Letter from the Education Chair - March 2007

Letter from the Education Chair

March 2007

It is with great pleasure that I submit to all members the substance of both the education program and the certification program for CACEO for 2007 and beyond, as approved by the Board of Directors. Many hours of discussion and hard work have gone into the formulation of an education program that will reflect the knowledge of the many disciplines required to fulfill the needs of the position of Code Enforcement Officer. It continues to be the desire of the Education Committee and the entire Board to create a program that will demand the respect and validity of this growing professional classification in government.

Education Program

The successful academy program that has been offered at American River College in Sacramento for the last six years is now offered at Rio Hondo College in Whittier to accommodate the members’ needs by offering two centralized campuses for convenience and accessibility.

The academy has been expanded from the original two modules, Basic and Advanced, to include four core modules which consist of, Basic, Intermediate, Advanced and Supervisory. The Supervisory module will be offered as an elective course to enhance advancement opportunities to those who wish to develop in their careers. The Basic, Intermediate and Advanced will be required for certification as of January 2007. The Basic and Advanced are five consecutive day courses; the Intermediate consists of five non-consecutive one-day courses; and the Supervisory consists of three consecutive day courses offered at American River College with two differing dates this year, with the Intermediate module to be offered at Rio Hondo as scheduling allows in 2007. Please note: Classes do not need to be taken in sequence.

The program is facilitated under the California Junior College system, which provides the locations; teachers; accurate documentation of attendance; college credit for each participant; and last, but by far the most important, validity for CACEO training to add impetus to the ability of the CACEO Legislative Committee to gain recognition for our organization and profession in the pursuit of legislation to benefit each and every member of our organization.

Furthermore, the junior college system provides the training, which will keep the costs down through the state subsidized program and enables all jurisdictions to provide to staff the much needed training while maintaining their allotted training budgets.

Continuing Education

One-day courses will be offered with specialized subject material at a minimum of two classes each month at various locations across the state to afford convenient access to all members and the ability to easily maintain certification requirements.

Certification

When CACE and SCACEO were unified in January 2006 it was agreed upon that all members who had received certification through any recognized California code enforcement association (SCACEO, CACE, CCEC, prior CACEO, etc.) would have that certification approved and maintained as valid.

Methods of Certification, as of January 2007

Certification through the Academies:

Completion of each module of the training academy will enable members to obtain certification from CACEO with written documentation (a signed Certificate of Completion or college transcript) from the designated school; i.e.:

• CACEO Code Enforcement Officer I (with completion of Basic module)
• CACEO Code Enforcement Officer II (with completion of Basic and Intermediate module)
• CACEO Certified Code Enforcement Officer (with completion of all three required modules)

Fee required for issuance of each certification from CACEO will be sixty ($60.00) dollars per module.

NOTE: Certification is a process that denotes a person has demonstrated a working knowledge of a specific subject at a point in time. As case law, new products and product installation requirements, and codes change, the acquisition of certification updates may be desirable and necessary.

Certification Renewal (Update)

Certification renewal (or update) as a Certified Code Enforcement Officer is required to be obtained every three years. (Code Enforcement Officer I and II certifications do not require renewal.) Renewal will be issued with a fee of one hundred twenty-five ($125) dollars and the requirement of providing documentation of attendance at a minimum of twenty-four (24) hours of Continuing Education each year, starting with 2007. The first date of renewal will be January 1st, 2010 for all who have and will be receiving certifications this year.

Certification Exam

CACEO will be offering experienced individuals that have worked in the construction industry and/or law enforcement industry the opportunity to bypass the formal training requirement of the Academy modules by taking the Certification Examination.

The Certification Exam has been historically offered and will continue to be available at the Annual Seminar. Additional exam sites will be offered as demand dictates. A minimum of 15 examinees are necessary to schedule a certification exam. The certification test is currently being revised and information regarding the subject material of the test will be available by the end of summer, if not sooner.

Prerequisites for receiving the certification are as follows:

1. Passing grade on the examination.
2. Successful completion of a post certified PC 832 course.
3. Provide documentation of previous experience:
• To bypass the Basic module – minimum of two years requisite experience
• To bypass the Intermediate module – three to five years’ experience (subject to review by Education Committee)

The cost of the Certification Examination is one hundred fifty ($150.00) dollars.

The Board and the new Association Management Company, Smith Moore & Associates, are in the process of rebuilding the membership databases and coordinating the issuance of certifications for all members that had obtained certifications with previous organizations.

If you had completed the required training for a certification, and/or had previously requested a certification, please compile and forward copies of all documents, including any payments for certification, to CACEO (1215 K Street Ste. 2290, Sacramento, CA 95814) at your earliest convenience. Please contact American River College or Rio Hondo College for copies of your transcripts if you attended those schools for the code enforcement training.

All submittals will be reviewed by members of the Education Committee, either approved or declined (for lack of proper documentation), and the certifications mailed to you as quickly as possible. This Board is committed to completing this task! I would kindly ask that you please be patient with this all volunteer Board as we diligently work through this demanding and time-consuming process.

Sincerely,

Michael J. Reynolds
First Vice-President and Education Chair