September,
2001
MAADAC Announcements:
hLADC Regulation Draft Scheduled for Public Hearings 9/24 and 9/28
hMAADAC Website: http://www.maadac-ma.org
hMAADAC Golf Fundraiser, July 23rd. Shaun Kelly in Charge- was Great
hRecovery Month 2001-MOAR
State House Celebration- September 26- Please go!
iBoston MAADAC meeting – 2002
elections- 10/3/01, 4:30 PM, Atrium 2, Faulkner
Licensure for Alcohol and Drug Counselor
Hearings are scheduled:
hLADC Regulation Draft Scheduled for Public Hearings,
Monday,
September 24, 9 am, DPH Council Room, 250 Washington St., Boston
Tuesday,
September 28,1 pm, Regional DPH
Office, 23 Service Center,Northampton
iOral testimonies with your
views may be presented.
Written testimonies ( copy of oral or in
lieu of) should be submitted by
10/05/01 to
Carol Castro-Donlan, DPH – BSAS, 250
Washington St, Boston, MA 02108
iYou may receive a copy of
the drafted regulation by calling
LouAnn Stanton, Office of DPH General Counsel, 617-624-5220
iHearing outcome will
influence when regulations are put into effect.
Some Points For You to Consider:
iWhy is
Licensure for Alcohol and Drug Counselors Important?
iWhat are the
Licensure Requirements?
following
is an interpretation of the draft proposal.
hLADC Classification and Requirements – Capsule
LADC I –Masters Behavioral Science- 270 Alcohol and Drug Ed Hours - 6000
(3 years) DPH approved full time work experience, 300 practicum
hours,
LADC II- 270 Hours of Alcohol and
Drug Ed - 6000 Alcohol and Drug Ed Hours ,
(3 years) supervised full time work experience, 300
practicum hours,
LADM- (M=Manager), 20 Hours of approved continuing education, 16,000
hours (8 years
supervised fulltime work experience), no practicum
hours. Less work experience may be substituted with
more education.
LADCA- (A=Assistant)10 Hours of
approved continuing education, 2,000 hours
(1 year supervised fulltime work experience),
no practicum hours
Note: All require exam.
Point:The
first two classifications were written into the law, as passed. The law
allows for placing other
levels, as deemed necessary. The Department of
Public Health agreed to the
latter two classifications for the proposal, which
can be ruled out or in, by
The DPH Council members, pending
review.
What is The Grandparenting
Criteria?
The
regulations refer to what might be called The Grandparenting Criteria, as
Special
Credentialing, an exam waiver for one year, from the date of regulation
approval.
LADCI must have met the masters degree criteria or be enrolled in a masters
program. LADCII requires no
degree. DPH approved alcohol and drug
counselor
certification
is just one way of having met the other required criteria.
The
legislation was passed with an error, that resulted in calling for both
academic and competency requirements
versus academic or competency
requirements.
hH2184 was filed to broaden the grandparenting criteria. The criteria: Level I Masters- 270 hours AOD ed, 2 years fulltime experience or Bachelors - 270 hours AOD ed, 3 years
experience or CCS-CADAC-CAC-CAS-CEAP or all DPH approved Clinical, Program,
Executive Directors or 5 years work experience with
1 year as a clinical supervisor. Level
II- 3 years working experience and 180 hours of AOD education.
Questions:
Recovery Homes Collaborative President, John Brennan, 617-321-2600
FYI about The LADC
hLicensure is not a
requirement to work as an alcohol and drug counselor.
This allows for people to make entry into
the field, and explore future choices.
Third Party Payment for LADCI’s Legislative Proposal Status
H2191 An Act Authorizing Certain
Licensed Alcohol and Drug
Counselors To
Receive Certain Insurance
Payments, Rep. Kevin Fitzgerald and
others
Present Status
H2191 placed in “active study” by The Joint Insurance Committee.
This means that the Insurance Committee will continue to review the proposed
legislation.
Two issues for extended study consideration:
insurance premium costs and
finalized
regulation. The committee wants to ascertain that mental health parity costs
are minimal to insurance premiums before any other insurance related
legislation is passed.
The committee
wants to review the finalized license regulation.
Please Help:
Keep the
momentum going If your elected rep or senator helped
support H2191~ please thank them, and ask for continued support. Please
thank
Representative Fitzgerald for leading the effort. Please thank
Insurance Committee
Chairs, Sen. Therese Murray and Rep Ronald Mariano for being willing to
extend the
review. Send your letters to
The State House, Boston, MA 02133. Call
the State House:
617-722-2000 to be connected to your legislators.
