Certification Process for Lay Ministers

The certification process of the Religion and Spirituality Division of the American Association on Mental Retardation (AAMR) seeks to assure that persons whose work focuses on providing and/or facilitating ministry with people with developmental disabilities meet standards of competence as delineated in this document.

This certification process is designed for those lay persons already in ministry with persons with developmental disabilities or who plan to enter the field of this specialized ministry.

There are many qualified and dedicated lay people who work in the field of ministry with people with developmental disabilities. It is not the intent of this certification process to demean those persons who do not meet the standards for certification found in this document. Nor does this process in itself guarantee the performance of persons who are certified.

With the complexity of pastoral ministry both in residential facilities and in the community, a lay minister must have competencies in a variety of areas. These include:

1. education/formation in pastoral ministry;
2. understanding of current philosophies, values, and social issues within the field of mental retardation and the ability to make appropriate application to pastoral ministry;
3. the ability to work within ecclesiastical, institutional, and community systems; and
4. the ability to relate to persons with developmental disabilities and their families and/or caregivers.

Certification is meant to indicate that the applicant has achieved the level of competence necessary for sensitive and effective pastoral ministry with persons with developmental disabilities.

Basic Requirements for Certification
Two years of college training or two years of other specialized training in the field of developmental disabilities with five years of ministerial experience with persons with developmental disabilities and their families and/or caregivers; OR

Graduation with a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university (Preferably the degree should be related to human services or religious studies), with two years of ministerial experience with persons with developmental disabilities and their families and/or caregivers; OR

Graduation with a master’s degree from an accredited college or university in the field of human services or religious studies, including courses and field work related to specialized ministry with persons with developmental disabilities or at least one year of experience in such specialized ministry.

Training and/or experience equivalent to the above requirements may be submitted. The Certification Committee will rule on the equivalent nature of alternate training and/or experience which is submitted.

Competency implies the following personal and professional characteristics:

1. the ability to facilitate good interpersonal relationships with church leadership, with agency/facility personnel, and with members of local community of worship;
2. the ability to lead volunteers in ministry with persons with developmental disabilities and to foster a change in attitude resulting in meaningful relationships;
3. the ability to set goals, plan strategies, make decisions, and evaluate progress;
4. the ability to work in interfaith and ecumenical contexts with an understanding and appreciation of both similarities and differences among various religious traditions;
5. the ability to communicate goals in a manner that facilitates the integration of persons with developmental disabilities in communities of worship.

The Certification Process
The first step toward certification is the applicant’s submission of required materials to the chair of the Certification Committee. The $75.00 certification fee should accompany the documents listed below (check or money order payable to the Religion and Spirituality Division/AAMR). All items shall be submitted at least two months before the date of the AAMR national convention, which is in the last week of May. These items include:

1. The official application form documenting education, training, experience, and work history.
2. Evidence of current AAMR Religion and Spirituality Division membership or a completed membership application with fee.
3. Copies of all appropriate documents (diploma, certificates, etc.) giving evidence of completion of education and/or training pertinent to the certification process.
4. Letters of recommendation indicating the applicant’s professional competence in ministry with persons with developmental disabilities:
   1. a letter from a pastor or clergy person affirming the applicant’s active participation in the faith community;
   2. a letter from an appropriate church agency endorsing the applicant’s competency in assignments directly related to ministry with persons with developmental disabilities;
   3. a letter from the administrator/director of an agency or residential facility giving evidence of the applicant’s competence in understanding issues related to the field of mental retardation and his/her abilities to relate to persons within that system;
   4. a letter from a consumer, family member, or support person giving evidence of the applicant’s effective ministry to that individual or family.
5. A biographical paper (3-4 pages, double spaced) noting factors in personal religious/spiritual formation with emphasis on how he/she was became involved in the work of lay ministry with persons with developmental disabilities.
6. A paper on ministry (4-6 pages, double spaced) defining past and present experience with persons with developmental disabilities, including employment history or volunteer work, if pertinent, as well as the applicant’s direction or goals in specialized ministry.
7. A paper (5-7 pages, double spaced) describing the applicant’s faith perspectives that direct or undergird his/her ministry and how these perspectives relate to persons with developmental disabilities. The applicant may discuss any training, education, or mentoring in the field of specialized ministry and its relationship to his/her faith perspective.

