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CACREP and the Rehabilitation Counseling Profession

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Abstract

The 2017 CORE/CACREP accreditation merger has had a significant impact on rehabilitation counseling educational programs (RCEPs). The need for forensic vocational rehabilitation counseling (RC) experts continues to expand, creating opportunities for those with private vocational RC experience to collaborate, share information, and provide graduates of RCEPs the education, work experiences, and resources they need to thrive professionally. This paper offers a brief history of the CORE/CACREP merger, details of the 2024 CACREP Standards Revisions Draft 3, and the CRC Exam Knowledge Domain Areas as they relate to RCEPs. Recommendations for professional advocacy are also discussed.
CACREP and the Rehabilitation
Counseling Profession
Sonia Peterson
San Diego State University
Peterson
The 2017 CORE/CACREP accreditation merger has had a signifi-
cant impact on rehabilitation counseling educational programs
(RCEPs). The need for forensic vocational rehabilitation counsel-
ing (RC) experts continues to expand, creating opportunities for
those with private vocational RC experience to collaborate, share
information, and provide graduates of RCEPs the education, work
experiences, and resources they need to thrive professionally. This
paper offers a brief history of the CORE/CACREP merger, details
of the 2024 CACREP Standards Revisions Draft 3, and the CRC
Exam Knowledge Domain Areas as they relate to RCEPs. Recom-
mendations for professional advocacy are also discussed.
Keywords: Rehabilitation Counseling, Professional Development,
CACREP, Counselor Education Accreditation, Vocational Reha-
bilitation
CACREP and Rehabilitation Counseling
The 2017 CORE/CACREP accreditation merger has significantly impacted rehabilitation counseling
educational programs (RCEPs) regarding educational requirements for faculty, student to faculty ra-
tios, and curriculum standards. The Council on Rehabilitation Education (CORE) was established in
1972 and, for many years, was the sole organization that accredited RCEPs (CORE, 2009; Shaw &
Kuehn, 2009). CORE no longer exists and was merged with the Council on Accreditation of Counsel-
ing and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) in 2017. Graduate RCEPs that were formerly ac-
credited by CORE are now accredited by CACREP (CACREP, 2022a). Numerous prominent educa-
tors in the field have offered opinions on the CORE/CACREP merger and the potential impacts on
RCEPs including concerns about standards for RCEP faculty, education outcomes for RCEP stu-
dents, impacts on the State Vocational Rehabilitation (SVR) system, and impacts on the disability
community. (Barros-Bailey et al., 2009; Chan et al., 2009; Huber, 2017; Huber et al., 2018; Leahy,
2009; Leahy et al., 2009; McMahon, 2009; O’Brien & Graham, 2009; Patterson, 2009; Patterson et al.,
2005; Peterson, 2020; Peterson & Olney, 2020; Saunders et al., 2009; Shaw & Kuehn, 2009; Stebnicki,
2009; Tarvydas et al., 2009).
The benefits to RCEP graduates who pursue state counselor licensure and establishing curriculum
consistent with licensure requirements nationwide were major factors in the CORE/CACREP merger
decision (Shaw & Kuehn, 2009; Zanskas, 2017). The CACREP (2022c) board includes representation
of RCEP faculty, however the comprehensive representation from disability-related agencies, educa-
tors, and consumers that was found in CORE leadership are not represented in CACREP. This has
continued to be an area of concern and an opportunity for advocacy (Patterson et al., 2005; Peterson,
2020; Zanskas, 2017).
Rehabilitation counselors provide services to individuals with disabilities to assist them with obtain-
ing and maintaining employment, living independently and participating in their communities to the
fullest extent possible. Some rehabilitation counselors have chosen to work in the private sector of re-
habilitation which includes working for private corporations, worker’s compensation, litigation to in-
clude Social Security Administration (SSA) hearings, state and federal court settings, case manage-
The Rehabilitation Professional, 30(2), pp. 51–70
ment, job placement services, and vocational evaluation services. Many of these settings require
certification in order to practice (SSA OHO, 2022).
