Endorsement Policies

Annual Renewal of MI-AIMH Endorsement® Requirements

In order to renew IMH-Endorsement^®or ECMH-Endorsement^® annually, the following is required:

On-going membership in MI-AIMH or another IMH association
Pay $30 Annual Endorsement Renewal Fee
15 clock hours of training related to culturally-sensitive, relationship-focused practice promoting infant mental health. If you are a provider of RSC, at least 3 hours of the 15 hours required need to be about the provision of RSC
12 clock hours of RSC annually for professionals endorsed at IFS, ECFS, IMHS, ECMHS, IMHM-C, and ECMH-C

*This renewal requirement applies to all IFS, IMHS and IMHM-C professionals, regardless of when Endorsement^® was originally earned except I/ECMHM-C professionals who has earned and maintained I/ECMHM-C for a minimum of 3-years (they are required to receive a minimum of 10-hours of RSC annually; peer supervision or collaborative consultation (with those endorsed at the same category) annually).

Reinstatement if Endorsement® Lapses

If a practitioner fails to update MI-AIMH membership and/or annual I/ECMH-Endorsement^® renewal hours by January 31st of any year, he/she will receive email notifications during the month of February and then if the practitioner fails to update their Endorsement status, he/she will be removed from the Endorsement Registry.

If removed from the Endorsement Registry, a professional must:

- Log into EASy (Create new login if you dont have an EASy profile)
- Ensure your MI-AIMH membership is current in EASy
- Add education, work, in-service training and reflective supervision/consultation experiences that have been accrued since removal from the registry
- Get three updated reference ratings (via EASy)
- Pay Endorsement Processing Fee

Applying for MI-AIMH Endorsement® as an Out of State Applicant

MI-AIMH no longer accepts Endorsement applications from those who reside outside of Michigan. Visit https://www.allianceaimh.org/members-of-the-alliance to find out if your state is part of the Alliance.

[table “8” not found /]
[/toggle]

Inactive MI-AIMH Endorsement® Status

MI-AIMH maintains an Inactive Endorsement Registry for those who have earned Endorsement^® but have extenuating circumstances and are unable to meet annual renewal requirements.

There is one type of Inactive Endorsement®:

Inactive Status: Endorsed professional continues with on-going requirements for membership and 5 hours of specialized in-service training annually but is unable to fulfill the full training requirement of 15 hours and/or is unable to receive 12 hours of reflective supervision/consultation (RS/C). All categories of Endorsement® are eligible for Inactive Status.

Endorsed professionals who move to Inactive Status will be removed from the Endorsement® Registry and are no longer able to use the IMH-E® credential after their name or promote themselves as actively endorsed or as a provider of reflective supervision/consultation. A Reactivation Application, along with a $25 reactivation fee, can be submitted at any time to return to the Endorsement Registry.

For IFS, IMHS and IMHM endorsed professionals who are no longer working in the IMH field and no longer receiving RS/C, but who wish to continue to remain on the Endorsement® Registry, they will be offered the option to apply for IFA Endorsement® (through a new IFA Application in EASy). These professionals will not need to complete the entire Application, as they previously demonstrated fulfillment of the competencies and requirements through their previous Application for Endorsement®. Upon applying for and receiving IFA Endorsement®, these endorsed professionals will be required to follow the ongoing annual Endorsement® renewal requirements of 15-hours of in-service training and maintenance of membership in an IMH association.

Download the Inactive Application for MI-AIMH Endorsement.

Inactive Endorsement® Status: Returning to Active Endorsement Status

When the endorsed professional is ready to return to active status, he/she will complete and submit an Application for Reactivation to Active Endorsement Registry and a check for $25 for the Reactivation Fee to MI-AIMH, Attn: MI-AIMH, 13101 Allen Rd, Southgate, MI 48195.

Applications for activation will be reviewed in the order they are received, within 16 weeks of submission.

