New California Standards for Drug Counselors
A California law that takes effect in January will set new education and training standards for drug counselors, the Bakersfield Californian reported Sept. 10.
Currently, there is little or no formal training necessary to become a drug counselor in California. The new law is designed to help the state manage the tens of thousands of nonviolent offenders who, under Proposition 36, are being diverted from jail to treatment.
Under the new rules, individual working in a facility approved by the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs must meet minimum standards that include a minimum of 155 hours of classwork, 160 hours of supervised training, and 2,080 hours of work experience. The new rules also include an ethics code.
"We believe that we had to start somewhere," said Lisa Fisher, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs. "What we have learned from our sister states is that some adopted standards were too high and decimated the work force."
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