Press FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 2, 2019
Media Contact: David Doyle (518) 424-0999 Email: david@capitalcityny.com
NEW YORK ASSOCIATION OF ALCOHOLISM AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE PROVIDERS (ASAP) LAUNCHES PEER RECOVERY FAMILY CERTIFICATION
The New York Certification Board, a project of the New York Association of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Providers (ASAP) today launched a new professional certification for peer recovery advocates serving family members. The Certified Peer Recovery Advocate-Family (CRPA-Family) will be available beginning this month to qualified peer recovery professionals who meet specified experiential, educational and ethical standards.
The CRPA-Family is a specialty certification developed by ASAP through funding from the NYS Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS). Its purpose is to better serve family members with youth, aged 21 years or under, who experience social, emotional, medical, developmental, substance use or behavioral challenges in their homes, schools or communities. Individuals who qualify for the CRPA-Family will be authorized to provide Medicaid-reimbursable family peer support services in approved OASAS settings. The CRPA-Family employs a wide array of support services including: engagement, bridging, transition support, empowerment, parent skill development and community connections, building recovery capital at both personal and community levels.
“This Program will equip our peer workforce with the tools it needs to better serve our young people and their families along the path to recovery,” stated OASAS Commissioner Arlene González-Sánchez. “We look forward to our continued partnership with ASAP to ensure the availability of this training across New York State.”
“The worst-ever overdose and addiction crisis in our state and nation has focused public attention on effective strategies for intervening in and supporting recovery from addiction. Peer support provided by trained, certified professionals is now recognized as one of the most important tools in this effort,” said John Coppola, Executive Director of ASAP. To become a CRPA-Family, individuals must first meet the certification requirements for recovery peer advocates; then complete 20 hours of specialized CRPA-Family training. Candidates must also qualify as family peers– individuals with lived experience as a parent or primary caregiver of a youth who’s participated in or navigated the treatment system. In developing the CRPA-Family, ASAP partnered with two New York State- based organizations with expertise in peer-related training: Families Together in NYS; and Friends of Recovery-New York. Both organizations were instrumental in developing and promoting the specialized training that will support ASAP’s certification program.
“The CRPA-Family is expected to play a vital role in helping families cope with youthful substance use,” said Coppola. “It will help fill the critical need so many families are experiencing in their struggles with opiate and other drug addiction.”
For more information, contact John Coppola at: (518) 426-3122; or visit the ASAP website at: https://www.asapnys.org/ny-certification-board/.
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About ASAP: The New York Association of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Providers (ASAP) supports organizations, groups and individuals that prevent and alleviate the profound personal, social and economic consequences of alcohol and substance use disorders in New York State. ASAP represents the interests of the largest substance use disorders prevention, treatment, recovery, and harm reduction service delivery system in the country.
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David D. Doyle
Capital City Communications (518) 424-0999