RC practitioners and educators have an established history of educating the public about the social
construct of disability, the history of disability rights advocacy, ableism in our society, and of combat-
ting a medical model approach to the experience of disability (Kelsey & Smart, 2012; Schur, Kruse, &
Blanck, 2013; Shaw & Kuehn, 2009; Tarvydas & Hartley, 2017). RCEP faculty and RCs are now
tasked with educating CACREP about the specialty area of RC by advocating for evidence based ser-
vices, techniques, and competencies for the RC profession.
The Purpose and Significance of Accreditation
Accreditation aims to ensure that higher education institutions are offering quality programs and
that students have access to financial aid. In order for students to receive federal student aid from the
U.S. Department of Education for postsecondary study, an institution must be accredited by a nation-
ally recognized accrediting agency, be authorized by the state in which the institution is located, and
receive approval from the Department of Education (U. S. Department of Education, 2022). CACREP
(2022d) accredits counseling programs at both the master’s and doctoral levels, and CACREP’s ac-
creditation standards are designed to ensure that graduates are prepared for professional licensure
and/or certification in their field of practice (OnlineEducation, 2020).
Graduation from a CACREP-accredited RCEP is now the most streamlined way to meet educational
requirements for certification and state licensure as a counselor. Graduation from a CACREP-accred-
ited RCEP fulfills category 1 eligibility criteria required to pursue certification as a Certified Rehabil-
itation Counselor certification (CRCC, 2022b). Many RCs also desire to pursue national counselor
certification (NCC), administered through the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC).
Graduation from a CACREP-accredited program fulfills the educational requirement for the NCC
(NCC, 2022). RCs also have the opportunity to obtain licensure as counselors (e.g. LPC, LCPC, LPCC,
LMHC) in all 50 states. Most state license boards require completion of an educational program that
closely parallels the CACREP curriculum standards and a passing score on the National Counselor
Exam (NCE) or the National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination (NCMHCE). Both the
NCE and NCMHCE are administered by the NBCC (NBCC, 2022). A few states accept graduation
from a CACREP accredited program and a passing score on the CRC exam to meet their state coun-
selor license requirements (NBCC, 2022).
Rehabilitation Counseling Educational Programs and
Preparation for Services
Training grants offered to RC educational programs since 1954 by the Rehabilitation Services Ad-
ministration (RSA) have provided incentives for RCEP graduates to pursue employment in the public
SVR system, federally funded independent living centers, and other public non-profit agencies that
serve individuals with disabilities (RSA, 2022; Robinson, 2013) Students who receive these RSA
training grant monies during their RCEP are required to work in these types of public settings in or-
der to meet the payback requirements for the grants. Many professionals will choose to leave the pub-
lic programs and enter the private sector. Regardless of the type of employment settings that gradu-
ates pursue, there is a need for all RCEP graduates to prepare competent RCs (Robinson, 2013).
There is a pressing need for current Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) experts to advocate for disabil-
ity-related competencies and RC competencies in the CACREP curriculum standards and in RC edu-
cational programs in order to best prepare and encourage graduates to pursue employment in both
public and private forensic VR settings.
52 Peterson
Disability-Related Counseling Competencies in the CACREP
Curriculum Standards
Disability inclusion is now beginning to find its way into the mainstream professional practice of
counseling. The American Counseling Association (ACA) has promoted disability-related counseling
competencies for all counselors on their website (Chapin et al., 2018). The 2016 CACREP curriculum
standards have been in need of significant revision to ensure that disability-related counseling com-
petencies are included in the core curriculum standards and that faculty with RC expertise and expe-
rience are supported in RC educational programs. Draft 3 of the CACREP 2024 Standards Revision
has included some disability-related competencies in the core curriculum standard areas. See Table 1
(CACREP, 2022b) located in the Appendix..
