National Council For Therapeutic Recreation

Certification

845.639.1439
nctrc@nctrc.org
www.nctrc.org

Welcome to NCTRC e-News!

NCTRC Conducts Annual Board Meeting

The NCTRC Board of Directors conducted its annual meeting on March 31-April 1, 2011 in Newburgh, NY. Among the many achievements accomplished during the two-day meeting were the following:

• Two new members were inducted to the NCTRC Board of Directors. Karla Belzer, CTRS (IL) and Patricia Thomas, CTRS (WI) will each serve a three-year term (2011 to 2014).
• Teresa Beck, CTRS (MI) was elected as Chair of the Board of Directors for the term of 2011-2012.
• The Board approved conducting the NCTRC Annual Certificants Meeting at the ATRA Annual Conference to be held in Indianapolis, IN, September 18-21, 2011.
• The initial planning phase for a Continuing Education pre-approval process was endorsed by the NCTRC Board.

NCTRC is Out and About

NCTRC has planned a preliminary schedule of presentations in an effort to continuously promote the CTRS credential and educate individuals about TR/RT. Please plan to visit NCTRC at the following conferences:

• May 18-20: Southeast Therapeutic Recreation Symposium, Gatlinburg , TN
• May 25-27: Canadian TR Association, British Columbia, Canada
• Sept. 18-21: ATRA Annual Conference, Indianapolis, IN

A CTRS Recertification Audit Experience

At the just completed ATRA conference I stopped by the NCTRC booth in the vendor hall and was relating my re-certification experience when I was asked if I was willing to send an email to NCTRC about my experience.  “Of course”, I responded. And here it is!

I just wanted to let you know about my recent (May 2010) re-certification experience.  The online format was easy to complete.  I thought, “Piece of cake!”  Soon after submitting this, I received the (dreaded) notice----“You've been chosen” for an audit review. GASP!!!  I immediately felt my heart rate increase and wondered, “What didn't I do correctly?  I know I submitted everything I was supposed to!  I hate this computer online stuff, it never works!”  Then I took some deep breaths, calmed down, and read the instructions for what I needed to do. I learned this was a random selection….it could just have easily not been me who was chosen…. and got my file folder that had all my CEU information from the past 5 years out of my file drawer. I pulled out the CEU transcripts from previous ATRA conferences, a letter confirming a University presentation on Assessment to TR students, a copy of a state conference program confirming a presentation I had done, and another letter awarding a CEU point for completing the NCTRC Job Analysis Survey. I made copies for my file, put the originals in an envelope, and sent it off to NCTRC. Couldn't have been easier!  A few weeks later, I received my packet with my current certificate and NCTRC materials. Hooray!  I'm still a CTRS!!!!!  The audit review process is not to be dreaded….it's simple and relatively painless.  “Piece of cake.”

Sincerely,

Sue Hensley, TRS/CTRS

Adolescent Behavioral Health @ WCC

NCTRC introduces new marketing flyer for Exam

Recently NCTRC has created a new marketing flyer that illustrates important facts about the NCTRC exam. The flyer is available at our website, www.nctrc.org.

Helpful Reminders to Ensure a Successful Internship

The summer months often serve as an opportunity for students to complete their academic internships. In order to provide a smooth transition to obtaining the CTRS credential, the following requirements must be met during the internship experience:

• The length of the internship must be a minimum of 12 consecutive weeks and 480 hours.
• The intern must work a minimum of 20 hours per week and no more than 45 hours per week.
• The field placement supervisor must be employed full-time at the sponsoring agency and work a minimum of 32 hours per week. At least 50% of the supervisor's duties must be in therapeutic recreation and they must be an active CTRS on the first day of your internship.
• The field placement supervisor must be certified for at least one year prior to supervising interns.
• The internship experience must be based on the therapeutic recreation process as defined by the current NCTRC Job Analysis.

Please visit NCTRC's website to review and download the NCTRC Field Placement Standards.

Did you know ...

• Beginning with the May 2010 renewal cycle, NCTRC began notifying CTRSs of their pending renewal date by email or postcard. Printed application packets are still available by request. This decision has resulted in a decrease in paper applications and therefore, allowed NCTRC to become a brighter shade of green.

• Academic Path Degree Pending applications have increased to over 50% of all applications received by NCTRC.

• Annual renewal rate for the CTRS credential was 94% for the November 2011 cycle.

Please contact NCTRC at 845-639-1439 or nctrc@nctrc.org if you have any questions or concerns.

Thank you for your continued support of NCTRC and the CTRS credential.