Certified Dementia Practitioner Jobs
Memory care units, assisted living and hospice are where a CDP gets asked for on a posting, and the National Council of Certified Dementia Practitioners is the private body that awards the credential.
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The other CDP
Washington used to certify chemical dependency professionals. Chapter 444 of its 2019 laws renamed the category substance use disorder professional, and from July 28 that year anyone already certified counted as holding the new title. The old abbreviation outlived the statute: it still turns up in substance use postings and on resumes written before the change. Those jobs belong to a different credential from the dementia one this page collects, whatever the three letters say.
Your questions about certified dementia practitioner jobs, answered
- Does a CDP let me do anything new?
No. Your scope comes from your state license or certification, and the NCCDP is a private body whose credential doesn't touch it. The council puts it plainly: its certification "does not license, confer a right or privilege upon or otherwise define the qualifications of anyone in the healthcare field." It says something about your training and nothing about your authority.
- Does the training count toward hours my state already requires?
That's a question for your state's approved list, not for the certification. States that mandate dementia training write the rule around hours, topics and department approval: Florida wants the provider and the curriculum signed off before training starts (Fla. Admin. Code 58A-5.0194), and the rules are built around approval instead of brand names. The state hours follow the job you hold; this certification stays with you.
- What does the credential line tell me that the job title doesn't?
They answer different questions. The title says what the work is, and this certification says the employer wanted dementia training on top of it, which is why the same three letters pair with aide roles, nursing, social work, therapy and activity direction. One posting can be a world away from the next with the same credential named on both.