Professionalism goes beyond the mere accomplishments of duties and responsibilities in a certain career field. It is an agglomeration of ethical conduct, proficiency, transparency, and the overall compliance with the professional code of conduct. The health sector is one of the most sensitive spheres as it is directly associated with the well-being of people. If healthcare providers are not regulated, they may be reluctant to provide top-notch services; something that can have catastrophic outcomes. To ensure safety and quality are enhanced, regulatory boards are created. There are different regulatory and credentialing bodies throughout the health sector. This project uses a multidimensional approach to explore structures, functioning, operations, and members of the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Certification Board of Georgia (ADACBGA).
The Alcohol and Drug Abuse Certification Board of Georgia (ADACBGA) is based in Atlanta, Georgia. It was formed in 1992 with the sole purpose of certifying and credentialing alcohol and drug abuse counselors and supervisors ( ADACBGA, 2018). The board operates as an independent and non-profit entity, and its mission is to ensure there is competency in the provision of guidance and counseling for alcohol and drug abusers. As part of its mission statement, the board aims at providing a criterion for the standards required by counselors and supervisors who want to be certified professionals. Through its mission, victims of drugs and alcohol abuse can identify the reliable and proficient counselors or supervisors who can offer them the necessary help.
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ADACBGA’s regulatory authority and scope are founded on the standards laid out by the International Certification and Reciprocity Consortium/Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse (IC&RC) . When it was established, the board used the principles of the IC&RC to ensure it adhered to the international standards that counselors and supervisors are supposed to meet before accreditation or certification. Importantly, as much as the board is a non-governmental body, it abides by the general policies and requirements stipulated in the constitution. The statutes and rules governing ADACBGA’s activities, its disciplines, and the scope of the board’s authority are based on two major frameworks. The first is the standard provided by IC&RC and the second one is the GA code for counselors ( Miller, 2014).
In the GA code for counselors, several policies and requirements are stipulated. Since these are government policies, it means that the law and the constitution bind them. They are found in the 2015 Georgia Code; Title 43 - Professions and; Businesses; Chapter 10A - Professional Counselors, Social Workers, marriage and family therapists. § 43-10A-7 - Licensing requirement; exceptions (Justia US Law, 2015). Some of the policies include the required training and education for licensing counselors and supervisors. In addition, there are policies about ethical conduct and religious considerations, among others. The IC&RC policies are similar to those of the GA code for counselors. However, they stress on the overall proficiency and reliability of the counselors and supervisors, and they include the need for absolute ethical conduct, transparency, reliability, and confidentiality of a counselor before they are certified. Notably, the board has regulatory powers and authority over the professionals it accredits and certifies.
Elementarily, ADACBGA is run by a Board of Directors and two other staff members. The members of the board comprise the President, the Vice-president, the Secretary, and a Treasurer while the staff members include the Executive Director and the Administrative Assistant. There is also a group of certified counselors who are pertinent to the existence of the board. These three groups of individuals are crucial to how the board performs its functions. The frequency of meeting dates varies depending on the events and agenda that come up as the board conducts its activities (Perkinson, 2011). However, there is an annual three-day conference where all the individuals associated with the board convene to discuss important matters. The date varies depending on the board’s yearly calendar with the main topics and agenda being reviewed including the dynamics and trends in drug counseling, methods of increasing the efficiency of the board, new challenges facing the board together with its certified members among others.
For licensure or certification in the state of Georgia, one must fully adhere to the 2015 Georgia Code; Title 43 - Professions and; Businesses; Chapter 10A - Professional Counselors, Social Workers, marriage and family therapists. Summarily the article stipulates that certification and licensing can only be offered to individuals who meet the required educational achievements. The applicants who have records of having engaged in malpractices or unethical conduct must be put under review before any licensing or certification is done. Additionally, the individual being considered for certification ought to have completed at least 4,000 hours of full-time experience under a certified counselor. They must also have at least 180 hours of education in addiction treatment and counseling (Mometrix, 2018). There are about 20 comprehensive requirements for licensure or certification in the state of Georgia. Even though all of them have not been listed, they mainly revolve around the applicant’s education, experience, ethical value, and overall professionalism.
As a licensing and accreditation body, ADACBGA has to integrate the state requirements, the basis provided by IC&RC, and any other peripheral conditions it feels should be considered. The credentialing or licensing process begins with an applicant putting up an application by attaching all the required documents and accomplishing all the other stipulated requirements. ADACBGA has a user-friendly site where the applicants tender in their applications online. During this process, an application fee of $150 has to be paid after which a group of qualified professionals review the documents submitted. Those who do not meet such education requirements, minimum hours of experience and other qualifications are not considered for screening.
Admission or intake is the next stage of certification whereby the various applicants are admitted and orientated into different programs. There are different types of drugs and alcohol counselors depending on the nature of drug abuse their clients are experiencing. ADACBGA identifies the applicants’ strengths and weaknesses and then offers recommendations on which program everyone should consider enrolling in. This task is undertaken through assessments and other tactical evaluations. Training then begins and the certified ‘counselors to be’ are taught the essentials of the practice. This is a lengthy process since it involves activities like treatment planning, case management, crisis intervention, how and when to give referrals, and finally a test. Those who undergo the complete process successfully are licensed and accredited. However, an examination fee of $180 has to be paid before the final assessment (ADACBGA, 2018).
One of the most undesirable yet inescapable functions of the ADACBGA is reviewing complaints. Even after undergoing the intensive and procedural process of licensing and accreditation, some counselors may fail to function within the stipulated boundaries of a certified professional. This results in complaints, which are directed to the accrediting body-ADACBGA for this case. This process requires the individual or company with an issue to launch an official complaint entailing all the details pertaining to it by sending ADACBGA a mail, making a call or visiting their offices. The complaint is then reviewed by the staff members after which it is critically investigated. If it is justified, the counselor can face different disciplinary actions with the most common one being the suspension of their license. The monthly complaints that can be received are quite low with the figure ranging from 0 – 2.
Conclusively, addiction counselors have to attain certain thresholds of competencies to be deemed proficient in delivering high-quality services. In a bid to protect the safety and wellness of the consumer population, the counselors are subjected to a rigorous assessment and vetting process geared towards determining their proficiency. In the United States setup, each state has its own regionally accepted entity tasked with the obligation of vetting professional counselors. The board not only scrutinizes the academic qualifications of the applicants but also examines how well the applicants conform to ethical and legal provisions governing their practice. In the case of the State of Georgia, addiction counselors are vetted and accredited by the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Certification Board of Georgia.
References
Justia US Law, (2015). GA Code § 43-10A-7 (2015) . Retrieved from https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/2015/title-43/chapter-10a/section-43-10a-7/
Miller, G. (2014). Learning the Language of Addiction Counseling . John Wiley & Sons.
Mometrix, M. L. (2018). Addiction Counselor Exam Secrets : Your Key to Exam Success; Addiction Counselor Test Review for the Master Addiction Counseling Exam. Mometrix Media LLC.
Perkinson, R. R. (2011). Chemical Dependency Counseling : A Practical Guide. SAGE.
The Alcohol and Drug Abuse Certification Board of Georgia, (2018). Retrieved from https://www.adacbga.org/about#top