Once reviewed and approved, the endorsed professional’s name will be moved from the Inactive Endorsement Registry to the Endorsement Registry. The number of training hours expected for annual Endorsement renewal will be prorated depending on the date that the application to reactivate is received. The Endorsement Coordinator, will email you with the number of hours you will be expected to submit.

MI-AIMH Endorsement Exam Dates, Locations, Capacity, and Special Accommodations

Dates and Location

The Endorsement examination is offered in March and in September. Exams are currently being administrated virtually and scheduling will occur on a day/time that works for both applicants and MI-AIMH Central Office staff.

Accommodations for the Exam

If an IMHS or IMHM Endorsement applicant would like an accommodation for either part of the examination, he/she must submit a written request to the Endorsement Coordinator, at least eight weeks before the exam date. The request must detail the kind of accommodation being requested, as well as documentation of the need for an accommodation (i.e. assessment from a professional). The Endorsement Coordinator will respond to the request at least 10 days before the examination date. MI-AIMH is committed to meeting the needs of all of its members, but may not be able to grant every accommodation request. MI-AIMH will work closely with the applicant to develop a plan that offers a reasonable accommodation without compromising the integrity of the exam, the identity of the applicant, or the identity of the exam reviewers.

Capacity

No more than 24 applicants will sit for the exam on any given exam date. If more than 24 applicants submit applications and are approved to sit for the exam, those who submitted later, will wait for the next exam.

MI-AIMH Endorsement® Exam Scores, Feedback, Retakes, and Decision Reviews

Applicants must receive passing scores on both Part One and Part Two of the exam to earn MI-AIMH I/ECMH-Endorsement^®. A passing score on Part One (the multiple choice section) of the exam is 80%. In order to carefully protect the exam materials, applicants will not receive specific feedback related to the questions missed on Part One. Applicants who do not receive a passing score on Part Two of the exam (response to vignettes/scenarios) will be provided with feedback based on the exam reviewers’ remarks.

Regardless of outcome, all who take the exam will be provided with feedback based on the exam reviewers’ remarks, and may also receive feedback based on the application reviewers’ remarks. The feedback is offered in the spirit of promoting professional development and can help guide selection of specialized in-service training opportunities and continuing reflective supervision or consultation experiences.

Retakes

Applicants must submit a written request to retake the exam at least eight weeks before the examination date. The request must be sent to the Endorsement Coordinator. Applicants must wait at least one year before retaking the exam. There is no charge to retake either part of the exam the second time. However, if any applicant does not successfully pass the exam after two attempts, the applicant must: wait at least one year before taking the exam again, update their EASy application with three new reference ratings, new training/employment/supervision experiences and submit their application for another review. If the applicant is approved to sit for the exam again, the applicant must pay the retake fee of $100.

Review of an Exam Decision

A minimum of two trained exam reviewers must agree on whether or not an exam response (qualitative section) passes or not. There is no appeal process if the applicant does not agree with this decision. As stated in the Endorsement Agreement, signed by every Endorsement applicant: “The decision of MI-AIMH concerning whether or not endorsement will be granted is final and binding.”

Applicants are invited to consider the feedback offered by exam reviewers and sit for the exam again in one year’s time (see policy above, “Retakes”)

Reflective Supervision/Consultation (RSC)

RSC is supervision or consultation that distinctly utilizes the shared exploration of the parallel process. In addition, RSC relates to professional and personal development within one’s discipline by attending to the emotional content of the work and how reactions to the content affect the work. Finally, there is often a greater emphasis on the supervisor/consultant’s ability to listen and wait, allowing the supervisee to discover solutions, concepts and perceptions on his/her own without interruption from the supervisor/consultant.

