CRPO Communiqué
April 2017
April 11, 2017

Message from the Registrar 

Deborah Adams
Registrar
This Communiqué is arriving in your in-box after the close of grandparenting, which marks a significant shift for the College. In her contribution, our Registration Manager, Monica McPherson, has shared the number of applications we received before the grandparenting window closed on March 31st. As grandparenting is no longer open, the regular route remains as the main point of registration with CRPO. Staff will be working diligently over the coming months to review the hundreds of applications received and we look forward to registering many more qualified RPs.

This transition also signifies the opportunity for CRPO staff to turn our efforts to focus even more on other ongoing initiatives including:
  • Working with Members to satisfy the mandate of our Quality Assurance Program, which includes further establishment of programs to continue to promote quality practice and standards of knowledge and skill, as well as further maintenance of programs to uphold continuing evaluation, competence and practice improvements.
  • Having more educational institutions recognized by CRPO as meeting the education requirement for regular route applicants.
  • Developing an enhanced website for increased function and a more user-friendly experience.
  • Supporting Members through Practice Advisories about significant topics and developments to the regulatory and practice environments.
  • Increasing awareness about the complaints process as well as the Public Register.
  • Policy development and review of key issues.
In the coming year, we will be reaching out to Members to ask for input on a number of initiatives that will have the aim of producing or identifying useful tools and resources. I hope that we will be able to engage many of you through these projects and look forward to hearing from you as we move forward in our shared work. 
 Quick Links

In This Issue
Message from the President - Seeking Nominations for Upcoming Council Election

Nominations opened April 3, 2017 for elections to be held for Districts 2 - North, District 3 - East and District 4 - Central East, as well as a by-election in District 6 - Central West which has remained vacant since CRPO held its first election. Members whose primary practice site is located in these districts (or primary residence if not practising) are encouraged to consider pursuing a nomination for election to CRPO Council. 
 
Professional members of Council serve an important role by contributing their profession-specific knowledge and experience toward fulfilling CRPO's Mission: To develop standards and procedures to regulate psychotherapists in the public interest, striving to ensure competent and ethical practice within a professional accountability framework.
 
The experience of working on Council is engaging and rewarding and provides the opportunity to gain breadth of understanding about the profession in the context of our regulatory environment. 
 
More information about the role of Council members is available on the Council Elections page of our website and questions can be directed to elections@crpo.ca .
 
I hope many of you will consider putting your name forward to contribute to the exciting work continuing at CRPO.
 
Andrew Benedetto, RP
President
Message from the Manager, Registration - Grandparenting Now Closed

When the grandparenting window closed at 11:59 p.m. on March 31st, on top of all the applications already submitted, since January 1, 2017 we had received over 2,400 grandparenting applications. To all those who successfully submitted a grandparenting application, thank you for your submission - your application is now in the queue for processing.
 
Due to the significantly large volume of applications undergoing review, there will be an increased timeframe between the application submission date and the start of a review. A Registration Assistant may contact applicants with questions once the review of their application begins. If you submitted an application, please monitor your CRPO user account or your e-mail inbox regularly for the notifications we send alerting you to a system message and respond to any questions or requests for additional information as quickly as possible. To facilitate the processing of applications:
  • If a staff member has questions after the first review of the application, they will send a detailed message to the user's online account addressing the concerns.
  • If more information is required after receiving the response, a staff member will follow-up for a second and final time.
  • If we do not receive a substantive response within three months of the date of the second request for clarification, or the two attempts fail to result in satisfactory information, the application may then be referred to a panel of the Registration Committee for further consideration and possible refusal.
We thank you in advance for your patience while you await the outcome of the review of your application.
 
Monica McPherson
Manager, Registration
Council Elections - Nominations Still Open

Nominations are still being accepted for Council elections for District 2 - North, 3 - East, 4 - Central East and 6 - Central West. Members whose primary practice site is located in these districts (or primary residence if not practising) are eligible to become a candidate or vote in the election. Go to the "Elections" tab of your CRPO Account to check your electoral district. 
 
The Nomination Package, as well as information about the role of Council members and the election process, can be found on the Council Elections page of our website. Completed Nomination Packages must be received no later than 4:00 p.m. on Monday, May 1, 2017.  Nominations that are incomplete or that are submitted after the deadline will not be accepted. 
 
