AN%20OVERVIEW%20OF%20THE%20CIRS%20AND%20CIRS-A%20EXAMS

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AN OVERVIEW OF THE CIRS AND CIRS-A EXAMS

• Presenters Dr. John Thompson, District of
  Columbia Office on Aging and Faed Hendry,
  Findhelp Information Services, Toronto
• Moderator Clive Jones, AIRS

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Webinar Objectives

• To provide an overview of the AIRS Certification
  process and requirements
• To discuss and review the critical areas of the
  exam
• To identify key resources for Certification
  preparation and provide strategies for writing
  the exam
• To review some sample questions

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What is Certification?

• The AIRS Certification Program awards
  professional credentials internationally to
  individual IR and IA practitioners. It is a
  recognition of demonstrated competencies in our
  field that include the knowledge, skills,
  attitudes and work-related behaviors needed to
  successfully execute our duties
• The AIRS Certification Program is operated in
  alignment with the standards provided by the
  Institute for Credentialing Excellence

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What is Certification?

• Certification is available for three
  specializations within IR. Individuals who
  successfully pass the AIRS certification
  examination are awarded a certificate and lapel
  pin, and may use the following credentials after
  their names
• CIRS Certification for IR Specialists
• CIRS-A Certification for IR/A Specialists in
  Aging
• CRS Certification for Resource Specialists

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History of IR Certification

• CIRS Debut in 1996
• CRS Debut in 2000
• The National Association of States United for
  Aging and Disabilities (NASUAD) in partnership
  with AIRS, developed CIRS-A which debuted in 2001
• InformCanada partnered with AIRS to develop
  Canadian versions of the CIRS and CRS which
  debuted in 2003

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AIRS Certification Holders

• CIRS (2,036 holders)
• Certification for Information and Referral
  Specialists
• CIRS-A (1,589 holders)
• Certification for Information and Referral
  Specialists in Aging
• CRS (320 holders)
• Certification for Resource Specialists

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AIRS Certification Mission

• The AIRS Certification Program, operating in
  accordance with national credentialing practices,
  measures and recognizes competence in the IR
  profession, improving the professionalism of the
  field and the quality of service provided to the
  public.

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Benefits of Certification

• For the individual
• Professional recognition for what you do. It
  addresses the misconception that IR/IA people
  just answer phones
• Provides a transferable qualification. Many job
  postings state a preference for applicants with
  AIRS certification. As a consequence, there is
  much more mobility of IR/IA staff
• Some agencies provide a pay increase for
  Certified staff

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Benefits of Certification

• For the agency
• Builds confidence among staff they believe more
  in their skills if they have been validated by an
  external body
• Enhances agency quality assurance and consistency
  of service levels within your own program
• Helps funders and other stakeholders understand
  and appreciate the professionalism involved in
  IR/IA
• The process of studying forces people to
  understand the context in which they perform
  their job and the skills that they need in a more
  systematic way

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Benefits of Certification

• For the people we serve
• Enhances agency quality assurance and consistency
  of service levels between different IR/IA
  services
• Improves customer service. Staff are aware of the
  requirements for quality performance and are more
  ready and capable of meeting them

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Exam Eligibility Requirements

• To apply to take the exam, candidates must
  demonstrate eligibility based on IR and
  equivalent experience combined with educational
  background
• IR practitioners are eligible for initial
  certification only if they are currently engaged
  in CIRS, CIRS-A or CRS work

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Exam Eligibility Requirements

• At least 1 year of employment in IR for
  applicants with a Bachelors or higher degree
• 2 years of employment in IR for applicants with
  an Associates/Community College degree
• 3 years of employment in IR for applicants with
  a High School diploma or GED
• 5 years of IR employment with no educational
  qualifications

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Acceptable Equivalent IR Experience

• Client-focused position with IR function within
  human services
• Examples social work, discharge planning,
  consumer credit counseling, community health
  nursing, independent living skills instruction
  and school counseling or employment in a
  homeless or domestic abuse shelter, food pantry,
  group home or other similar settings

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Finding an Exam

• Exam dates and locations are listed on the AIRS
  website
• All applicants who have had their eligibility
  confirmed can attend any exam location site but
  must give 30 days notice
• Bring your letter of conformation with you in
  addition to picture ID!

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6 Areas of the CIRS Exam

• Assessment Skills (40)
• Identification of Resources (20)
• Referrals (25)
• Documentation (5)
• Follow-up (5)
• Ethics, Professional and Legal Issues (5)

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7 Areas of the CIRS-A Exam

• Welcome and Rapport (7)
• Assessment Skills (33)
• Identification of Resources and Preferences (15)
• Information, Assistance, Referral and Advocacy
  (20)
• Documentation (5)
• Follow-up (10)
• Ethics, Professional and Legal Issues (10)

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Rapport/Assessment Skills

• The information and referral process is a complex
  one, which involves dealing with people, their
  problems and the maze of community, government
  and social services. Rapport/assessment skills
  include the following
• Building trust and rapport
• Effective interviewing techniques
• Active listening and effective communication
• Call handling techniques
• Responding to cultural/ethnic differences
• Identifying crisis situations
• Identifying needs

