Purpose:  Candidates for the Healthy Homes Specialist Credential must pass an examination and complete the Visual Assessment Exercise.

 

This exercise is designed to ensure Healthy Homes Specialist Credential candidates are able to:

• Properly complete a representative healthy homes assessment tool;

• Use that tool to identify potential housing code violations; and

• Identify strengths and weaknesses of the tool.

The exercise uses the Visual Survey Report developed by the Alliance for Healthy Homes for its Community Environmental Health Resource Center.  Community groups have used the tool on more than 1800 homes. 

 

You can complete the exercise before you take the credential exam.

 

Visual Assessment Exercise Instructions:

 

Step 1:   Download and review the following documents:

• Visual Assessment Exercise Worksheet (Word / PDF).  You will need to complete this worksheet and fax it to NCHH at 443-539-4150.

• Exercise Photos  The photos are in a PowerPoint Presentation that closely tracks the form you need to complete for the exercise.

• CEHRC Survey Instructions  You will only be completing Steps 3 and 5 in the CEHRC Instructions.   You do not need to complete the floor plan or site plan. The basic instructions are at the top of the Survey form.  Note the different format used to identify water damage and deteriorated paint.  These variations are not explained on the form.

• International Property Maintenance Code 2003 - Healthy Homes Provisions  NCHH extracted the key healthy home provisions of the 2003 Version of IPMC.  The IPMC is the model housing code for the nation.  More than 600 communities have adopted it as their housing code.  Go to www.iccsafe.org for more information about the IPMC.

Step 2:  Complete Page 2 of the Visual Assessment Exercise Worksheet and put your name and current date at top of each page of the form.  You do not need to provide exam date or location, your organization's name or your fax number.

 

Step 3:  Complete Page 3 of the Visual Assessment Exercise Worksheet.  Use your name and current date for the upper-right box.  Use the scenario to fill-in the lines at the top and the box at the bottom of the form.  Where the scenario does not provide the information, create your own information. 

 

Step 4:  Complete Page 4 of the Visual Assessment Exercise Worksheet.  You need to :

a.    Identify which rooms had potential violations of the IPMC. 

b,    Indicate the code sections for the potential violations for each room.

c.    Identify which problems are clearly violations and which ones require more investigation.

d.    Identify whether the owner, the occupant, or both are responsible for correcting the potential violation.     

 

Step 5:  Complete Page 5 of the Visual Assessment Exercise Worksheet.  Based on your review of the form and the code, identify three strengths and three weaknesses of the Survey Report.  You can also use this page to provide any comments you have on the exercise.   

 

Step 6:  Fax the form to Judith Akoto at National Center for Healthy Housing at 443-539-4150.  You may also scan the completed form into a PDF format and email it to Judith Akoto at jakoto@nchh.org.

 

Judith Akoto will contact you within 15 business days of receiving the fax.  If you do not hear from her, please contact her at 443-539-4167 or jakoto@nchh.org.