The
Conference Committee resolves the differences between the House and Senate
versions
of the Budget. House Conferees are Ways
and Means Chairman John Rogers of Norwood, Representative Nancy Flavin of
Easthampton, and Representative John Lepper of Attleboro. Senate Conferees are Ways and Means Chairman
Mark Montigny of New Bedford, Senator Fred Berry of Peabody, and Senator
Michael Knapik of Westfield. If
aforementioned are your district legislators- great. If not, you can still contact them and your
elected legislators.
The MA Senate Passed Substance Abuse Services Line Item Increase
Bureau
of Substance Abuse Services Line item 4512-0200- by $3 million for 3 family treatment
residences with childcare, plus expand transitional support and residential
services., as passed in the Senate.
Project ABLE, Mental Health Substance Abuse Corp (MHSACM),Recovery Homes
Collaborative, MA Housing and Shelter Alliance are leading this move. More Information? Please call: MHSACM, 508-647-8385.
The CORI Regulations as Outside Budget Senate Amendment to
Executive Office of Health
and Human Services Line Item 4000-0100 towards giving the employer
the hiring capacity. Please thank Senator James Jajuga for leading this move. The requirement is proof of
a CORI review with oversight from the appropriate agency within EOHHS,
Executive Office of Health and Human
Services. Current policy disallows many persons who have made restitution from
most felony crimes to enter the human service field, as in alcohol and drug
counseling.
Info: MA Law Reform Institute:617-357-0700.
Removal of Food Stamp Disqualification for Persons with Drug Felony Senate
Version to
Line items 4401-1000 (ESP) and
Dept of Transitional Assistance 4400-1000
The
Senate FY02 budget includes language
in ESP line item 4401-1000 making many
important improvements to the TAFDC program for non-exempt low income
families,
- mandating DTA to
offer screenings, assessments and
referrals to TAFDC
- prohibiting DTA
from reducing funding for substantive pre-employment education and
training programs & DTA must notify recipients of educational programs
- requiring DTA to consider if a parent needs more time to
complete training, thus grant an extension of the 24 month time limit
on benefits.
In
addition, allowing ten hours of education and training to count toward the
welfare to work requirement. Info: Call MA Law Reform Institute: 617-357-0700.
More Legislation to Support
was placed into active study by The Insurance Committee.
Info: David Matteodo, MA
Association of Behavioral Health Systems, 617-855-3520.
H3948, Expansion
of Scope of Commonwealth’s Drug Treatment Program funded by
fines and forfeitures relative to Drug
Offenses, (Rep. Kevin
Fitzgerald). Expands drug treatment
diversion under the 1981 Drug Dependent Persons Act. It received an extension from The Judiciary Committee. Chairs are Representative David Donnelly
and Senator Robert Creedon. Please call:
Rob Stewart, 617-330-8777.
S611, A Health Protection Fund- (Senator Marian Walsh) taxes alcohol,
funds treatment. Taxation Committee moved it into active study. Senator Walsh is Chair.
National
Legislative Proposals
hVery
Simple- Support National Parity for Addiction Treatment-
Go
to WWW.NAADAC.Org-
Make your voice heard to Congress on line!
hAdvocacy Needed for
Addiction Recovery Services Funding!
Call, your Congressmen. The U.S.
Capitol Switchboard number is (202) 224-3121.
What You
Need to Say:
•
Please support funding
increases for
alcohol and drug treatment, prevention, education and research. These
services save lives and money by reducing crime, welfare, health and social
costs.- improve quality of life.
What You Need to Know:
|
Program |
Field Request for FY 2002 |
|
Substance Abuse Block
Grant |
$2 billion |
|
Center for Substance Abuse
Treatment (CSAT) |
$350 million |
|
Center for Substance Abuse
Prevention (CSAP) |
$350 million (Including $10 million for
the High Risk Youth Program) |
|
Safe and Drug Free Schools |
$694 million |
|
National Institute on
Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) |
$420 million |
|
National Institute on Drug
Abuse (NIDA) |
$991 million |
|
Drug Free Communities Act |
$50.6 million |
Questions? Call Jenny Collier at the Legal Action Center, (202)
544-5478.
MAADAC Information: Call President Russell Viveiros, 978-458-4
MAADAC Golf Fundraiser – July 16th
A Fun Raiser – Thanks to Shaun Kelly,
Chair
MAADAC
Golf Winners
The Winners
Shaun Kelly, Bill Weir, Lloyd Pickett,
Mike O'Leary
Longest Drive
Male -- Lou Boneski
Ladies -- Mary Cahill
Join MAADAC and MOAR, as all, are both saddened and
horrified by the devastating September 11th attack on our country. We send our support to
friends, experiencing personal loss. We join with
everyone to support our nation through this tragic crisis. God Bless America!
MAADAC and MOAR
All in Support of Our Country