Opportunities for Employment in Forensic Vocational Rehabilitation
The ever-increasing need for forensic VR services in workers compensation cases, personal injury
cases, and Social Security Administration disability determination appeal hearings can be traced
back to the 1950s (Robinson, 2013). The Social Security Administration Office of Hearing Operations
(2022) has retained vocational experts (VEs) to provide expert analyses at disability appeal hearings
before an administrative law judge, and have required VEs to possess certification through either
CRCC or the American Board of Vocational Experts, as well as to have had five years of vocational re-
habilitation experience. Barros-Bailey (2018) has actively promoted evidence-based practices and
RCEP training in private forensic VR settings. She has also espoused a comprehensive description of
services and settings that forensic VR specialists should offer in their opinions and testimony regard-
ing vocational losses, capacities, and potential interventions for individuals who have acquired dis-
ability conditions during the life span (Tarvydas & Hartley, 2017).
The Need for Forensic VR Experts in RC Educational Programs
Education in VR typically includes instruction in the evaluation, planning, treatment, and termina-
tion phases of service-delivery, and is applicable in both public and private forensic VR settings (Rob-
inson, 2013; Strauser, 2013). Exposure to opportunities in forensic VR work that students in RCEPs
receive varies depending on the faculty, textbooks, and curriculum offered in the programs. In order
to produce professionals who can offer competent VR testimony in forensic VR settings, instructors
with forensic VR expertise are needed to guide students in RCEPs. Advocacy is needed to fully pro-
mote forensic VR opportunities in our RC programs.
Advocacy Needed in the 2024 CACREP Standards Revisions
Historically, CACREP has revised their curriculum standards nearly every seven years. A standards
revision committee has been tasked with creating the CACREP 2024 standards (CACREP, 2022b).
The International Association of Rehabilitation Professionals (IARP) has been the largest and most
active RC organization focused on and committed to comprehensively serving the professional private
rehabilitation industry. IARP has five specialty practice sections: Rehabilitation and Disability Case
Management, Forensic Rehabilitation, Life Care Planning, Social Security Vocational Expert, and
Vocational Rehabilitation Transition Services (IARP, 2022).
IARP leadership aspires to promote student memberships, encourage students to present at confer-
ences, and connect with faculty in the RC educational programs to ensure that students are aware of
membership benefits, activities, services to members, and current issues in the field of private foren-
sic VR. Collaboration among all professional RC and allied organizations including, but not limited to
the IARP, the ARCA, the National Rehabilitation Association (NRA), the National Rehabilitation
Counseling Association (NRCA), the Rehabilitation Counselors and Educators Association (RCEA),
the National Council on Rehabilitation Education (NCRE), the American Board of Vocational Ex-
perts (ABVE), the Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation (CSAVR), the Na-
CACREP and Rehabilitation Counseling 53
tional Association of Service Providers in Private Rehabilitation (NASPPR), and the CRCC will unify,
strengthen our professional identity, and assure practitioners political strength in advocating for
RCEPs, VR services, and individuals with disabilities.
RC Educational Program Design
RCEP faculty are encouraged to integrate both CACREP standards and CRC exam knowledge domain
areas into their curriculum. Both the National Council on Rehabilitation Education (NCRE) and
CACREP have maintained directories of nearly 100 accredited RCEPs in over 40 institutions available
through their respective websites (CACREP, 2022a; NCRE, 2022). VR professionals are encouraged to
connect with RCEPs to offer resources, material, and literature that promote forensic VR in line with both
CACREP standards and the CRC exam knowledge domain areas. Some suggested texts mentioned
herein include those by Robinson (2013), Strauser (2013), and Tarvydas & Hartley (2017). VR profession-
als are also encouraged to offer, teach, or provide information as guest speakers in classes. VR profession-
als have valuable experience and expertise that can be offered in curriculum design.
