Council on Accreditation of Peer Recovery Support Services (CAPRSS)

The only accrediting body in the US specifically for Recovery Community Organizations (RCOs) and programs offering Peer Recovery Support Services.

Accreditation helps

define, identify, support, and verify effectiveness and excellence

It began as identifying under-supported needs in recovery communities. It’s grown to become a standard for delivering recovery support services to all people – the everyday things that improve chances for long-term recovery – like workforce support, childcare, wellness, and more. CAPRSS has grown through the years as an ever-advancing standard, constructed by recovery community members, advocates, and allies. Today we promote proven and diverse pathways to long-term recovery for millions of Americans, their families, and their communities.

Council on Accreditation of Peer Recovery Support Services (CAPRSS) logo with icon to the left
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Where do we Stand?

Our Commitment

We are committed to Asset-Based Accreditation™

  • Based on current recovery principles
  • Always fair, balanced, contemporary, and focused on the real world
  • Includes information and data from peers, leadership, and the community served
  • Always respectful and authentic
  • Designed around organizational function and mission
  • Based on strengths, opportunities for improvement, and evidence-based practices

Accreditation+

Our Philosophy

CAPRSS takes an “accreditation plus” approach. This is more than an evaluation and approval of organizations or programs based on a set of standards. The process promotes a comprehensive look at opportunities for capacity-building and excellence at every level.

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A Unique

CAPRSS Accreditation Approach

01

Recovery-Oriented Accreditation

  • Helps emerging and established organizations and peer recovery support programs to build capacity
  • Improves performance by setting and measuring the achievement of standards
  • Increases accountability to funders, communities, and the wider recovery community

02

CAPRSS Eligibility

  • Emerging organizations with at least 2 years of providing service seeking information and resources to develop their recovery support services and programs
  • Established organizations looking to improve depth, breadth, scope, and quality of the peer services they provide and preparing to seek accreditation
  • State and other government entities seeking to assure the quality of Peer Recovery Support Services within their jurisdiction

03

Seven Domains for Accreditation

Accreditation is an intensive process that looks at seven areas (domains):

  • Recovery Principles, Culture and Climate
  • Ethical Framework for Service Delivery
  • Peer Leader Development
  • Peer Supervisor Development
  • Governance and Program Oversight
  • Management Systems
  • Peer Support Capacity: Core Competencies

Explore

CAPRSS Accreditation

CAPRSS Process

Learn more about the CAPRSS process, affiliations, educational opportunities, and more.

Visit CAPRSS Site

Accredited Organizations and Programs

Find out more about CAPRSS-accredited organizations and how they’re doing.

View List of RCO’s

Connect with CAPRSS Virtual Learning Community and get on the path to accreditation from your office or home.

CAPRSS’s Virtual Learning Community is a place for people involved in Peer Recovery Support Services (PRSS) to learn about topics related to the CAPRSS standards. The Virtual Learning Community is the hub for all information that can help your program to become accreditation-ready.

Through this community, you’ll have access to:

  • In-depth, annotated descriptions of the standards
  • Articles and links to other online resources related to the domains, standards, and criteria
  • Organizational self-assessment tools

2025 Schedule

Date

Time

January 8

12:00 PM ET

February 12

12:00 PM ET

March 12

12:00 PM ET

April 9

12:00 PM ET

May 14

12:00 PM ET

June 11

12:00 PM ET

July 9

12:00 PM ET

August 13

12:00 PM ET

September 10

12:00 PM ET

October 8

12:00 PM ET

November 12

12:00 PM ET

December 10

12:00 PM ET

Our Accreditation 101 course introduces the CAPRSS accreditation, including:

  • Describes CAPRSS mission and purpose
  • Provides an overview of standards and criteria
  • Describes accreditation steps and process
  • Presents resources for becoming accreditation-ready and completing candidacy application
Sign up: Accreditation 101

Our rigorous standards come directly from the recovery community and reflect current practice in peer recovery support. These standards are the core of the accreditation process.

They can be viewed as an external guide used to assess the capacity and efficiency of a Peer Recovery Support Services program. Programs applying for accreditation will be evaluated on the extent to which they can demonstrate their ability to meet these standards. These standards can also be considered a guide any program can use to conduct a self-inventory and learn about areas of excellence and areas that may need improvement.

Our Accreditation 201 course includes:

  • Identify the elements of the CAPRSS standards taxonomy and how they relate
  • Describe core domains and standards
  • Discuss how peer reviewers – and PRSS programs – will use standards, criteria, and elements of performance in the accreditation process

This session begins at 12:00 ET and lasts 60-minutes, including time for your questions.

Apply for Candidacy:

Zoom Registration Link