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January/February 2009
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National Council For Therapeutic Recreation Certification 845.639.1439
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| Welcome to NCTRC e-News! Happy New Year from the NCTRC Board, Committees, and Staff! NCTRC to Conduct CTRS Profile Study NCTRC plans to conduct a comprehensive survey of all active CTRSs during the next coming weeks. The survey methodology will include an electronic questionnaire distributed by email and postcard alert. The purpose of this survey is to collect important information about CTRS demographics, employment practices, and professional status. The findings derived from this survey will be used to create the CTRS Profile Report, a publication designed to inform the public about CTRS certification and the scope of RT/TR practice. All CTRSs are encouraged to participate in the survey process in an effort to advance the CTRS credential and the therapeutic recreation profession. Please be on the alert for the delivery of the survey via the same email address that you receive the NCTRC e-NEWs.
NCTRC Promotes Licensure for the Practice of Recreation Therapy Sponsorship of state and provincial licensure of recreation therapy practice has become a focal point for many groups and organizations. NCTRC supports such initiatives and seeks to play an active role in the expansion of RT licensure within the United States and Canada. What is the purpose of licensure? To safeguard the health and safety of the public and protect the public from harm by unqualified persons through the establishment of a minimum level of education, experience and competence to assure the highest degree of professional care and conduct on the part of the licensed recreation therapist. Why is licensure important? Licensure allows for protection of the consumer by ensuring competency standards have been met in order to practice recreation therapy. Licensure will enable the monitoring of the recreation therapy practice and serve to strengthen the integrity of the profession. Action Taken by NCTRC to Promote Licensure: NCTRC recognizes the imperative for therapeutic recreation professionals to actively seek regulation within their respective states and provinces in an effort to protect the public. NCTRC also acknowledges the potential negative financial and professional consequences for not pursuing such action. It is advisable that professional groups pursue this important goal in a very cautious and deliberate manner and in doing so, establish a collaborative relationship with NCTRC. At present, there are three states that have an established licensure program regulating TR professionals: New Hampshire, North Carolina, and Utah. Although these three state licensure programs vary with respect to rules and regulations, all do include the base requirement of the passage of the NCTRC Certification Exam as a necessary component of their licensure eligibility criteria. In 2007 the NCTRC Board of Directors formally endorsed a position paper pertaining to licensure of recreation therapy. The NCTRC Position Paper on the Legal Regulation of the Practice of Recreation Therapy is a direct outgrowth of many years of dedicated service by dozens of individuals who served on the State Recognition Project Committee from 1998 to 2005. The States Recognition Project (SRP) served as a joint task force established by the American Therapeutic Recreation Association (ATRA), National Therapeutic Recreation Society (NTRS) and National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification (NCTRC) in an effort to share information and to create a unified document to advocate for the establishment of legal recognition (licensure) within the TR profession. As a result of the SRP effort, a commonly defined Scope of Practice pertaining to the practice of recreation therapy was developed and subsequently accepted by all three participating organizations. Additionally, the SRP was also responsible for the development of a list of terms and definitions pertaining to the practice of recreation therapy. Both of these documents appear in the appendices of the NCTRC Position Paper. The NCTRC Position Paper was reviewed and endorsed by both the NTRS and ATRA Boards of Directors. A full length copy of the paper is available from the NCTRC website www.NCTRC.org or by email request nctrc@nctrc.org .
NCTRC Creates Marketing Packet for Intern Supervisors Did you know that the most prevalent reason for a denial of a new application is the failure to meet the required NCTRC Field Placement Standards? The internship experience is a shared responsibility between the student, internship supervisor, and academic supervisor. All three parties need to work together to ensure that the field placement is a positive learning experience and completed in accordance with the NCTRC Standards. NCTRC has created a new marketing packet that includes vital information to assist your agency in meeting the NCTRC guidelines for the completion of an internship. If you would like a copy of this packet, please contact NCTRC via email nctrc@nctrc.org or phone 845-639-1439 to receive your copy.
NCTRC Supports TREC II Conference Educators and practitioners are invited to participate in the Therapeutic Recreation Education Conference (TREC II) June 18-21, 2009 at the Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK. The purpose of the conference is to bring together RT/TR professionals and educators to discuss and explore workforce and higher education trends and issues and to seek best practices in the pre-services and professional preparation of undergraduate and graduate students. The conference is co-sponsored by the American Therapeutic Recreation Association (ATRA) and the National Therapeutic Recreation Society (NTRS). For further information: http://www.okstate.edu/education/trec.
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