Suggested Recommendations for the CACREP 2024 Standards
Specific recommendations are needed in the CACREP 2024 Standards Revisions. Graduation from a
CACREP-accredited RCEP fulfills category 1 eligibility criteria required to pursue certification as a
Certified Rehabilitation Counselor certification (CRCC, 2022b). Key details from the CRC exam
knowledge domain areas must be included in the 2024 CACREP Standards. Specific competencies
that RCEPs need to include to prepare RCs must be clearly articulated to the CACREP 2024 Stan-
dards Committee. Tables 1 and 2 have outlined a crosswalk of draft 3 of the 2024 CACREP Standards
Revisions with CRC exam knowledge domain areas to assist RCEP faculty in conceptualizing the in-
tegration of these two lists of competencies. These tables have been included to provide guidance to
RC advocates on describing missing curriculum standard details in the RC specialty area and to guide
RCEP faculty to create courses that will promote RC competencies for graduates who sit for the CRC
exam. The crosswalk has matched the draft 3 of the proposed 2024 CACREP standards and CRC
exam knowledge domain areas in a general way. It should be noted that specific competencies in the
CACREP core curriculum and RC specialty areas do not align exactly with the overall CRC exam
knowledge domain areas and subdomains. The information in the tables is provided as a general
overview to guide curriculum design in RCEPs and to highlight missing details from the CRC exam
knowledge domain areas in the 2024 CACREP Draft 3 RC specialty area standards (See Table 1 and
Table 2 located in the Appendix).
It is recommended that RCEP faculty consult the CRCC Job Task Analysis (JTA), see:
https://crccertification.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/CRCC-Public-Comment_Draft-2-2024-CAC
REP-Standards_final_Webiste.pdf (CRCC, 2021). The JTA is a document that contains evidence
gathered from research and is practice based. This document reflects the requirements for success-
fully providing VR services to people with disabilities. The current CACREP 2024 Standards Draft 3
RC specialty area standards can be found here:
https://www.cacrep.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Draft-3-2024-CACREP-Standards.pdf
(CACREP, 2022b, pp. 23-24). It is suggested that the CACREP 2024 draft 3 RC specialty area stan-
dards be may be revised somewhat as follows or as each rehabilitation professional sees fit according
to their experience and knowledge of RCEP curriculum (recommended changes to the draft 3 stan-
dards are bolded):
REHABILITATION COUNSELING
a. classification, terminology, etiology, functional (physical and mental) capacity, treatments,
and prognosis of disabilities
b. effects of the onset, progression, and expected duration of disability on clients’ holistic functioning
54 Peterson
c. individual response to disability, including the role of families, communities, and other social net-
works
d. impact of disability on sexuality
e. understanding adjustment to disability and strategies to enhance adjustment to disability
f. effects of socioeconomic trends, public policies, stigma, access, and attitudinal barriers as they re-
late to disability and the use of evidence based strategies for addressing barriers faced
by people with disabilities and their families
g. principles and application of evidence based strategies for independent living, self-determi-
nation, and informed choice
h. rehabilitation service delivery systems, including housing, independent living, case management,
educational programs, and public/private vocational rehabilitation programs
i. understand and apply evidence based strategies for working with benefit systems used
by individuals with disabilities, including but not limited to Social Security, governmental mone-
tary assistance, workers’ compensation insurance, long-term disability insurance, and veterans’
benefits
j. rehabilitation counseling services within the continuum of care, such as inpatient, outpatient,
partial hospitalization and aftercare, and linkage to rehabilitation counseling services networks
such as public providers, private providers and nonprofit organizational providers
k. use of evidence based assessments and analysis to assist with career planning, includ-
ing achievement tests, interest inventories, work values inventories, job analysis, work
site modification, transferrable skills analysis, valid and reliable sources of labor market in-
formation, job readiness, and work hardening
l. role of family, social networks, and community in the provision of services for and treatment of
people with disabilities
m. use of evidence based skills analysis, job readiness, and work hardening in regard to accessi-
bility, reasonable accommodations,job restructuring and compliance with the Ameri-
cans with Disabilities Act.
