Section 17-8708. CONTINUING EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS

 

8708.1  This section shall apply to applicants for the renewal, reactivation, or      reinstatement of a certification expiring on December 31, 2014, or later;      except, that this section shall not apply to applicants for first time renewal      of a certification.

8708.2  To qualify for a certification, an applicant for renewal of a certification shall     submit proof of having completed forty (40) hours of approved continuing     education credit during the two-year (2) period preceding the date the      certification expires.

 

8708.3  At least six (6) of the forty (40) hours of continuing education credits required by  § 8708.2 shall be in ethics and at least three (3) of the forty (40) hours shall  be in trauma counseling.   A maximum of six (6) of the remaining thirty one  (31) hours may be taken online.

 

8708.4  The ethics and trauma counseling continuing education credits required by §  8708.3 shall be earned in a face-to-face classroom setting. 
 

8708.5  A person in inactive status within the meaning of § 511 of the Act, D.C. Official  Code § 3-1205.11, who submits an application to reactivate his or her  certification shall submit proof of having completed twenty (20) hours of  approved continuing education credits within the year preceding the  application.
 

8708.6  A person seeking reinstatement of his or her certification shall submit proof of  having completed twenty (20) hours of approved continuing education credits  for each full year after December 31, 2000, that the applicant was not certified.   A minimum of six (6) of the twenty (20) hours shall be in ethics. 
 

8708.7  A continuing education credit required by this section shall be valid only if it is part of a program or activity approved by the Board in accordance with § 8709. 

 

8708.8  An applicant under this section shall prove completion of required continuing education credits by submitting with the application the following information with respect to each program:
 

(a) The name and address of the sponsor of the program;

(b) The name of the program, its location, a description of the subject  
 matter covered, and the names of the instructors;
 

(c)  The dates on which the applicant attended the program;
 

(d)  The hours of credit claimed; and 
 

(e)  Verification by the sponsor of completion, by signature or stamp.

 

8708.9  In addition to the requirements of § 8708.8, an applicant shall prove completion  of continuing education course work, if taken at a college or university, by  submitting with the transcript or certificate of completion, a signed statement  from the instructor on college university stationery for each class attended.

 

8708.10  An applicant for renewal of a certification who fails to submit proof of having completed continuing education requirements by the date the registration expires may renew the certification up to sixty (60) days after expiration by submitting proof and paying the required additional late fee.
 

8708.11  Upon submitting proof and paying the late fee, the applicant shall be deemed to have possessed a valid certification during the period between the expiration of the certification and the submission of the required documentation and payment of the late fee.
 

8708.12  If an applicant for renewal of a certification fails to submit proof of completion of continuing education requirements or pay the late fee within sixty (60) days after the expiration of the applicant’s certification, the certification shall be deemed to have lapsed on the date of expiration. 
 

8708.13  The Board may, in its discretion, grant an extension of the sixty (60) day period to renew after expiration if the applicant’s failure to submit proof of completion was for good cause.

 

8708.14           The Board may, in its discretion, audit the renewal applications to ensure that the continuing education requirement has been met.  The applicant shall maintain a copy of the continuing education certificate(s) for at least four (4) years.  
 

authority

The Director of the Department of Health, pursuant to the authority set forth under section 302(14) of the District of Columbia Health Occupations Revision Act of 1985, effective March 15, 1986 (D.C. Law 6-99; D.C. Official Code § 3-1203.02(14)), and in accordance with Mayor’s Order 98-140, dated August 20, 1998.

source

Notice of Final Rulemaking published at 57 DCR 11937, 11944 (December 17, 2010).