Social Work/Human Services Questions
Please review the SWHS program page and meet with a counselor for course planning help. You cannot take all of these classes in the same semester. The program requires completing foundational/intro courses before the other more advanced courses (such as HSER 360, 362, 364 and 498, or SWHS equivalent courses) so that you are prepared to apply the skills in your coursework, practicum, and the field of social work and human services.
Please attend an information session on career planning with the Department Chair. Meetings are offered in January, March, October, and/or, December. Students are advised to attend SWHS Program Orientation sessions. Students seeking an externship must complete the required courses and attend an Externship Orientation before enrolling in the course.
Please visit Technology Resources to take advantage of all the learning tools available for distance (online) learning.
The professor offers limited support related to formatting and other grammatical issues, including punctuation. Students are encouraged to take an English course as part of their degree program.
Students can also access the Library's research tools for more help and support with writing research papers.
Please consider using CRC’s Reading and Writing Center and Tutoring Center for more support with completing writing assignments.
Both the CCAPP Credentialing initial certification requirements and Certification continuing education hours (CEH) requirements are interrelated but serve different purposes.
- Certification acts like a gatekeeper to your profession. It establishes your initial qualification as a substance use counselor by proving you have the basic knowledge and skills to do the job safely and effectively.
- To get certified through CCAPP, you must meet education, experience, and IC&RC exam requirements. This is a one-time process unless you’re transferring from another certification organization.
- CEHs (Continuing Education Hours) are necessary to maintain your CCAPP certification and keep it eligible for practice. These hours ensure that you maintain competency up to date with the latest knowledge and skills in the field. It’s like refreshing your credentials to practice.
Once you register as a RADT, the supervisor at your site is required to complete the required CCAPP documentation with you so you can track your hours in Certemy.
It is the responsibility of registration and certification applicants (often the student) to ensure that all supervised externship hours (closely supervised) performed in a practicum or for credit toward work experience requirements for certification are verified by a professional who is qualified by meeting one of the definitions below.
- Any CADC I, CADC II, CCAPP CCS, IC&RC ICCS, LAADC, LAADC-S
- Any person who has documented education, training, and experience that is comparable to, or exceeds the above certifications
Externship/practicum hours are closely supervised, which means a qualified supervisor must be in the same room when an intern is practicing counseling skills or performing any function described in the four domains or 12 core functions.
Work experience hours (2080+ hours) are not closely supervised, and therefore, the individual only needs to have a qualified supervisor at the facility where the work is being performed to evaluate the quality of work and perform clinical supervision.
Source: CCAPP Credentialing
Chemical Dependency Certificate Questions
Yes, all sites must be approved by the HSER/SWHS department chair before applying to the site for your externship/externship. Students are provided with approved externship lists in several courses and also when they enroll in the externship courses. Students can only be concurrently enrolled (at the same time) in HSER 362 (or an equivalent course) and HSER 498 (or an equivalent course). These courses are taught by different professors, and students are required to have approved externship sites to enroll in each class. In addition, students seeking a Chemical Dependency degree must register with an approved regulating agency for Substance Abuse Counseling to gain any hours towards this credential. CRC currently recommends CCAPP.
Addiction and Substance Abuse Counseling Regulating Agencies
Addiction Counselor Certification Board of California
A California Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Counselor Certification Agency (DHCS approved and NCCA accredited)
Students in an associate degree program must be supervised by a person with a bachelors degree or masters degree (or equivalent training and experience). These can include, licensed behavioral health therapists (LMFT, LPCC, and LCSW), also medical professionals such as nurses, psychiatric nurses, and other medical doctors who may supervise SUD counselors. In addition, we require a minimum credential higher than the current one you are seeking.
To see further requirements, please see Supervisor Qualifications: CCAPP Credentialing.
No; there are specific requirements for students seeking a Chemical Dependency degree or certificate in addition to their credentialing requirements. More importantly, those hours can only be done under the following conditions:
- Students have applied for an approved externship site, prior to enrolling in the HSER 362 and HSER 498 course (taken together).
- Students must start their externship while enrolled in the HSER 362 and HSER 498 courses; no exceptions.
- Students are correctly credentialed as a Substance, Addiction, or Chemical Dependency counselor with the appropriate regulatory agency prior to enrolling in any externship/externship or work experience course.
- Students who are currently working as volunteer or in employment positions at an agency may not be able to use that same agency for their externship. Please schedule an appointment with the department chair in addition to attending program orientation sessions to get clarity on this question.
- Both professors from HSER 498 and HSER 362 must approve sites with documented site supervisors that meet course requirements and college standards prior to beginning an externship/externship.
You cannot use the same hours from Social Work/Human Services for the Chemical Dependency degrees/certificates. The main reason is that the Chemical Dependency degree has a regulating agency and very specific requirements to be a “Substance Abuse Counselor” - there are no exceptions here. Human Service majors do not have specific requirements to enter the field of Human Services.
Students who are seeking a double major would need to earn the hours for each degree or certificate they are seeking.
- 120 hours for their Human Services degree/certificate and
- 255 hours for their Chemical Dependency degree/certificate.
Students may use their Chemical Dependency hours if they are not dual majors and later decide to change their major from Chemical Dependency to Human Services but are not permitted to go back and forth with these majors. However, this type of request from a student requires a meeting with a counselor and the department chair, and an updated education plan provided to the department chair upon request.
Unfortunately, professors of the program/college do not keep records of hours, accruals, substance abuse counselor credentials for CCAPP or others.