State Licensure

Recognition of CRCs and the CRCE in General Counseling Licensure

CRCC actively engages in educating state legislatures and regulators regarding the benefits of CRCs in serving individuals with disabilities. By responding to ongoing rulemaking and through proactive engagement with state regulatory agencies and professional boards, CRCC seeks to ensure regulators understand that qualified services provided to individuals with disabilities are an important part of the counseling profession.

CRCC also reaches out to local practitioners and professionals, providing support, informational materials, direction, and strategies necessary for CRCs to participate and inform their local professional boards, who have a strong voice at the state level.

CRCC and the Council on Rehabilitation Education (CORE) have developed a resolution clarifying their position in opposition to separate state licensure for rehabilitation counselors. The document expresses why separate licensure is not a substitute for the inclusion of the CRCE in the requirements for licensed professional counselors.

View or Print CRCC/CORE Document


States that Recognize the CRC Exam (CRCE)

By Rule or Regulation

Arizona
California (for grandparenting)
District of Columbia
Illinois
Iowa
Michigan
North Carolina
Oregon
Pennsylvania
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming

By Departmental Policy

Alaska
Louisiana
Minnesota
Tennessee


State Professional Counselor Licensure Boards

CRCC encourages all those seeking licensure to contact their state directly as some states that don't recognize the CRC Exam by rule, regulation, or department policy may consider recognition of the CRCE on a case-by-case basis.  For state contact information and web links, go to State Licensure Boards.



Highlights of Current Activity

AASCB Conference Participation

CRCC, ARCA, and CORE continue their dialogue with the American Association of State Counseling Boards (AASCB) to promote recognition of the CRCE and CORE Standards within general counseling licensure laws and regulation such that rehabilitation counselors have access to credentials for which they are qualified without having to pursue additional education or take an additional exam. This position is reflected by AASCB recognition of the CRCE as an appropriate examination in its policies and procedures on license portability.  

Georgia  

September 2011  
The Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers, and Marriage and Family Therapists considered a proposed rule change that would reduce the number of allowable online hours of continuing education (CE) for LPCs (Licensed Professional Counselors) to 10 hours per cycle. Advocating on behalf of CRCs who are also licensed in Georgia as LPCs, CRCC worked with Georgia State University’s Graduate Rehabilitation Counseling Coordinator, Dr. Roger Weed, to provide context and recommendations to the Board when stating concern with the proposed change. CRCC understands that the Board did adopt the limiting criteria despite concerns raised. CRCs who are also licensed in Georgia are encouraged to check the Board’s site for additional information at www.sos.ga.gov/plb/counselors/.

Maine  

September 2010  
CRCC continues to work with local rehabilitation educators, providing logistical support for a petition to the Board of Counseling Professionals Licensure requesting amendments to current regulations that would recognize the CRCE for licensure as a professional counselor. The petition has already received support from members of the Maine State Rehabilitation Council and encouragement from members of the board itself.

Nebraska  

September 2011  
In recent actions, the Nebraska Board of Mental Health Practice recognized CRC Exam (CRCE) equivalency for individual licensing applicants. CRCC provided CRCE information to the Board upon request of the applicants.  While there is no current movement in Nebraska to formalize recognition of the CRCE on a broader level, individual applicants are encouraged to request CRCE equivalency.

New Jersey

April 2010
Since Fall 2009, the Department of Law and Public Safety's Board of Marriage and Family Therapy Examiners adopted rules that will specify CACREP graduate programs for all LPC applicants. This will be delayed three years. The new rules allow for licensure by endorsement and stipulate a broader educational requirement that could allow for CORE accredited programs. Educational requirements for rehabilitation counselors will specify CORE, again delayed three years from the effective date of the rule change to obtain such accreditation.

New Mexico

September 2011
The New Mexico Counseling and Therapy Practice Board ruled during their June meeting, that continuing education approved by CRCC is acceptable continuing education for all licensed professional mental health counselors in accordance with section 16.27.16.9 of the New Mexico Administrative Code. The Board had not previously recognized CRCC-approved continuing education.

