Name Change
2006 marked the 20th anniversary for the National Certification Program for Retirement Housing Professionals (RHP Program) and the culmination of a 2-year strategic planning effort. Information gathered from graduates, alumni, faculty, and sponsors confirms housing’s growing importance in the continuum of care as programs are infused with emerging models of care and service delivery in retirement housing to meet the needs of current and future generations of older persons.
To address this trend, we have expanded our educational programming under a new name: Coalition for Leadership in Aging Services (CLAS). Our certification program will be offered several times a year in collaboration with regional partners, our self-study option brought online, our fellow program expanded, and new learning opportunities initiated.
RHP certification, based upon our one-of-a-kind 45-hour overview of the administration of retirement housing, will continue to serve as the foundation of our professional training activities. Its new name will be Certified Aging Services Professional (CASP), reflecting its holistic perspective on aging and the inclusion of a broader array of retirement housing and supportive services.
The University of North Texas (UNT) and the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA) will continue to collaborate and promote the program, supporting the network of over 2,000 certification holders, candidates, faculty, advisory group members, and business sponsors who have made the program successful.
The official date for the name change was September 1, 2006.
What Is CLAS?
CLAS is an acronym for
the Coalition for Leadership in Aging Services. The mission of CLAS is to
provide education for leaders who can expand and create innovative service
options for the aging. CASP certification serves as the foundation of the
professional activities offered by CLAS.
What Is CASP?
CASP is a national professional certification
program for aging services professionals. The program is designed to educate
and train service professionals involved in the management of assisted
living facilities, continuing care retirement communities, senior housing,
and other types of aging services. CASPs' unique, comprehensive approach
provides facility and program administrators with the flexibility and
marketability to work in a variety of settings throughout their careers. The
core certification is Certified Aging Services Professional (CASP).
Requirements for second level of
certification, Certified Aging Services Professional Fellow (CASPF), are
currently being reviewed.
The UNT/AAHSA Partnership
Established by the American Association of Homes
and Services for the Aging in 1986, the Department of Applied Gerontology at
the University of North Texas (UNT) joined the American Association of Homes
and Services for the Aging (AAHSA) in January 2000 as a partner in
certifying administrators and other personnel engaged in providing
retirement housing to older persons through the Retirement Housing Program (RHP).
Under the agreement, UNT assumed operational responsibility for the
certification process, including the evaluation of applicants, provision of
training, monitoring of candidate progress, issuing of certificates, and
recertification of graduates. As of September 1, 2006 the name of the
program was changed to the Coalition for Leadership in Aging Services (CLAS).
AAHSA continues to participate actively in CLAS, highlighting the program in
its publications and website, sponsoring CLAS/CASP activities at the AAHSA
Annual Meeting and Exposition, and helping to coordinate CLAS initiatives
with other AAHSA programs.
About UNT's Department of Applied Gerontology
Founded as the Center for Studies in Aging in
1968, the Department of Applied Gerontology at the University of North Texas
(UNT) was among the first academic departments of gerontology in the
country. The department's faculty is dedicated to improving the lives of
older persons through teaching, research, and service in the field of aging.
Nationally recognized for its graduate training programs, the department
also offers a new Ph.D. program in Gerontology, a 15-semester-hour
Specialist Certificate in Aging, and houses a growing undergraduate program.
About AAHSA
The members of the American Association of Homes
and Services for the Aging (AAHSA) serve two million people every day
through mission-driven, not-for-profit organizations dedicated to providing
the services people need, when they need them, in the place they call home.
Our members offer the continuum of aging services: adult day services, home
health, community services, senior housing, assisted living residences,
continuing care retirement communities and nursing homes. AAHSA's commitment
is to create the future of aging services through quality people can trust.
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