The applicant will be expected at their own expense to appear before the Certification Committee at the national convention for review. The Presenter for the applicant will review his/her documents, prepare a summary highlighting significant issues, and present the applicant to the committee.

Final decisions on certification will be made by the committee at the annual meeting held at or in conjunction with the national convention of the AAMR. The committee may provide full certification, vote for a two-year provisional certification, or deny certification. Provisional or denial of certification will be accompanied with a written explanation of the reasons for the committee’s decision along with appropriate recommendations for training, study, and/or professional development. Once certified, an individual maintains certification by ongoing active membership in the Religion and Spirituality Division of the AAMR.

Adopted, 6/97, Religion Division/AAMR

Certification Process for Pastoral Care

1. The certification process of the Religion and Spirituality Division of the American Association on Mental Retardation seeks to assure that persons whose work focuses on providing and/or facilitating ministry with people with mental retardation meet standards of competence as delineated in this document.
2. This certification process is designed for those persons who are authorized or appointed by their religious faith groups to provide pastoral ministry with persons with mental retardation. This includes, but is not necessarily limited to, ministers, clergy, rabbis, and chaplains in various settings.
3. There are many qualified and dedicated religious workers in the field of mental retardation. It is not the intent of this certification process to demean the ministries of other persons who do not meet the minimum standards for certification found in this document. Nor does this process in itself guarantee the performance of persons who are certified.
4. With the complexity of pastoral ministry both in facilities and in communities, today’s ministers must have competencies in a variety of areas. These include religious and theological understanding and practice, understanding of the philosophy and current emphases within the field of mental retardation, the ability to make appropriate application of current understandings to ministry, the ability to work with and within social and ecclesiastical systems, the ability to relate to family members, and an understanding of one’s own dynamics as minister and one’s relationships to others. Certification is intended to indicate that the minister has demonstrated that he/she has completed the required education and training and has achieved the level of competence necessary for effective pastoral ministry with persons with mental retardation.
5. In order to achieve full certification, the applicant must have completed two full years in work related to providing or facilitating pastoral ministry with persons with mental retardation. A two year Provisional Certification may be granted to applicants who have completed other requirements but who have not yet completed the two years of service.
6. Applicants may apply for “equivalency” evaluation of work, training, and experience to meet minimum requirements. Specific requests should be directed to the chair of the Certification Committee. The Committee will have full authority to grant or deny equivalencies.
7. Basic requirements for certification:
   1. Graduation with a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college/university.

Graduation from an accredited seminary, or equivalent theological education.

Ordination, certification in a religious vocation, or ecclesiastical authorization/ appointment to pastoral ministry in a setting directly related to providing ministry to/with persons with mental retardation.

Three years of pastoral experience.

At least one full year of advanced training in the field of mental retardation. This training may be one of the following:

1. The satisfactory completion of one year of clinical pastoral education (CPE) with a minimum of three months of specialized emphasis on ministry with persons with disabilities.
2. At least a year of graduate education in special education or a related field with demonstration of the ability to relate and integrate current emphases in mental retardation to pastoral ministry.
3. A mentoring process with a certified member of the Religion and Spirituality Division. The mentoring process must be reviewed and approved by the Certification Committee as equivalent to a or b above. It is also expected that the equivalent of a year of specialized training would take two or three years or more in a mentoring process.
4. Any equivalent combination of (1), (2), or (3).

Personal and professional characteristics:

1. A demonstration of personal and pastoral identity.
2. A pastoral theology that is correlated with pastoral function.
3. An ability to function with peers in joint ministry and to function with administrators and professionals in other disciplines.
4. An understanding of the enabling and facilitating role of ministry with persons with mental retardation along with an understanding of the limitation of that role.
5. An ability and desire to facilitate the provision of ministry in the most normal manner possible including appropriate community focuses.
6. Ability to develop consultative relationships with community clergy as well as professional and direct care staff.
7. Ability to conduct educational programs for community clergy, volunteers, students, and staff of agencies.
8. Ability to relate an understanding of ministry to the Certification Committee in a manner that demonstrates the candidate’s ability to evaluate his/her own progress and development.
9. Objectivity in assessing pastoral function and professional identity.