New York

September 2011
Budget legislation passed in 2010, extended the exemption of CRCs from the statute requiring that only licensed staff can work in New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) certified programs. As a result, thousands of individuals in OASAS certified programs continue to benefit from the qualified services of CRCs as they make career and employment decisions to help maintain sobriety. CRCC supported preserving the exemption and continues to work with the Association of Vocational Rehabilitation in Alcoholism and Substance Abuse (AVRASA) to get a permanent exemption as well as in the broader effort of advocating for recognition of the CRCE in general counseling licensure.

North Dakota

September 2011
The North Dakota Board of Counselor Examiners is now considering recognition of the CRCE in its general counselor licensure regulations based on discussion introduced by one of its Board members in a May meeting. Upon request, CRCC recently provided information to apprise the Board of the CRCE, including content coverage of counseling knowledge domains. The Board will continue its consideration and discussion.

South Dakota

September 2011
The South Dakota Board of Examiners for Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists issued a declaratory ruling on March 4th, 2011, stating “Individuals engaged in practice as 'vocational counselors' or 'vocational rehabilitation counselors' are not engaged in the practice of professional counseling defined in SDCL 36-32-1(5) when those individuals limit their practice to forensic and indirect services as described and defined in Section F of the Code of Professional Ethics for Rehabilitation Counselors, adopted in June 2009 by the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification, and effective January 1, 2010.” Thus, such rehabilitation counselors are not also required to be licensed as Licensed Professional Counselors (LPCs).

Tennessee

April 2011
The Board for Professional Counselors, Marital and Family Therapists, and Clinical and Pastoral Therapists passed a motion to formally recognize the equivalency of the CRCE and CORE standards for those pursuing licensure as a professional counselor. CRCC continues to work with Dr. Steve Zanskas, Assistant Professor with The University of Memphis, to pursue rule changes.

Texas

September 2011
On December 3rd, 2010, Commissioner of Workers’ Compensation, Rod Bordelon, adopted new 28 Texas Administrative Code §137.5 regarding Case Management. The adoption, published in the December 17th, 2010 issue of the Texas Register, may be viewed on the Texas Secretary of State website at www.sos.state.tx.us/texreg/index.shtml and the Texas Department of Insurance website at www.tdi.state.tx.us/wc/rules/adopted/index.html. This adoption establishes certification standards for case managers used by insurance carriers for non-network workers’ compensation claims. The new rule clarifies that case managers are required to be certified; provides credentialing requirements; specifies the limitations of when skilled, non-certified case managers are allowed to provide case management services; requires insurance carriers be responsible for verifying and documenting compliance with the rule, and; reiterates that claims adjusters are prohibited from being used as case managers.  The adopted rules are effective September 1st, 2011.

Utah

September 2011
CRCC continues to work with the Department of Commerce Occupational and Professional Licensing and the new Licensed Rehabilitation Counseling Board. As Utah continues to make sure that their licensure requirements parallel CRCC requirements, Board staff requested input from CRCC concerning degrees consistent with CRCC education criteria. CRCC expressed concern with the broad list of related fields of study and recommended changes to the proposed list. Rules, adopted August 8th, 2011 and effective September 1st, 2011, define a more narrow set of related fields of study. The Department is working with in-state employers so they realize that, outside the grandfathering period, their counselors will need to have the appropriate coursework to be able to attain licensure.

Washington D.C.

April 2011
The Department of Mental Health (DMH) recently recognized the validity of the CRCE as a counseling examination as it moved to amend its Mental Health Rehabilitation Services regulations allowing Licensed Professional Counselors (LPCs) to function as Approving Qualified Practitioners (AQPs). Previously, LPCs were allowed to diagnose, treat, and be a “qualified” supervisor, but were not allowed to generate and sign-off on treatment plans, as they now can under the AQP designation. A remaining point reconciled just prior to the DHM’s recognition of LPCs as AQPs, was their determination that the content of the CRCE adequately and reasonably measures counseling knowledge for licensing purposes.

Wyoming

September 2011  
The Wyoming Mental Health Professions Licensing Board has approved recognition of CORE-accredited programs and the CRCE as a recognized examination for licensure as a professional counselor.