Peer supervision (defined as colleagues meeting together without an identified supervisor/consultant to guide the reflective process), while valuable for many RSC experienced practitioners, does not meet the criteria for endorsement, even if one or more of the peers has earned Endorsement^® at IMHM-C or IMHS. The provider of reflective supervision is charged with holding the emotional content of the cases presented. The ability to do so is compromised when the provider is a peer of the presenter. Unnecessary complications can arise when the provider of reflective supervision has concerns about a peer’s ability to serve a particular family due to the peer’s emotional response AND the provider and peer share office space, for example.

A list of qualified providers of RSC can be found within the IMH Faculty Registry.

RSC Endorsement Requirements

Applicant and/or endorsed professional	Provider of Reflective Supervision/Consultation		Renewal requirement ends
Applicant and/or endorsed professional	For Applicants earning Endorsement	For professionals renewing endorsement (annually)	Renewal requirement ends
Infant Family Specialist (Level II) Bachelor’s prepared	Level II Master’s prepared OR Level III or Level IV-Clinical Min. 24 clock hours	Level II Master’s prepared OR Level III or Level IV-Clinical Min. 12 clock hours	On-going
Infant Family Specialist (Level II) Master’s prepared	Level III or Level IV-Clinical Min. 24 clock hours	Level III or Level IV-Clinical Min. 12 clock hours	On-going
Infant Mental Health Specialist (Level III) Direct service provider	Level III or Level IV-Clinical Min. 50 clock hours	Level III or Level IV-Clinical Min. 12 clock hours	On-going
Infant Mental Health Specialist (Level III) Provider of RSC to others	Level III or Level IV-Clinical Min. 50 clock hours	Level IV-Clinical Min. 12 clock hours	On-going
Infant Mental Health Mentor – Clinical (Level IV)	Level IV-Clinical Min. 50 clock hours	Level IV-Clinical Min. 12 clock hours	After having earned & maintained Level IV-Clinical for min. three years

Refund Policies Associated with MI-AIMH Endorsement® Fees

EASy Registration Fee

MI-AIMH does not refund EASy Registration or Processing Fees.

Endorsement Processing Fee

The Endorsement Processing Fee only partially covers the MI-AIMH expenses related to supporting applicants through the process, facilitating application reviews, compiling feedback letters to each applicant, creating and mailing the endorsement certificate, and maintaining the Endorsement^® Registry. In addition, for IMHS and IMHM there are the additional expenses related to the creation and field testing of a new exam each year, administering the exam, and reviewing the exam. Reviews of the applications submitted by IMHS and IMHM applicants requires approximately 30-40% more time than the review of applications submitted by IFA and IFS applicants. Therefore, MI-AIMH is unable to refund Endorsement Processing Fees once an application has been submitted for review. This policy applies even if applicant is deferred, submits an incomplete application, does not pass the exam, or accepts Endorsement at another category .

Policy on Submission of an Incomplete Application

If MI-AIMH needs to ask applicant to add or revise material more than once after an application has been submitted and/or if applicant submits application before the references are completed, hours of RSC completed, etc, the application is incomplete and will not be reviewed. Status in EASy will be changed from Submitted to In Progress. When applicant completes the missing pieces by the next deadline, he/she will hit Submit again (but can skip paying the Endorsement Processing Fee as it was paid on first submission). MI-AIMH will review within 16 weeks of the new submission date. No additional fee charged for resubmission of an incomplete application. This policy is intended to cut down on all the back and forth communication between reviewers, coordinators, and applicants during the review period. This wouldn’t be a “deferral” but simply categorized as “incomplete.”

Policy on Submission of a Revised Application After Deferral

If an application is deferred, the applicant will be provided the reasons for deferral in writing and is expected to address those reasons before resubmitting. Because of the time required to coordinate and conduct reviews each time someone is deferred and re-submits, a “Resubmission Fee” of $20 will be added for the first resubmission of a deferred application, $40 for a second resubmission of deferred application, $60 for a third resubmission of deferred application, and so on. This is not intended as a penalty, but as an incentive to be sure the application is as clear and complete as it can be before any submission.

Subscribe