Conn. Agencies Regs. § 20-74o-2

Current through November 7, 2024

Section 20-74o-2 - Certification process

A candidate who applies for certification as a substance abuse counselor may be certified in the area of alcoholism or drug abuse or both.

(a)Eligibility. A substance abuse counselor shall be eligible for certification by the commission:

(1) When the applicant demonstrates he has been certified by the board and such certification is in good standing at the time of the application for commission certification.

(2) The applicant provides evidence to the commission that the applicant has acquired the minimum number of hours of substance abuse counseling experience under clinical supervision as required in subparagraph (B) of this subdivision. Such experience shall be documented according to the area of certification and shall have been accrued within the twelve (12) years prior to application.

(A) Such experience shall be acquired under the clinical supervision of a senior staff member of a treatment facility who has experience and training in substance abuse counseling and whose duties include overseeing client care; and

(B) Such experience shall include a minimum number of hours providing counseling in alcoholism or drug abuse or both to substance abusers as follows:

(i) To be certified as an alcoholism substance abuse counselor, an applicant shall demonstrate that he has provided a minimum of 4,000 hours of alcoholism counseling to substance abusers;

(ii) To be certified as a drug abuse substance abuse counselor an applicant shall demonstrate that he has provided a minimum of 4,000 hours of drug abuse counseling to substance abusers;

(iii) To be certified as both an alcoholism and drug abuse substance abuse counselor, an applicant shall demonstrate that he has provided a minimum of 6,000 hours of counseling to substance abusers;

(iv) At least fifty percent of such counseling shall be acquired through paid employment. The other fifty percent may be acquired through paid employment,internship/practicum experience, or a combination thereof. Every hour of internship/practicum experience shall be credited as if it were one hour of paid employment; and

(3) The applicant provides evidence to the commission that the applicant has completed the minimum amount of training for certification as a substance abuse counselor.

(A) Such training shall be on a specific topic that relates to the counselor's responsibilities. The topics may include but are not limited to client intake, evaluation, orientation and motivation, treatment planning, consultation and referrals, alcoholism and drug abuse education, individual and group counseling, working with family and others, reports and record keeping, client follow-up and aftercare, crisis intervention and outreach.

(B) Such training may be in the form of seminars, conferences, workshops and academic courses which shall be a minimum duration of five hours each.

(C) Such training shall include a minimum of 240 hours of training about alcoholism and drug abuse for certification in the single area of alcoholism or drug abuse or shall include a minimum of 360 hours of training about alcoholism and drug abuse for certification in the dual areas of alcoholism and drug abuse.

(i) Certification in the area of alcoholism shall include 120 hours of training about alcoholism.

(ii) Certification in the area of drug abuse shall include 120 hours of training about drug abuse.

(iii) Certification in the area of both alcoholism and drug abuse shall include 120 hours of training about drug abuse and 120 hours of training about alcoholism.

(D) Such training shall be documented to indicate that the applicant successfully completed the training. The documentation shall include the date, location, and subject matter of the training. The documentation may take the form of a grade report, transcript, certificate of completion, or memorandum from the instructor.

(b)Application.

(1) A substance abuse counselor who has been certified by the board shall make application for commission certification on a form designated by the commission.

(2) The applicant shall supply, on a form designated by the commission, verification to the commission that the board is in possession of all information as is required in subsection (a) of this section.

(3) The commission shall review all applications and shall verify that the applicant is certified by the board.

(4) The commission shall certify, for a period of two years from the date of issue, all applicants who meet its requirements as specified in subsection (a) of this section.

(c)Recertification.

(1) A certified substance abuse counselor in good standing may be recertified by the commission an indefinite number of times so long as he remainsin good standing and meets the requirements for recertification as stated in subdivisions (2) and (3) of this subsection.

(2) A substance abuse counselor who is certified by the commission shall apply for recertification on a form designated by the commission not later than thirty (30) days after the expiration date of his current certification. Failure of a certified counselor to apply for recertification shall cause the commission certification to become invalid. The name of such lapsed counselor shall be removed from the registry.

(3) An applicant for recertification shall provide evidence to the commission that he has been recertified by the board and has completed sixty (60) hours of training within the previous two (2) year period.

(A) Such training shall be on topics that relate to the counselor's responsibilities. Topics may include but are not limited to client intake, evaluation, orientation and motivation, treatment planning, consultation and referrals, alcoholism and drug abuse education, individual and group counseling, working with family and others, reports and record keeping, client follow-up and aftercare, and crisis intervention and outreach.

(B) Thirty (30) hours of such training must be alcohol/drug specific.

(C) Forty (40) hours of such training must be academic courses which may include workshops, seminars, or inservice, college or university work.

(D) A maximum of ten (10) hours of training may be in the form of individualized self-paced instruction which may include viewing mental health films, observing clinical work, attending self-growth group sessions, reviewing community treatment resources and professional publications, and teaching or consulting on substance abuse or mental health related subjects or professionals or clients.

(4) Any certification which becomes invalid pursuant to this subsection may be reinstated by the commission if application for reinstatement is made not later than six (6) years after the expiration date and the applicant provides evidence to the commission that he has been recertified by the board.

Conn. Agencies Regs. § 20-74o-2

Effective November 27, 1992