BP BHEAD INT S

AN ACT Relating to chemical dependency counselors; amending RCW 18.19.020, 18.19.030, and 18.19.070; adding a new section to chapter 18.19 RCW; and creating new sections.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. Due to the high incidence of alcohol and drug dependence affecting child protective services referrals and out-of-home placements and the increasing cost to human service programs from unrecognized or insufficiently treated alcohol and drug dependence, the legislature recognizes there is a need for identifying a group of professionals with a common foundation of skills and knowledge unique to assessing and treating alcoholism and other drug addiction. The legislature further recognizes that chemical dependency counseling has developed as a unique, interdisciplinary profession based on specific competencies, knowledge, and skills acquired through education, work experience, and life experience. The purpose of this act is to protect the public by referral to and utilization of individuals in the delivery of human services who have demonstrated a particular level of competency in the core functions of chemical dependency counseling and have met other standards of qualification, education, training, and experience in chemical dependency counseling.

Sec. 2. RCW 18.19.020 and 1991 c 3 s 19 are each amended to read as follows:

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.

(1) "Certified marriage and family therapist" means a person certified to practice marriage and family therapy pursuant to RCW 18.19.130.

(2) "Certified mental health counselor" means a person certified to practice mental health counseling pursuant to RCW 18.19.120.

(3) "Certified social worker" means a person certified to practice social work pursuant to RCW 18.19.110.

(4) "Client" means an individual who receives or participates in counseling or group counseling.

(5) "Counseling" means employing any therapeutic techniques, including but not limited to social work, mental health counseling, marriage and family therapy, chemical dependency counseling, and hypnotherapy, for a fee that offer, assist or attempt to assist an individual or individuals in the amelioration or adjustment of mental, emotional, ((or)) behavioral, or chemical dependency problems, and includes therapeutic techniques to achieve sensitivity and awareness of self and others and the development of human potential. For the purposes of this chapter, nothing may be construed to imply that the practice of hypnotherapy is necessarily limited to counseling.

(6) "Counselor" means an individual, practitioner, therapist, or analyst who engages in the practice of counseling to the public for a fee, including for the purposes of this chapter, hypnotherapists.

(7) "Department" means the department of health.

(8) "Secretary" means the secretary of the department or the secretary's designee.

(9) "State-certified chemical dependency counselor" means a person certified to practice chemical dependency counseling pursuant to section 6 of this act.

(10) "Twelve core functions of chemical dependency counseling" means assisting or attempting to assist a person to arrest chemical dependency and maintain abstinence, including, but not limited to, the application of the following strategies and skills, all specific to chemical dependency:

(a) Screening;

(b) Intake;

(d) Diagnosis and assessment;

(e) Treatment planning;

(f) Counseling;

(g) Case management;

(h) Crisis intervention;

(i) Client education;

(j) Referral;

(k) Reports and recordkeeping; and

(l) Consultation with other professionals regarding client treatment and services.

Sec. 3. RCW 18.19.030 and 1991 c 3 s 20 are each amended to read as follows:

No person may, for a fee or as a part of his or her position as an employee of a state agency, practice counseling without being registered to practice by the department under this chapter unless exempt under RCW 18.19.040. No person may represent himself or herself as a certified social worker, certified mental health counselor, ((or)) certified marriage and family therapist, or state-certified chemical dependency counselor without being so certified by the department under this chapter.

Sec. 4. RCW 18.19.070 and 1994 sp.s. c 9 s 501 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The Washington state mental health and chemical dependency quality assurance council is created, consisting of nine members appointed by the secretary. All appointments shall be for a term of four years. No person may serve as a member of the council for more than two consecutive full terms.

Voting members of the council must include one social worker certified under RCW 18.19.110, one mental health counselor certified under RCW 18.19.120, one marriage and family therapist certified under RCW 18.19.130, one state-certified chemical dependency counselor certified under section 6 of this act, one counselor registered under RCW 18.19.090, one hypnotherapist registered under RCW 18.19.090, and two public members. Each member of the council must be a citizen of the United States and a resident of this state. Public members of the council may not be a member of any other health care licensing board or commission, or have a fiduciary obligation to a facility rendering health services regulated by the council, or have a material or financial interest in the rendering of health services regulated by the council.

The secretary may appoint the initial members of the council to staggered terms of from one to four years. Thereafter, all members shall be appointed to full four-year terms. Members of the council hold office until their successors are appointed.

The secretary may remove any member of the council for cause as specified by rule. In the case of a vacancy, the secretary shall appoint a person to serve for the remainder of the unexpired term.

(2) The council shall meet at the times and places designated by the secretary and shall hold meetings during the year as necessary to provide advice to the secretary.

Each member of the council shall be reimbursed for travel expenses as authorized in RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060. In addition, members of the council shall be compensated in accordance with RCW 43.03.240 when engaged in the authorized business of the council. The members of the council are immune from suit in an action, civil or criminal, based on their official acts performed in good faith as members of the council.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. Within sixty days of the effective date of this section, the secretary shall appoint a five-person chemical dependency counselor certification advisory committee to propose to the secretary, for his or her consideration, rules, educational requirements, tests, and procedures to carry out chemical dependency counselor certification. The committee shall be composed of:

(1) One chemical dependency counselor nominated by the Northwest Indian chemical dependency certification board;

(2) One chemical dependency counselor nominated by the chemical dependency counselor certification board of Washington state;

(3) One chemical dependency counselor not certified by any private chemical dependency board but meeting standards of qualification under the department of social and health services;

(4) One administrator of a chemical dependency treatment program approved by the department of social and health services; and

(5) One past consumer of chemical dependency counseling.

This section shall expire October 1, 2000.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. A new section is added to chapter 18.19 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The department shall issue a state-certified chemical dependency counselor certificate to any applicant meeting the following requirements:

(a) Completion of a minimum of thirty-three quarter credits or twenty-two semester credits in course work pertaining to chemical dependency and skills development in the twelve core functions of chemical dependency counseling;

(b) Completion of an additional one hundred eighty clock hours of training, or equivalent course work from an accredited college or university, in topics relating to the twelve core functions of chemical dependency counseling, which must include relapse prevention counseling, screening and referral for mental illness, youth chemical dependency assessment and counseling, and ethics;

(c) Documentation of a minimum of two thousand clock hours of directly supervised counseling experience as a chemical dependency counselor in a chemical dependency treatment program approved by the department of social and health services;

(d) Successful completion of a recognized chemical dependency counselor examination based on the twelve core functions of chemical dependency counseling recommended by the chemical dependency counselor certification advisory committee and approved by the department; and

(e) Submission to the department of a completed application and all necessary documentation and fees.

(2) An applicant certified by the national association of alcoholism and drug abuse counselors or the international alcohol and other drug abuse certification and reciprocity consortium may be certified in this state without examination. Other applicants certified as chemical dependency counselors in another state may be certified in this state after successful completion of the examination required by the department.

(3) Until July 1, 1999, the department shall issue a state‑certified chemical dependency counselor certificate to a person who provides:

(a) Verification of current qualified status as a chemical dependency counselor recognized by the department of social and health services or evidence of certification by a chemical dependency counselor certification board currently recognized by the department of social and health services; and

(b) Submission of a completed application and payment of necessary fees.

(4) State-certified chemical dependency counseling is that aspect of counseling that involves the provision of individual and group therapeutic contact to patients and others who are harmfully affected by the use of mood-altering chemicals or are chemically dependent, with a goal of total abstinence for all chemically dependent persons. Chemical dependency counseling is based on recognition that chemical dependency is a chronic disease that is biophysical as well as psychological, and its treatment involves a complex, holistic approach.