Association Certification 101

Below please find a list of answers to Frequently Asked Questions concerning the Association’s certification criteria and policies. If your question is not listed below or you need further assistance, please feel free to email us at info@capapgpc.org and one or our team members will contact you within three (3) business days of receipt.

You can also download for future reference the complete list of questions/answers by clicking here. Thank you.

What is the Association's certification policy?

The Association’s current certification policy is as follows:

  • 40 credit hours of continuing education every 4 years. The training must be given by a provider, which has been approved by the Association
  • No more than:
    • Seven (7) online credit hours may be accumulated in any four (4)-year period as approved by the Association
    • Seven (7) proficiency credit hours may be accumulated in any four (4)-year period as approved by the Association
  • Must be a member in good standing of the Association (payment of County fee as well as current in individual membership dues for all four (4) years covered under certification)

Certification is based on a fiscal calendar year from July 1 – June 30 irrelevant of when a member joins.

Example: If a member joined on January 1, 2018, their certification window would start July 1, 2017 and end June 30, 2021.

Certification covers a 4-year period and members are considered certified for the next 4-years once they have completed all certification criteria in their last 4-year cycle. This is broken down as follows for new and existing members:

  • NEW MEMBERS: For new members, this means that they are certified after their first 4-year certification window having completed all criteria for certification (40 credit hours earned and all 4 years of member dues and county fees paid). That certification status is active for the next 4 years while they are seeking recertification in their next 4-year window.
  • EXISTING MEMBERS: For members previously certified, they are considered certified during their current 4-year cycle while they are seeking recertification.

Certification by the Association for Public Administrators, Guardians and Conservators working within California is legally required per the following state statutes.
  • Public Guardians: Effective January 1, 2008 | Probate Code Sec. 2923
  • Public Conservators: Effective January 1, 2010 | Probate Code Sec. 1246.2
  • Public Administrators: Effective January 1, 2010 | Probate Code Sec. 7605

The legislature empowered the Association to determine the initial certification and continuing education requirements for all Public Administrators, Guardians, Conservators and their staff with the language:

“…shall comply with the continuing education requirements that are established by the California State Association of Public Administrators, Public Guardians, and Public Conservators.”

No. You need to be a member of the Association to be certified.

To become a member of the Association you must:

  • Be employed in a Public Administrator’s, Public Guardian’s, or Public Conservator’s office in one of the 58 counties in the State of California
  • Receive approval from the Principal member of the Association representing the County agency you are employed with

Staff members who make any case related decisions, assess/visit/evaluate clients or are responsible for the case in some way and the Managers and Supervisors who oversee those staff need to be certified. The named Public Administrator/Guardian/Conservator in each county decides for their office which staff members fall within those parameters.

STATED PENALTY: If a member does not meet the 40 hour requirement in 4 years, they are noted in the system as non-certified and to be in compliance must by the end of the second four-year period meet 40 hours in the 4 years as well as any additional hours not completed in the prior 4-year certification window.

Example: If a member completes 35 certification hours in a 4-year window, the subsequent 4-year certification window would be the standard 40 hours required as well as the additional 5 hours not completed in the prior certification window.

This penalty is cumulative each 4-year cycle.

Please Note-Though credits not acquired in a 4-year cycle are added to a member’s subsequent 4-year window, members who acquire more than 40 credits in 4-years do not get additional credits earned rolled over.

IMPLIED PENALTY: If a member/county does not pay either their individual membership dues and/or county fees at any time during the 4 years of certification, that individual and/or county and all the member’s under that county can not be certified as payment of both membership dues and county fees are required all 4 years for certification to be given.

A member’s certification window covers four (4) years irrelevant of when a member completes the required credits as certification is tied not only to those 40 required credits but payment of both a member’s individual dues as well as county fee for all four (4) years. So, a member can not move to their next 4-year cycle (or if a new member, be considered certified) in the 2nd or 3rd year if they have earned the 40 credits as the other two certification criteria have yet to be met (payment of member dues and county fees for each of the four years).

However, should you need to show your manager that you have taken the necessary 40 credits within your current certification window, the Association can provide

  • For new members a letter notifying them that you have completed the 40 credits needed for certification that would effect your next 4-year cycle but you will not be considered certified until the end of the 4 years or
  • For existing members a letter notifying them you have completed 40 credits in your current 4 year cycle as you are already considered certified based on your last certification window

If you are an existing member and were unable to be certified after completing your last certification window whether due to non-payment or not enough credits, you are considered not-certified until the end of your current certification window as long as all certification criteria has been met.

Below are several certification scenarios for Jane Doe, a member of the Association for 16 years, to highlight how the three criteria for certification (Membership dues, County Fees and Credits Earned) may play out over time.

Certification Window 1 (July 1, 2003-June 30, 2007)

Jane Doe is not certified for this period. Criteria met/not met include:

  • Her individual membership was paid for all 4 years of the certification window
  • Her county program fee was paid for all 4 years of the certification window but
  • She only earned 35 of the 40 educational credits required

The system changed her certification window to the next 4-year cycle with the additional 5 credits that were unearned from the previous 4-years to the new 4-year window. She now must earn 45 credits to be certified in her next window. She will never be able to be certified for the July 1, 2003-June 30, 2007 period due to lack of educational credits.

Certification Window 2 (July 1, 2007-June 30, 2011)

Jane Doe is certified for this period. Criteria met/not met include:

  • Paid her individual membership dues for all 4 years of the certification window
  • Her county program fee was paid for all 4 years of the certification window and
  • She took the required 40 educational credits within 4 years as well as the additional 5 credits that she needed to make up from the previous 4-year cert window

Her certificate showing certification was distributed within 30 days after her certification window close (no later than August 1, 2011) and is accessible via her member dashboard any time she needs it.

Certification Window 3 (July 1 2011-June 30, 2015)

Jane Doe is not certified for this period. Criteria met/not met include:

  • Paid her individual membership dues for all 4 years of the certification window
  • She took the required 40 educational credits within 4 years but
  • Her county program did not pay for one of the 4 years of county fees due

The system changed her certification window to the next 4-year cycle. Though considered uncertified now, should the county pay for the fee(s) that they did not pay during this certification period, she would then be considered certified and receive a certification certificate.

Certification Window 4 (Current Window of July 1 2015-June 30, 2019)

Jane Doe is actively working toward certification for this period. Though she was able to earn all 40 credits in the first three years of the window, she will not be considered certified until the end of the period to ensure both the membership dues and counties fees have been paid for all 4-years covered.