Please send any questions about Council elections or your electoral district to  elections@crpo.ca
QA Deadline Passed - Are You Up-To-Date With Your QA Requirements?

The Quality Assurance (QA) Program deadline has now passed. Thanks to everyone who was able to meet their 2017 Professional Development (PD) requirements on time. If you have not yet met your requirements, though you were required to do so by March 31, 2017, the College's QA staff will follow up with you.
 
To see if you are up-to-date on your PD requirements, find your date of registration below, then read down. If you can answer yes to each of statements, then you are likely up-to-date with your PD requirements.

I registered between April 1, 2015 and Sept. 30, 2015
I registered between Oct. 1, 2015 and Dec. 31, 2016
  • My first participation deadline was in 2016. I met my 2016 pilot participations requirements by:
    • Completing the Self-Assessment.
    • Documenting at least one goal in the Learning Plan.
    • Documenting at least one learning activity in the Learning Record.
  • My first participation deadline was in 2017. I met my participation requirements by using the tools in the QA Portal to:
    • Complete a Self-Assessment in the QA Portal.
    • Begin my Learning Plan.
  • I am aware that I am required to engage in learning activities totaling at least 40 hours by my 2018 deadline.
  • I am aware that I am required to engage in learning activities totaling at least 40 hours by my 2019 deadline.
  • I am aware that I am required to complete a new Self-Assessment if the nature of my practice changes.
  • I am aware that I am required to complete a new Self-Assessment if the nature of my practice changes.
  • I have been keeping my Learning Record and Learning Plan up-to-date in the QA Portal.
  • I will be (or have been) keeping my Learning Record and Learning Plan up-to-date in the QA Portal.

If you registered in the 2017 calendar year, see the Professional Development Guide for more information about your requirements and read the monthly communiqués for important announcements about your QA requirements.
 
For more information about the QA requirements visit CRPO's website . If you have any questions about the QA Program or your requirements, please contact QA@crpo.ca
Member Awareness - Fraud: International Clients

CRPO has recently become aware of a scheme which appears to be targeting numerous Members of the College.
 
The perpetrator poses as a person living outside of Canada who indicates that they expect to visit Ontario. The person states that they would like to receive psychotherapy services when they are in Ontario and offers to pay for 50 per cent of the services in advance. They then send a large cheque to the psychotherapist (more than the agreed upon price) and later claim that this was sent in error. The person requests that the money be wired back to an international location. When the provider tries to cash the cheque,  it is returned with insufficient funds to cover the amount.
 
Individuals running these schemes can be clever in building a relationship with their target. They may include specific details about their family or mental health issues in an attempt to draw you in. Members are encouraged to be cautious of these situations and to report any suspicious activity to police. 
Did you know?

You may have wondered at some time why CRPO does not accept credit cards, cheques, cash or other forms of payment and only allows for bank-to-bank transfers.
 
While it may seem restrictive, this decision was made for a number of reasons, the most important ones being the commitment to payment security for applicants and Members, as well as avoiding the high service cost charged by the banks.  
 
Our current system provides for zero financial risk as applicants and Members are using their bank to make the payment, which then routes the money to CRPO. The possibility of credit card fraud or tampering is not an issue with this payment method. 
 
Not supporting the use of credit cards also allows us to keep operational costs (that are incorporated into Membership fees) much lower. As an example: In our first year as a fully regulated College, we were charged just over $4,000 in banking fees related to payments being made by our applicants or Members. If those payments had been made by credit card, we would have incurred costs of over $80,000 along with additional costs of extra security for a payment system to allow for credit cards to be used. Moreover, this cost would only rise each year.  
 
We recognise that membership with a regulatory body is an added cost to working as a Registered Psychotherapist and so we work consistently to be fiscally responsible with the revenue generated by Membership fees.  

Please do not unsubscribe.
CRPO works on the assumption that our Members receive all of our e-mails. CRPO uses e-mail to communicate with Members about important College updates. If you choose to unsubscribe, it is then your responsibility to regularly check our website to keep yourself informed. 

It is the responsibility of each Member to make sure CRPO has your current contact information, updated within 30 days of a change, and ensure that the organization you work for does not block CRPO emails.