A CERTIFIED PREVENTION SPECIALIST (PS-C) is a professional who uses a specialized set of knowledge, experience, training and skills to encourage healthy attitudes and behaviors which prevent the abuse of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs (ATOD). The role of the PS-C is to empower individuals and communities to assess needs and to develop and implement strategies that effectively meet those needs. PS-C candidates must have:

• 2,000 documented hours of work experience in the six IC&RC Prevention Performance Domains
  • a minimum of 120 of those hours of experience must be supervised, including at least 10 hours in each domain
  • a minimum of 500 (25%) of those hours must be providing ATOD prevention services within the domains
• 120 hours of documented education/training. Of these, 24 hours must be related to ATOD, 6 to Prevention Ethics, and 31 hours (26 in-person and 5 online) must be obtained through the “Substance Abuse Prevention Specialist Training” (SAPST), CADCA-approved equivalent, or MPCB-approved equivalent. The remaining “other hours” of education/training must be related to the six IC&RC Prevention Domains.
• A signed agreement to abide by the PS-C Code of Ethics
• Three professional references
• A passing score on the IC&RC Certified Prevention Specialist Exam