27 Continuing Education
MAINTAINING YOUR CERTIFICATION—CERTIFIED AOD COUNSELOR
Certified Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) counselors will follow the guidelines set forth in the Illinois Model for Counselor Certification. They are required to pay a biennial certification fee and submit continuing education units (CEUs).
To maintain the high standards of the professional practice and to ensure continuing awareness of new knowledge in the field, ICB requires all certified AOD counselors to renew their certification every two years. Certified AOD counselors have the responsibility to maintain and renew their credential, and any failure to act is their responsibility. Counselors must notify ICB in writing of any change of address. They are required to pay a biennial certification fee and submit continuing education units (CEUs).
Certified AOD counselors will be notified that their certification is about to expire no fewer than 30 days prior to the expiration date. The renewal notice will come via email. They will submit their biennial certification fee and CEUs to the Illinois Certification Board (ICB) by their expiration date. Forms for the documentation of CEUs are available on the ICB’s website, www.iaodapca.org, under Credentialing/Credentialing Forms/Counselor. The form must be completed, signed, and submitted with proof of attendance. CEUs should not be submitted until notification of expiration. CEUs can be uploaded at time of payment.
Certified AOD counselors may arrange a payment plan for the biennial certification fee by selecting a payment option on the fee statement provided to the counselor. Such requests must be received PRIOR to the expiration date. If 45 days have passed from the expiration date without payment of biennial certification fee and/or submission of continuing education units, that certification shall be terminated. A non-response to biennial notices will result in termination of certification.
Continuing Education Policy
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- Forty (40) ICB-approved continuing education units (CEUs) are required to maintain certification and must be earned within the two-year certification period. An average of 20 CEUs should be obtained each year. CEUs are not transferable to any other certification period. CEUs obtained prior to the certified counselor’s initial date of certification are not eligible for maintaining certification. Certified AOD counselors may receive CEU credit only once for a training event, even if it is repeated during different certification periods. A CEU is equivalent to one clock hour. (Excluded is non-program time such as breaks, social hours, registration time, meal times). One college semester hour of credit is equivalent to 15 CEUs, one college trimester hour of credit is equivalent to 12 CEUs, and one college quarter hour of credit is equivalent to 10 CEUs.
- All 40 CEUs required to maintain certification must be recognized or petitioned for ICB CEUs. Continuing education is broken down into two categories with so