Certified Peer Specialist-Mental Health
recertification policy and instructions
Maintaining the CPS certification is crucial for professionals working within the behavioral health system, as it signifies a commitment to upholding industry standards, staying current with advancements, and continuously refining skills. Beyond strengthening professional credibility and enhancing career prospects, active certification ensures legal and regulatory compliance in the professional field of peer support. Additionally, ongoing certification often facilitates access to valuable networking opportunities and fosters a culture of lifelong learning, ultimately contributing to personal and professional growth. Therefore, the significance of maintaining certification extends far beyond individual achievement, benefiting both professionals and the industries they serve. In order to uphold the professional and ethical standards of a Certified Peer Specialists, the Georgia Mental Health Consumer Network has made changes in their recredentialing and continuing education policies.
1) Recertification record keeping is the responsibility of the certified professional. All Certified Peer Specialists should track the number of CEUs they have attained and submit their CEUs in a timely manner. Keep copies of everything submitted.
2) Education and training for recertification must be completed on an annual basis.
3) Education is defined as formal, structured instruction in the form of workshops, seminars, conferences, trainings, in-services and distant learning/online courses.
4) All qualifying Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for the year, must be obtained by December 31st
5) Education and/or trainings not properly verified by GMHCN will not be accepted for CEUs. (i.e. certificate, letter of attendance) must include date of training, number of hours attended, title of training, sponsoring organization, and your name. Please click here to see a list of approved trainings and or organizations that GMHCN will accept Continuing Education Units from.
6) All Certified Peer Specialist from Cohort 1-91 are required to have a minimum of 12 continuing education units (CEUs) per calendar year. All qualifying CEUs for 2024 must be earned between January 1st and December 31st 2024.
7) All Certified Peer Specialists must attend one (1) ethics training annually
8) Six CEUs for the year must be earned from a GMHCN-sponsored conference, training, and/or webinar.
9) GMHCN will accept up to 6 CEUs from other trainings, webinars, conferences, and agencies, such as Georgia Council for Recovery, Relias, Georgia Parent Support Network, etc.
a. CEUs from unapproved training vendors must be reviewed by the Chief Training and Development Officer and the Continuing Education Coordinator and can be submitted via the following Outside Training Review Form
10) CEUs earned in a calendar year may not roll over into another calendar year
11) Certifications will become inactive if CEUs have not been completed and/or submitted in any year after a CPS has successfully passed their credentialing exam.
12) CEUs must be submitted by December 31st each calendar year, to avoid late fees
13) CEUs submitted after January 15th will result in a $26 late submission fee
14) If a CPS-MH does not submit their CEUs by February 28th, they will be placed on an inactive status
15) Once placed on an inactive status, the CPS-MH is required to submit a reactivation application with a $105 reactivation fee and any other subsequent fees. Click here for instructions on how to reactive your CPS-MH status
16) All approved CEUs must be submitted through our web portal, which can be accessed through this link: CPS Continuing Education Submission Portal.
Please note: GMHCN will not accept any CEUs that have been submitted via email or any method other than the portal outlined above.
Disclaimer: Please note that the policies and instructions outlined herein are subject to change at any time without prior notice. It is your responsibility to stay informed of any updates or revisions. Continued adherence to the most current version of these policies is required.