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Proposed legislation would update Ohio drug counseling standards
TIFFANY L. PARKS
Special to the Legal News
Published: July 24, 2015
Rep. Robert Sprague, R-Findlay, has introduced a bill into the Ohio General Assembly concerning the practices of chemical dependency counseling and prevention services.
In sponsor testimony before the House Health and Aging Committee, Sprague said House Bill 230 would allow the Ohio Chemical Dependency Professionals Board to remain in compliance with changing licensing trends in the field.
The Ohio Chemical Dependency Professionals Board is a member of the International Certification and Reciprocity Consortium, an international credentialing body that sets minimum standards, testing guidelines and ethical guidelines for Ohio’s alcohol and drug counselors, prevention specialists and clinical supervisors.
In order for the IC&RC to accurately support current practices, Sprague said the international body regularly re-establishes credentialing requirements.
“More specifically, this process is completed every five to seven years. As Ohio’s licensing and certification board, the Chemical Dependency Professionals Board must continuously remain in compliance with IC&RC standards,” he said.
Currently, some IC&RC standards are codified in the Ohio Revised Code.
“In order to ensure that the Ohio Chemical Dependency Professionals Board can remain in compliance with changing IC&RC standards, HB 230 will remove specific aspects of these standards from Ohio Revised Code and put them into Ohio Administrative Code,” Sprague said.
The proposed legislation would repeal provisions that statutorily establish experience, education and training requirements to receive certain licenses and certificates from the board.
HB 230 would require the board to adopt rules establishing those requirements and would replace references to “alcohol and other drug prevention services” with “prevention services” as those terms relate to the laws governing chemical dependency counseling.
In addition to some technical clean-up and definition revisions, Sprague noted that the measure also would change the titles of certain prevention professionals.
“According to the Ohio Chemical Dependency Professionals Board, the prevention field has requested these title changes,” he said.
If enacted, HB 230 would rename two of the certificates issued by the board.
A prevention specialist I certificate would be renamed a prevention specialist certificate and a prevention specialist II certificate would be called a prevention consultant certificate.
HB 230 is co-sponsored by Rep. Teresa Fedor, D-Toledo.
The bill has not been scheduled for additional hearings.
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