Senator DeSaulnier proposes overhaul of State's AODA treatment profession!

 
A tireless advocate for collaborative strategies to increase the professionalization of the alcohol and drug abuse (AOD) counselor, Senator DeSaulnier has proposed the requirement of licensure for AOD counselors in private practice, utilizes the existing private-industry process to determine eligibility for licensure and certification by the State of California, and provides to the State enforcement agency - Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs (ADP) - more authority to ensure compliance with the tougher certification and licensure standards.
 
"SB 686 will take advantage of the many years private-industry experience in determining and documenting the qualifications of AOD counselors, rather than impose that expense upon the already strained State budget," says DeSaulnier, of the bill's provisions to maintain the current State-regulated AOD counselor certification process, which was just recently enacted into State Regulations in 2005.
Senator DeSaulnier's amendment of SB 686 includes the results of an industry-wide collaborative "effort that includes treatment providers, AOD counselors, licensed professionals and educators," explains Bob Tyler, immediate past president of California Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors (CAADAC), "all working together to protect the consumer, increase standards, and keep certification options available and the costs down for California alcohol and other drug counselors."
 
This collaborative effort was started by CAADAC, Breining Institute and California Association of Addiction Recovery Resources (CAARR) - collectively known as the "CBC" - in an effort to make more workable a recent State proposal to comprehensively overhaul the existing AOD counselor certification laws. CAARR, Breining and CAADAC has each invested over twenty years and significant monies in the development and operation of their respective comprehensive training and certification systems.
 
"The current system of AOD counselor certification is working, and utilizes the many years experience of each of the State-approved and nationally-accredited certifying organizations," explained Susan Blacksher, Executive Director of CAARR. "SB 686 utilizes the current system and seeks to improve it by giving ADP much more authority to regulate and enforce the provisions of the system."
 
"As educators, we are very much in favor of increasing the educational and professional standards for AOD counselor certification," says Kathy L. Christopher, Dean of Academic Affairs for Breining Institute. "At the same time, we need to make certain that there are sufficient safeguards to maintain the availability of qualified counselors to provide those necessary services to clients, and we believe that Senator DeSaulnier's SB 686 amendments address both concerns."
 
Christopher was referring to the grandparenting provisions included in SB 686, providing the opportunity to all counselors certified by an existing ADP-approved certification agency to become certified by the State with no additional requirements. Professionals with advanced certifications from the ADP-approved agencies will also be considered for licensure under this proposal.
 
To review the current version of SB 686 To review the current version of SB 686 go to: https://ssl.capwiz.com/caadac/attachments/sb_686_bill_20100701_amended_asm_v98.pdf.

Questions or comments relating to SB 686 may be addressed to:
 
Senator DeSaulnier
senator.desaulnier@sen.ca.gov
 
California Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors (CAADAC)

E-mail: counselors@caadac.org
 
California Association of Addiction Recovery Resources (CAARR)

E-mail: caarr@caarr.org
 
Breining Institute

E-mail: college@breining.edu
 
 
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