PRINCIPLES OF THE AIRS CERTIFICATION PROGRAM The Alliance of Information and Referral Systems (AIRS) is an international association comprising

of 1,200 members, most of which are organizations. The mission of AIRS is to provide leadership and support to its members and Affiliates to advance the capacity of a Standards-driven Information and Referral industry that brings people and services together.

The AIRS Certification Program awards professional credentials internationally to individuals who successfully complete the appropriate AIRS Certification Program for information and referral practitioners. It is an acknowledgment of demonstrated competence in the field of information and referral. The AIRS Certification Program is based on established standards for the field of information and referral. The program identifies specific competencies and related performance criteria, which describe the knowledge, skills, attitudes and work-related behaviors needed by I&R practitioners to successfully execute their duties.

The AIRS Certification Program recognizes the candidates work experience and incorporates documentation of professional performance in the candidates work setting as well as training the individual may have received. Certification does not depend exclusively on academic accomplishment.

The AIRS Certification Program uses an examination process that provides clear, objective guidelines for measuring the knowledge, skills, attitudes and work-related behaviors of I&R practitioners. A candidate is first confirmed as eligible to take the examination according to an assessment of the criteria within their application.

A candidate for Certification does not have to be an individual member of AIRS or an employee of an organizational member of AIRS. However, AIRS members can apply for Certification and Recertification at a reduced rate as a membership benefit. The following Certifications are available:

o Certified Information and Referral Specialist (CIRS) o Certified Resource Specialist (CRS) o Certified Information and Referral Specialist Aging (CIRS-A) (Operated in partnership with the National Association of State Units on Aging) (Note: there are separate Canadian examinations available for both CIRS and CRS in partnership with InformCanada). The AIRS Certification Program is administered by the AIRS Certification Commission. The governance structure of the AIRS Certification Commission has been established to

operate the program according to accepted national guidelines for credentialing bodies and to protect against any undue influence that could compromise the integrity of the credentialing program. The Commission has complete autonomy from the AIRS Board in decision-making and administration. The Certification Commission has a fixed membership, including non-Board members, and is subject to a distinct Conflict of Interest/Confidentiality agreement. Fees are charged for both Certification and Recertification. These fees are necessary to contribute to both the administration of the program and to continuously invest in its enhancement.

The AIRS Certification Program uses the resources of both professional AIRS staff and specialized psychometric consultants in addition to the volunteer contribution of experienced information and referral professionals representing the various facets, specializations and diversities of the I&R sector. AIRS complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other applicable legislation by offering candidates with documented disabilities the opportunity to request necessary aids and services that do not fundamentally alter the assessment process. Please contact the AIRS office to request assistance. Applications for accommodations must be submitted at least 45 days prior to your scheduled examination date.

The application form includes a Disclaimer that must be signed by all candidates confirming their understanding that Certification is a voluntary process and releasing AIRS, its officers, members and other persons involved from liability should they fail to achieve Certification.

Candidates for Certification will receive a request to complete an online evaluation survey within 10 days of completing their examination. Completed submissions are anonymous and serve as an essential feedback process for the constant review of the Certification Program and when necessary, as an instrument of change and improvement. All operational and administrative aspects of the Certification Program are reviewed at a minimum of every four years to ensure that they are still applicable and are enhanced when required. Certain aspects are under continuous review as part of the evaluation process and appeals mechanism. Minor operational adjustments to may be implemented by staff. Any proposed changes that affect policy must be approved by the Certification Commission. The questions that constitute the examinations are subject to the comprehensive scrutiny of volunteer Review Teams operating with psychometric oversight, every 3-5 years. The Review Teams are composed of subject matter experts (SMEs) drawn from within the particular specialization and are representative of a diversity of information and referral providers both in terms of geographic coverage, agency size and other demographic factors. Their reviews draw on existing available data sources such as evaluation comments.

