Esteemed Colleagues, counselors, students and stakeholders,
As you are aware, the ACCBC met its target date of be re-accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) by August of 2018, in fact, we received notification of our five-year (5) accreditation on 07/19/2018. We were hopeful that the California Department of Health Care Services would act quickly to reinstate the recognition of CAADE/ACCBC as a certifying organization so we could move forward with the task at hand, registering and certifying the many students and counselors waiting for our return, thus providing much needed relief to the workforce.
Unfortunately, this process has been moving much more slowly than anticipated. We are still in the process of waiting for the required site visit by DHCS which is now scheduled for the first week of September. We again are hopeful that once this site visit is completed, DHCS will act quickly to reinstate our organization as a certifying body and we can proceed with meeting your needs and relieving the burden to the workforce.
We are acutely aware that this delay continues to create a significant amount of anxiety and confusion. We receive dozens of calls each day asking why we cannot register students or certify counselors even though we have been accredited by the NCCA. There are two (2) agencies that must approve all certifying bodies for addiction counselors in the state of California, the NCCA (which has approved us for 5 years) and DHCS, again, we await our site visit and remain hopeful for a quick response once completed.
If you are currently a student entering the new semester and need to become registered with one of the certifying agencies, unfortunately we cannot provide this service until we receive DHCS approval. Please register with another agency (https://cadtp.org/) for now and if you still wish to register with the ACCBC when we are approved by DHCS, you will be able to transfer your registration for free.
We thank you for your patience and understanding during this very challenging process and we will continue to keep you updated and informed of any developments. The day that we receive our approval from DHCS, you will once again be able to register, renew, and become certified and you will be able to do all of this online if you choose.
We continue to be sincerely grateful to all of you who have stood by us during this challenging time and who are waiting to rejoin our ranks to continue leading the charge for higher standards for addiction treatment counselors in the state of California and beyond.
With great gratitude, respect and sincerity,
Drew Williams, MA, CATC IV
Chair, ACCBC