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Identification of Resources

• This area of the exam involves prioritizing needs
  and identifying appropriate available resources
  for the client. The safe and effective
  performance of this task includes knowledge of
• Eligibility criteria for services
• Resources available in the community
• Techniques of accessing information about
  resources information retrieval

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Referrals

• This area of the exam involves identifying
  organizations that meet the assessed needs of the
  client
• Providing information on resources to the client
• Resource specific information (e.g., location,
  hours, limitations)
• Obtaining client agreement on referrals
• Provide coaching and resource-specific
  information to the client to maximize their
  effectiveness in obtaining assistance and
  services.
• Advocate as necessary

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Documentation

• This area of the exam focuses on completing the
  record of the call or contact by documenting
  demographic information, outcomes (referrals/no
  referrals), client notes, follow-up notes, etc.
  The data collected should provide enough
  information about clients needs to identify the
  following
• Service requests
• Unmet needs
• Trends in community service provision and/or gaps
  in service
• Demographic data
• Profiles of clients served (aggregate data only)

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Follow-up

• This involves contacting the client to determine
  emotional status, if the referrals have been
  used, the quality of information and referral
  services rendered, or if additional referrals or
  are needed
• Techniques for establishing rapport (e.g.,
  empathy, sensitivity, compassionate contact,
  receptivity/leadership)
• Communication and clarification techniques
• Techniques for responding to clients emotional
  states (e.g., reassurance, empathy, support)

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Ethical, Professional and Legal Issues

• This area of the exam covers service provision
  that is consistent with the AIRS Information and
  Referral Bill of Rights
• Certified Information and Referral Specialists
  adhere to the requirements of mandatory reporting
  laws (e.g., elder/child abuse, domestic violence,
  suicidal/homicidal ideation)

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Key Resources for Certification Preparation

• AIRS Standards for Professional Information
  Referral
• Study Guide on NASUAD website for IA
  Specialists
• The ABCs of IR (especially the first 8
  sections)
• CIRS and CIRS-A Performance-Based Competencies
  for IR and IA Specialists
• CIRS and CIRS-A Job Task Analysis
• Online Training Essential Learning

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How Exams are Created

• AIRS Certification Commission members drawn
  from across IR and IA independent from AIRS
  Board
• Exam creation begins with a Job Task Analysis
  and is then followed by several stages using
  different groups of subject matter experts
• Entire process led of psychometrician and
  involves over 50 volunteers at the various
  stages. And then repeated about every 4 years

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How Exams are Created

• Once exams are in the field, question histories
  are examined in detail and any question that is
  displaying anomalous results is reviewed in
  detail and might be changed or replaced by a new
  question
• The evaluations are also carefully examined. So
  it is important to complete those!

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Tips for Writing Certification Exams

• Simulate the Required Behavior Application of
  Knowledge
• Spaced Practice It is better than cramming!
• Dont Psych Yourself Out!
• Pace Yourself (You have 72 seconds per question)

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Tips for Writing Certification Exams

• Read the Entire Question
• What to do when you dont know the answer
• Check the Time
• Check your Answers
• .. and remember to breathe!

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Sample Question One

• When inquirers lack focus during the assessment,
  it is 
• (a)  the responsibility of the IR Specialist to
  ensure the conversation stays on track.
• (b) only natural because inquirers can take as
  much time as they want to express themselves.
• (c)  the responsibility of the inquirer to
  empower themselves.
• (d) a signal that the Specialist needs to move on
  to the referral provision stage.
•  

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Sample Question Two

• Which of the following is an example of system
  advocacy?
• (a) A letter to a government office appealing
  a decision of a claim for disability benefits
• (b) A letter to a newspaper describing the
  difficulties people have claiming disability
  benefits even when they are eligible
• (c) A call to an agency that advocates for
  persons with disabilities on behalf of an
  inquirer needing additional assistance
• (d) Advice to an inquirer with disabilities on
  how to draw attention to their situation

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Sample Question Three

• An accessible service refers to which of the
  following?
• A service that has no eligibility criteria
• A service without physical, cultural or financial
  barriers
• A service that has no waiting lists
• A service where no identification is required

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After the Exam

• Exams are currently returned to the AIRS office
  to be marked through a Scantron system. Any exam
  which is just under the pass mark is hand-scored
  to make sure
• Candidates are informed by letter
• The process is Confidential. AIRS only responds
  to inquiries to say whether someone is or is
  not Certified. AIRS does not state whether
  anyone has not passed the exam

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After the Exam

• Individual exam scores are not shared. However,
  candidates can, upon request, be given a
  breakdown of their results in the areas of the
  exam (for example, 60 in the Assessment area
  80 in the Follow-up area, etc.)
• Note that AIRS will eventually be moving to a
  Computer-Based Testing (CBT) system

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After the Exam

• Once obtained, AIRS Certification lasts for 2
  years from the time you pass the examination
• Every two years, you must apply for
  recertification
• You do not need to retake the examination but you
  must submit an application that documents at
  least 10 hours of IR training over that two year
  period. (Note that this is 10 hours of training,
  NOT 10 hours of CEUs)

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Question and Answers

• Thank you for being here!

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