DMH credentialing purposes only
,
				CE documentation should be maintained for
one year
following the conclusion of the given renewal year.
RENEWAL APPLICATION
Prior to the renewal deadline, the Division will send a renewal
				notice to each certified individual's self-reported home and/or email address.
				The Division will also notify Staff Development Officers (SDOs) of the upcoming
				renewal deadline.
In addition to the general renewal directions found in this
				document, the renewal notice will include specific, current instructions on how
				to renew. Specific directions in the current year's renewal packet, along with
				specific directions provided on each renewal form, must be followed.
Each person who wishes to renew his/her certification must
				submit a renewal application packet to the Division by the established deadline
				which includes all required forms and fees.
Failure to receive a renewal notice, regardless of
				the reason, does not relieve the individual from the renewal
				requiremen
t. Individuals should keep their addresses/contact
				information updated with the Division.
RENEWAL AUDIT
Following the conclusion of each renewal period, the Division
				of PLACE reserves the right to audit randomly-selected renewed individuals to
				determine compliance with the continuing education requirement. The audit
				process will include, at a minimum, a ten (10) percent sample of
				randomly-selected renewed individuals.
If an individual is randomly selected for audit, both the
				individual and the program SDO will be notified. Along with the notification,
				the Division will provide detailed instructions for audit procedures.
If randomly selected for audit, the renewed individual (in
				conjunction with the program SDO) will be required to submit to the Division
				documentation to validate successful completion of the renewal continuing
				education requirement. (Examples of sufficient documentation would include, but
				are not limited to: training records, staff development printouts verified by
				the SDO, conference certificates, and official college transcripts). This
				documentation must be submitted within a deadline prescribed by the
				Division.
In the case of
				noncompliance
,
the audited individual will have up to six
				months to comply, during which time the credential will be placed in Suspended
				Status (covered more fully in Chapter 10); the individual will be unable to
				practice with his/her credential during the period of suspension. Failure to
				comply within six months will result in the automatic loss of
				credentialing.
SPECIAL REQUESTS DURING RENEWAL
Inactive Status Request
: An individual
				who is not employed in the state mental health system at the time of renewal
				may want to request Inactive Status. Individuals must initiate this request by
				the established renewal deadline and submit all required renewal forms,
				materials and fees.
Retired Status Request
: An individual
				who has retired from state mental health system employment at the time of
				renewal may want to request Retired Status. Individuals must do so by the
				renewal deadline.
Relinquished Status Request
: An
				individual who no longer wants to hold the credential may request Relinquished
				Status. Individuals must do so by the renewal deadline.
Certification status information is covered more
				fully in Chapter Nine.
In addition to the information
				in Chapter Nine, instructions on making special requests at the time of renewal
				will also be included in the current renewal packet; interested individuals
				should contact the Division of PLACE for assistance.
CERTIFICATE RENEWAL
Each individual who successfully renews his/her
Current
CAT/LCAT credential may continue to use the
				appropriate professional title and practice as such for the next four-year
				certification period.
Each individual who successfully renews his/her
Inactive
CAT/LCAT credential may continue to use the
				appropriate professional title; however, he/she must not practice as a DMH
				Certified Addictions Therapist during the next four-year certification period
				(until he/she returns to Current Status).
The terms of administrative appeal are applicable to the
				renewal process.
CERTIFICATE EXPIRATION
Renewal Deadline
* The renewal application packet and fee are due
on or befo
re September 30th
				(or closest prior working day, as prescribed in the current renewal notice) of
				the given renewal year.
* Any certified individual wishing to request Inactive,
				Retired or Relinquished Status at the time of renewal must submit the request
				so that the Division receives it by the established renewal deadline.
				Otherwise, without proper renewal, the individual's credential will
automatically
be changed to Lapsed Status.
* Unless successfully renewed, an individual's certificate
				ceases to be valid after September 30th at the end
				of the certification period.
* Any certified individual for whom the Division has not
				received a renewal application packet (or a special request) by September
				30th will be expired; his/her certification status
				will
automatically
be changed to Lapsed Status.
"Late Renewal"
* Between October 1st and October
				31st (or closest prior working days, as determined
				by the Division), professional certification which has lapsed due to failure to
				renew may be rectified upon submission of all required renewal forms,
				materials, and payment in full of the Renewal Fee
PLUS
payment of a Late Renewal Fee.
* All problems with renewal applications (or special requests
				submitted at the time of renewal) must be resolved by October
				31st (or closest prior working day, as determined by
				the Division).
* Incomplete renewal applications or renewal applications with
				unresolved deficiencies received by the renewal deadline may be maintained on
				file through October 31st (or closest prior working
				day) to allow individuals an opportunity to resolve problem(s). After October
				31st (or closest prior working day, as determined by
				the Division), these credentials are expired and
automatically
changed to Lapsed Status if the
				deficiencies were not satisfactorily resolved by this date - no
				exceptions.
* The certification of any individual who has not
successfully completed
either renewal or a special
				request by October 31st (or closest prior working
				day, as determined by the Division) is expired. The status of any such
				individual's credential will
automatically
be changed
				to Lapsed Status.
Beginning November
				1st
On and after November
				1st
, an individual who failed to renew
				successfully or successfully make a status change remains in Lapsed Status and
				will not be allowed to renew.
Following the conclusion of renewal
				season
, each state mental health system program will be provided a
				list of program employees whose credentials lapsed.