The Certification Committee will meet once a year in conjunction with the national convention of the AAMR. Committee members include the immediate past president of the Religion and Spirituality Division and six members of the Division elected in the Division’s annual business meeting at the national convention of the AAMR. Each member will be elected for three year term. Two members will be elected each year. Elected members may serve no more than two consecutive terms (six years) on the committee. The committee members will annually elect a chair and secretary for the committee. A quorum of three is required for the committee to convene and carry out its business at the annual convention, including the certification of applicants.

Steps in the Certification Process The first step toward certification is a review of the applicant’s materials by the chair of the Certification Committee or his/her designee. The completed application including all documents, required papers, and the $150 certification fee is to be submitted to the chair of the Certification Committee at least two months before the date of the AAMR national convention. Applicants will be expected at their own expense to appear before the committee at the national convention for review unless the applicant submits all pertinent evaluations and other pertinent documents from a peer review that led to certification in another recognized pastoral care organization, such as the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education, the Association of Professional Chaplains, or the National Association of Catholic Chaplains. If there are significant unresolved issues, the chair of the Certification Committee will have the authority upon examination of documents from a peer review of another organization to require the applicant to appear before the full committee. Otherwise, the committee will decide on certification by reviewing the written materials from the applicant and the evidence of certification by another COMISS organization. Final decisions on certification will be made by the committee at the annual meeting held at or in conjunction with the national convention of the AAMR. The committee may provide full certification, vote for a two year provisional certification, or deny certification. Provisional or denial of certification will be accompanied with an explanation of the reasons for the committee’s decision along with appropriate recommendation for training, study, and professional development. Once certified, an individual maintains certification by ongoing active membership in the Religion and Spirituality Division of the AAMR.

Application Procedures The application form will include education, training, experience, and work history. The application form and the following documents and papers are to be submitted with the $150 fee (check or money order payable to the Religion and Spirituality Division/AAMR) to the chair of the Certification Committee.

1. Evidence of current AAMR/RD membership or a completed membership application with membership fee.
2. A complete autobiographical statement, 8-12 pages in length (double spaced). This should be a reasonably full, yet concise, narrative of the applicant’s life pilgrimage, noting family of origin, developmental themes and events, education, religious/spiritual formation, present family constellation, and employment history. In the narrative the applicant should emphasize how these factors have shaped him/her as a minister.
3. Copies of all appropriate documents giving evidence of completion of the education, training, and ecclesiastical requirements pertinent to the applicant.
4. Copies of evaluations of advanced or specialized training (cf. section 7e).
5. A letter from the administrator of the facility or agency that the applicant represents along with a letter from another staff member giving evidence of the applicant’s emotional stability and professional competence.
6. A letter from a local clergy person supporting the applicant’s ability to relate ministry to persons with mental retardation to clergy and lay persons in community settings and supporting the applicant’s continuing, active participation in the faith community.
7. A letter from the appropriate ecclesiastical authority stating current endorsement and/or authorization/appointment to pastoral ministry in an assignment directly related to ministry with persons with mental retardation.
8. The applicant will present an example of her/his ministry with or on behalf of persons with mental retardation or their families. This should consist of a detailed description of the ministry with an analysis of how that situation is an example of current state of the art ministry with persons with mental retardation or their families. For applicants expected to appear in person before the committee, the applicant should include a verbatim, case history, or other evidence of understanding of personal pastoral care dynamics in ministry with persons with mental retardation.
9. The applicant will present a written paper, 15-20 pages in length (double spaced), describing his/her ministry and how that ministry relates to current emphases in mental retardation and in religious organizations. The applicant should include perspectives on her/his theory of pastoral care and theological foundations for ministry with persons with mental retardation. The paper should give evidence of a knowledge of the history and development of secular and religious approaches to habilitation for persons with mental retardation. A current bibliography of resources for ministry is available from the Religion and Spirituality Division. It is highly recommended that applicants purchase that resource guide and make themselves acquainted with pertinent resources. It is expected that the paper will reflect knowledge and information from those resources.

The applicant’s documents should reflect his/her pastoral care and facilitation skills in three areas:

1. Pastoral care to/with persons with mental retardation.
2. Pastoral relationships with families, staff, agency personnel, and community clergy.
3. Linkage of applicant’s pastoral program with the broader community.

ADOPTED, 6/93, RELIGION DIVISION/AAMR (REVISED, 6/94)