Articles from prior issues of The Advocate

May/June 2001

Committee Proposes Continuing Education and Recertification Process

Over the past three years, the Continuing Education Committee has worked on obtaining recommendations and feedback from members regarding suggested criteria and mechanisms for offering Continuing Education credits to NADE members.

With SSA’s current emphasis on training, and education, and as examiners nationwide are expected to implement Process Unification principles, the committee strongly feels that now is the time to begin to offer all NADE members Continuing Education Credits for training they receive, either locally, or at NADE training conferences.

As you may be aware, SSA recently hired an outside contractor to research and prepare a report on the feasibility of certification for all examiners. NADE has long been in the forefront of providing training for professional staff through regional and national training conferences. In addition, NADE members have had the opportunity to become “Certified Disability Professionals“ since 1971. The Continuing Education Committee is currently proposing to enhance and validate the current certification process by requiring that NADE - certified professionals attain 25 Continuing Education Credits within three years to maintain certification. This proposal will be presented to the Old Board at the NADE national conference in Texas this October.

You are invited and encouraged to obtain copies of both the Continuing Education Committee proposal and the report prepared by the Chauncey group for SSA from your chapter presidents or NADE regional directors. Please provide any comments and/or recommendations you may have to your chapter presidents or regional representatives on the NADE Continuing Education Committee.

The Continuing Education Committee is also working on compiling a report of training topics members identified as important on surveys the committee distributed in March and April. We plan on making results available to chapters planning training conferences next year.

Continuing Education Committee Members

Michele Namenek
Committee Chair and Northeast Regional Representative

Lisa Elliott
Great Lakes Regional Representative

Gabriel Barajas
Great Plains Regional Representative

Stacey Miranda
Mid Atlantic Regional Representative

Paul Boggen
Pacific Regional Representative

Sue Crawford
Southeast Regional Representative

Leslie Henderson
Southwest Regional Representative