Examinations are based on recommended materials (the most current versions of the ABCs of I&R, the AIRS Standards for Professional Information and Referral and the Performance-based Competencies)

together with actual I&R experience. Coverage of this material, together with professional experience and self-guided study, is an effective way to prepare for certification examinations. AIRS does not endorse any training that claims to enable attendees to pass any AIRS Certification examination. AIRS discourages teaching to the test by any trainer offering Information and Referral workshops, consultations or presentations. AIRS strongly encourages all presenters to base their instruction on the ABCs of I&R and the AIRS Standards for Professional Information and Referral.

All staff, Commission members and volunteers must sign a Conflict of Interest/Confidentiality Agreement concerning any involvement they have with the AIRS Certification Program. Unless they are already certified, this Agreement prevents those individuals from obtaining certification for the following time limits: a proctor is excluded from taking Certification for one year after their last participation as a proctor; a Certification Commission member is excluded from taking Certification for three years after leaving the Commission; and a member of a volunteer Question Review Team is excluded from taking Certification for five years after their last participation in a Review Team. The AIRS Certification Program endeavors to be as open in its policies and procedures as possible subject to requirements to protect the privacy of individuals and the confidentiality of examination questions. The AIRS Certification Program maintains a list of current and previous certification holders. The Program will respond to any inquiry as to whether a particular individual is currently certified and the nature of the certification held. Other information (for example, current contact addresses) is considered confidential, unless an individual provides written permission to AIRS for its release. An online list of certificate holders sorted by state/province, city and organization is also made available on the AIRS web site. However, individuals may request that their name be excluded from this public list. Candidates who successfully complete the AIRS Certification Program may use CIRS, CRS or CIRS-A after their name to indicate their Certification status while their certification remains in good standing. Each successful candidate receives a certificate and a lapel pin as a visible recognition of their achievement. Information and referral practitioners are eligible for initial certification only for the jobs they actually perform. Information and referral specialists are eligible for CIRS certification and resource specialists for CRS certification. Only practitioners who are responsible for both functions within their agency may apply for both CIRS and CRS. o Information and referral practitioners who possess a CIRS but also desire professional recognition for their specialized knowledge in the field of Aging, may take a shorter version of the CIRSA examination. Those who successfully pass the examination will receive a certificate and will also be entitled to use the CIRS-A credential. o Certification exams are offered each year during the AIRS annual Conference. The examination may also be offered by any AIRS Affiliate in good standing. Other national, state or local

partners may offer the examination upon approval of their state/regional AIRS affiliate. In instances where there is no affiliate, approval may be granted by the AIRS office. All Certification examinations are under the authority of a proctor who is an individual willing to take responsibility for the administration of the event. he proctor must not have an interest in the outcome of any examination and must not be employed by the same organization as any examination participant. It is the responsibility of the organization hosting the examination to select a proctor and secure their approval by AIRS. The proctor must sign a Certification Program Conflict of Interest/Confidentiality Agreement on the first occasion the individual assumes the responsibilities of proctor.

o An English language dictionary is made available by the proctor during examinations if a candidate wishes to check the meaning of a specific word. o Recertification is required every 2 years and is dependent on the certificate holder applying for recertification with appropriate documentation of at least 10 hours of training and professional development in the field of information and referral (note that these hours of training need to be fully documented but do not need to be formal CEUs). A second examination is not necessary. However, individuals who allow their certification to lapse will have to apply as new candidates if they wish to regain their Certification. Holders of both CIRS and CIRS-A can acquire Recertification simultaneously through a single application. Examination results are issued as either Pass or Fail according to a cut (or pass) score derived from a psychometric process. Individual marks are not available. A candidate may make a formal written request for information on particular areas of study required to improve their performance on a subsequent examination. Unsuccessful candidates may re-take the examination within 12 months for a reduced fee. Individuals who are deemed either insufficiently qualified to take the Certification examination, have failed the examination or have been denied Recertification may engage in an appeals process. An appeal can only be made on a matter of administrative error or oversight of the process. The merits or otherwise of the Certification process itself or of individual examination questions are not open for appeal. However, on request, a hand-grading of an examination will be undertaken. A three-person volunteer Appeals Committee appointed by the Chair of Certification Program handles all appeals. Their decision is final.

Last reviewed/amended: April 2009