On April 20th, at the very successful CAADE conference, the ACCBC announced that the application for re-accreditation as a certifying organization is complete and will be submitted on Friday April 27th, three days before the actual deadline. The quality of this application and the hard work of both the CAADE and ACCBC staff to implement improved policies and procedures based on continued quality assurance and compliance audits allows us to have great confidence in our application being approved.
The application process can take up to three (3) months depending on a number of factors. This timeline would give us our accreditation back approximately on August 1stif all of the time is utilized. We will then submit our documentation to the State of California for approval, which can take another few weeks for approval. The total time line, if utilized, would allow us to begin certifying counselors again in the middle or end of August 2018.
What this means to you if you are certified though the ACCBC:
- For those of you who currently need your certification to work in the industry, the DHCS (Department of Health Care Services) requires that you have a valid certification through one of the two remaining recognized certifying organization (CADTP or CCAPP) by June, 15th, 2018.
- If you do not need your certification to work in the industry (MFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs etc.) there is no rush for you to transfer and, in fact, if you wish to stay with the ACCBC your CATC certification will become active again when our application is approved.
If you have any difficulty getting through to the other certifying organizations, please call the ACCBC office at 1-800-991-2997 and we will help to expedite the process for you. You can also contact the ACCBC at: office@accbc.org.
We have been inundated with phone calls and emails stating that the transfer process to other organizations has been slow and very challenging and some of you who began the process months ago are still waiting for your transfer to be complete. The six (6) month deadline that was imposed by the DHCS may be insufficient to complete such a large transfer of individuals from one organization to another, as evidenced by the vast number of people still waiting for their certification from other organizations.
Please email our office immediately (office@accbc.org) if you are having difficulty transferring and/or are in jeopardy of your credential lapsing. Please include in your email the name of the organization to which you are attempting to transfer and the difficulties you are experiencing; this will assist in formulating an appropriate course of action.
With great gratitude, respect and sincerity,
Drew Williams, MA, CATC IV
Chair, ACCBC
