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CRCC Newsletters,Press Releases & Updates
Workplace Recognition
Increasing Recognition of the CRC Credential Among Employers
CRC certification is an important distinction in the workplace. For employers, CRC certification acknowledges counselor preparation and education to provide vocational, personal, and mental health counseling to individuals with disabilities. Specifically, CRC certification:- signifies a higher level of career-specific education,
- demonstrates that certified individuals meet acceptable national standards,
- establishes a level of competency for employee hiring and evaluation,
- promulgates adherence to a code of ethical practice,
- ensures a commitment to ongoing career training and development, and
- provides counselors who specialize in working with individuals with a range of disabling conditions.
CRCC advocates to facilitate employer understanding and recognition of the significant benefits associated with the CRC designation in both their hiring and staffing practices.
Expanding Workplace Opportunities
CRC Exam Eligibility Category R enables employees with a broader range of backgrounds the opportunity to qualify for the CRC Exam, thus providing employers with a means by which to facilitate and support a higher level of qualification within their organization. In ongoing communication with employers, CRCC promotes the benefits of Category R and the importance of CRC certification in providing quality services to individuals with disabilities.Highlights of Current Activity
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
April 2011
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recently issued qualification
standards for mental health specialists within the Veterans Health
Administration, requiring licensed professional counselors to have a
master's degree in mental health counseling or a related field from a
program accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Counseling and
Related Educational Programs (CACREP). According to the release,
examples of related mental health counseling fields include, but are not
limited to addiction counseling; community counseling; gerontology
counseling; marital, couple, and family counseling; and marriage and
family therapy. Although this is a positive step forward for the counseling profession, the new standards exclude rehabilitation counselors who are also licensed professional counselors but who did not graduate from a CACREP-accredited counseling program. ARCA (American Rehabilitation Counseling Association), CORE (Council on Rehabilitation Education), CRCC, and NRCA (National Rehabilitation Counselor Association), to name a few, believe strongly that this narrow definition is not in the best interest of VA consumers - particularly veterans with disabilities who may not be able to receive services from counselors who have disability expertise. Correspondence was issued in November 2010. View or Print Letter to VA
According to a press release issued by the American Counseling Association (ACA), it will still take some time for the counseling positions to be posted on http://usajobs.gov or http://www.vacareers.va.gov, and for counselors to be appropriately recognized within the VA health care system. During that time, the VA will be working on implementation of the new position descriptions and their use by VA facilities. ARCA, CORE, CRCC, and NRCA are working together and alongside ACA and others to advocate for more inclusive language, recommending specific modifications to the current standards and monitoring progress toward the recognition and hiring of graduates from CORE-accredited rehabilitation counselor education programs into mental health specialist positions within the VA.