(1) All certified counselors are required to earn 40 hours of approved continuing education per two-year renewal cycle to renew the certificate. Training received prior to the date of certification is not counted for renewal.

 

(2) Counselors earning more than 40 hours over the two-year renewal period will be permitted to carry forward up to 20 hours to the next renewal cycle.

(3) The purpose of continuing education is the ongoing professional development of chemical dependency professionals after full certification is awarded. It is the responsibility of the individual chemical dependency counselor to plan, pursue and document the counselor's continuing education.

(4) If a certificate holder is unable to acquire sufficient continuing education credits to meet the requirements due to medical hardship, the certificate holder may request an exemption from the department. All requests for exemptions will be considered and evaluated on a case-by-case basis by the department.