Drug & Alcohol Counselor Certification

10 Certification Organizations Named

January 21, 2005

During our last meeting in Sacramento at ADP it was
confirmed to us that the final regulations governing
substance abuse counselor certification was completed
subject to last minute changes that might occur after the
legal department is finished with it. According to a phone
coversation with David Feinberg, the director of Licensing
& Certification, the finalized regulations should be out of
their legal department and posted on the ADP Website any
day now.

Following is the last posting on their website regarding
these (at the time proposed) regulations last updated
August 20, 2004:

Counselor Certification Regulations

The Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs (ADP) has
reviewed all of the public comments submitted regarding the
subject regulations during the 45-day public comment
period. The Department has thoroughly considered each of
those comments and made the necessary changes. Attached,
for your review, are the proposed changes made in response
to the public comments. A copy of the complete text of
those additional changes is enclosed, with the additional
changes shown in bold type. Additional changes will be
available for review and public comment from August 20,
2004 through September 7, 2004.

Public Notice and Additional Changes
Initial Statement of Reasons
Notice of Rulemaking and Public Comment Period
Text of Proposed Regulations
Counselor Certification Regulations Questions & Answers
Current Status:
Due to the need to expedite adoption of these regulations,
in order to ensure quality of alcohol and drug program
services and to protect client health and safety, the
Department reserves the right to make any further changes
in a subsequent regulatory action.

ADP plans to present the final regulations to the County
Alcohol and Drug Program Administrators Association of
California (CAADPAC) for their vote on September 22, 2004.
ADP will finalize the Final Statement of Reasons, including
a summary and response to all additional comments received
during the public comment period. ADP plans to submit the
final regulations to the Office of Administrative Law in
October, and ADP anticipates that the regulations will take
effect January 1, 2005.

For further information please contact Isaac Ozobiani,
Supervisor, Residential and Outpatient Programs Compliance
Branch at (916) 322-2911 or by e-mail at
iozobiani@adp.state.ca.us

The proposed counselor certification regulations
specifically name ten counselor certifying organizations
for the purpose of certifying and credentialing alcohol and
drug counselors in California. The ten specific counselor
certifying organizations are listed alphabetically below:

American Academy of Health Care Providers
550 West Vista Way, Suite 407
Vista, CA 92083
(858) 693-7470 www.americanacademy.org
Email: info@americanacademy.org

Association of Christian Alcohol & Drug Counselors
Post Office Box 8604
Redlands, CA 92375
(909) 307-0183 www.acadc.org
Email: acadc@acadc.org

Breining Institute
8880 Greenback Lane
Orangevale, CA 95662-4019
(916) 987-0662 www.breining.edu

California Association for Alcohol and Drug Educators
(CAADE)
Attention: Donna Marks
P. O. Box 7152
Oxnard, CA 93031-7152
(805) 485-5247 www.caade.org
Email: webmaster@caade.org

California Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse
Counselors (CAADAC)
3400 Bradshaw Road, Suite A-5
Sacramento, CA 95827
(916) 368-9412 www.caadac.org

California Association of Addiction Recovery Resources
(CAARR)
2921 Fulton Avenue
Post Office Box 214127
Sacramento, CA 95821
(916) 338-9460 www.caarr.org

California Association of Drinking Drivers Treatment
Program (CADDTP)
1731 Howe Avenue, PMB #352
Sacramento, CA 95841
(916) 621-3597 www.caddtp.org

California Certification Board of Chemical Dependency
Counselors (CCBCDC)
5936 Santa Fe Avenue
Huntington Park, CA 90255
(323) 581-8547 www.californiacertificationboard.org

Forensic Addictions Corrections Treatment (FACT)
C-CARTA Center for Criminality & Addiction Research,
Training & Application
School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry
565 Pearl Street, Suite 306
La Jolla, CA 92037-5051
(858) 551-2944 www.attc.ucsd.edu

Indian Alcoholism Commission of California, Inc.
Attention: Wesley Sawyer
738 North Market Street
Sacramento, CA 95834
(916) 920-0285 www.iaccinc.net

To be considered for inclusion in the above list, all
counselor certifying organizations must apply and become
accredited by the National Organization for Competency
Assurance (NOCA), and meet all other requirements proposed
in the regulations within one year of the regulations’
effective date.

The regulations will allow currently-employed counselors
five years in which to become certified. One option that
will be allowed, for currently-employed counselors, is to
“test out” with one of the organizations in order to obtain
certification.

Certification will be based upon the Addiction Counseling
Competencies: The Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes of
Professional Practice (TAP 21), published by the Center for
Substance Abuse Treatment. TAP 21 includes understanding
addiction, treatment knowledge, application to practice,
and professional readiness.

For further information, please contact Isaac Ozobiani,
Supervisor, Residential and Outpatient Programs Compliance
Branch, at
(916) 322-2911 or by e-mail at: iozobiani@adp.state.ca.us