n. evaluation and application of individualized assistive technology to enhance the lives of peo-
ple with disabilities in the areas of independent living, work and community participa-
tion
o. career development and evidence-based employment models and strategies for achieving and
maintaining meaningful employment for people with disabilities
p. evidence based approaches to analyze work activity, labor market data and trends to facilitate
a reasonable occupational goal based on the personal preference of an individual with
a disability
q. educating employers about the legal requirements of hiring people with disabilities
and consultation and collaboration with employers regarding the benefits of hiring individuals
with disabilities, including reasonable accommodations, universal design, and workplace in-
jury and disability prevention
r. techniques to promote self-advocacy skills of individuals with disabilities
s. referral and information sources to provide client knowledge of and access to community
and technology services and resources
t. evidence based strategies to advocate for persons with disabilities and the profession of re-
habilitation counseling
CACREP and Rehabilitation Counseling 55
Conclusions
The best ways for current VR professionals to advocate for private forensic employment opportunities
within RC educational programs are to participate in program curriculum design, advocate for dis-
ability-related competencies in the 2024 CACREP Standards Revisions, and connect with other RC
professional organizations. The deadline for feedback on draft 3 of the 2024 CACREP Standards Revi-
sions has been scheduled for June 30, 2022, with the final draft 4 and feedback anticipated to be com-
pleted by the end of 2023 (CACREP, 2022b). Support from the RC community will enhance evi-
dence-based RCEP curriculum design that promotes the high quality RC services that the CRC
certification signifies. Advocates for the RC profession are encouraged to contact the CACREP 2024
Standards revision committee to recommend the inclusion of specific CRC exam knowledge domains,
terminology, and concepts in the CACREP 2024 Standards RC specialty area as described above by
June 30, 2022 at https://www.cacrep.org/news/cacrep-2024-standards-draft-3/
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Author Note
Dr. Sonia Peterson, PhD, CRC, LPCC is an Assistant Professor and Director of the Clinical Rehabili-
tation Counseling program at San Diego State University. She earned her PhD in Rehabilitation and
a certificate in Educational Research Methodology at the University of Arizona and an MA in Reha-
bilitation Counseling from the University of Iowa. She also holds a certificate in Rehabilitation Ad-
ministration from San Diego State University.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Sonia Peterson at
slpeterson@sdsu.edu
58 Peterson
CACREP and Rehabilitation Counseling 59
Appendix A: Table 1 and Table 2
60 Peterson
CACREP and Rehabilitation Counseling 61
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CACREP and Rehabilitation Counseling 64
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CACREP and Rehabilitation Counseling 70
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any citations for this publication.
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To what extent are people with disabilities fully included in economic, political, and social life? People with disabilities have faced a long history of exclusion, stigma, and discrimination, but have made impressive gains in the past several decades. These gains include the passage of major civil rights legislation and the adoption of the 2006 UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This book provides an overview of the progress and continuing disparities faced by people with disabilities around the world, reviewing hundreds of studies and presenting new evidence from analysis of surveys and interviews with disability leaders. it shows the connections among economic, political, and social inclusion, and how the experience of disability can vary by gender, race, and ethnicity. it uses a multidisciplinary approach, drawing on theoretical models and research in economics, political science, psychology, disability studies, law, and sociology.
Book
This is the first fundamental text to focus specifically on forensic vocational rehabilitation, a field that is forecast to grow rapidly. Forensic vocational rehabilitation consultants evaluate the vocational and rehabilitation needs of individuals in an array of legal settings such as civil litigation, workers' compensation, Social Security disability, and others. The text is unique in its exploration of the vocational rehabilitation process from a biopsychosocial perspective that views disability as a complex and multidimensional construct. The book comprehensively describes the parameters and theoretical issues of relevance in evaluating and developing opinions in forensically oriented matters. It culls and synthesizes current peer-reviewed literature and research on this private subspecialty practice area of rehabilitation counseling, including theories, models, methods, procedures, and fundamental tenets of the field. Also included is current information about the labor market, life care planning, and professional identity, standards, and ethics.