A Certified Recovery Specialist provides critical support to people in additional treatment because of their real-world experience living in recovery. Certified Recovery Specialists or Certified Family Recovery Specialists find employment in:

• Treatment Centers
• Outpatient or Community-based Settings

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Our Certified Recovery Specialist/Certified Family Recovery Specialist certificate provides you with the necessary knowledge and skills to achieve a fulfilling career helping others overcome addictions.

A Certified Recovery Specialist (CRS) provides critical support to those in additional treatment because of their real-world experience living in recovery. Living in recovery is a highly individualized journey that is supported through counseling and the potential use of medication.

This journey is a volunteer-based maintained lifestyle that includes the pursuit of spiritual, emotional, mental and physical well-being that is often supported by others. As a CRS, you accept and agree that your experience as a person in recovery from a substance-use condition will be known by their colleagues, persons served, and with others with whom they may share that they have obtained this credential.

The Certified Family Recovery Specialist (CFRS) credential is for adults who have been directly impacted by their own family member’s or loved one’s substance use disorder.  The CFRS shares their lived experience with other families to provide recovery support services and understands the stigma associated with substance use disorders and its impact on the family. CFRS’s are trained to help families move into and through the recovery process.

The program also gives you the opportunity to become prepared to obtain a certification as a Certified Recovery Specialist or Certified Family Recovery Specialist.

This credential is for drug and alcohol peers in recovery who are trained to help others move into and through the recovery process. Note: Effective Jan. 1, 2021, Pennsylvania Certification Board (PCP) requires the person enrolling in a CRS education program, to attest that they have 18 months, in a continuous manner, of a personal lived recovery experience as of the date of the first class, and to provide a statement of lived experience as part of the CRS program application process.

Classes are scheduled to meet following one of two schedules: two times per week for 3 hours each session or full days over the weekend. You complete 66 of the 78-hour course in a face-to-face setting.

Upon successful completion of our program, you will be able to:

• Describe public policy issues with respect to the opioid epidemic
• Describe advocacy efforts for the use of Medical Assisted Treatment (MAT)
• Describe advocacy efforts for the decriminalization and lessening of criminal penalties in relation to individuals suffering from Opioid Use Disorder (OUD), as well as other Substance Use Disorders (SUD)
• Describe the various levels of care in treating SUDs
• Describe the differences between screening and assessment
• Understand ethics and responsibility as it relates to various treatment modalities

To enroll into our CRS/CFRS certificate, you must have a documented high-school diploma or GED. If you already have a degree, it must be from an accredited college or university that is recognized by the US Department of Education (USDE) or the Council on Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) and can be provided in lieu of a high-school diploma or GED.

Note: This course is open to anyone wishing to participate. However, only those meeting specific requirements may sit for the certification examination.

• View summaries of our noncredit courses at HACC by browsing our schedule.

• Review our program guide (pdf) to view a list of required courses, recommended course sequencing and program competencies.

This certificate is designed to prepare you and lead you directly into the workforce and is not designed to transfer. However, if you wish to continue your education you may do so by enrolling any one of HACC's associate degree programs. After completing an associate's degree at HACC, you may transfer that degree to a four-year school and pursue a Bachelor's degree.

For your convenience, our certificate can be completed at the Gettysburg, Harrisburg and York campuses through on-campus/in-person instruction. The course is required to be held in person with homework to be completed online.

Yes! We offer many scholarships through the HACC Foundation. Each scholarship has specific eligibility requirements. To learn how to apply, please visit hacc.edu/Scholarships.

Classes begin each January/February at the Harrisburg campus and each September/October at the York campus.

It is recommended that registration for either course occur no less than one month prior to the start of each course.

Please use the information below in the "How Can I Learn More" section for start dates and enrollment deadlines.

Future students, we are excited to connect with you and answer your questions. Please choose the option that works best for you to meet with us.

Current HACC students, please contact our Advising Department with any questions.