Only 4 Days Left for Early Registration Discount!

Registration fees go up on September 24 for “A Principled Practice: Ethics in Addiction Treatment and Prevention,” IC&RC’s first-ever professional training conference. Learn all the details about the conference here and register online today!

The reduced rate at the hotel expires the same day – so book now for the best deals.

IC&RC is proud to recognize our sponsors and exhibitors:

Program Sponsor:

Bag Sponsor:

Lanyard Sponsor:

Exhibitors:

A limited number of sponsorship and exhibition opportunities are still available for organizations, treatment centers, and educational institutions that wish to promote themselves to attendees. Contact Kay Glass, Marketing Director, at 717-540-4457 x 106 or kay@internationalcredentialing.org for detailed information.

See you in Orlando – October 28 & 29, 2011 – at the Rosen Centre Hotel
and Orange County Convention Center!

IC&RC’s First-Ever Training Conference

A Principled Practice:
Ethics in Addiction Treatment and Prevention

The First Ever Professional Training Conference
Produced by IC&RC
The World Leader in Addiction-Related Credentialing

Friday, October 28, 2011, 8am-5pm
Saturday, October 29, 2011, 8am-12pm

Rosen Centre Hotel and Orange County Convention Center
Orlando, Florida

Keynote Address
“Neuroscience, Morality and Addiction”
by
Stephen J. Morse, J.D., Ph.D.

Stephen J. Morse, J.D., Ph.D.

Stephen J. Morse, J.D., Ph.D. is Ferdinand Wakeman Hubbell Professor of Law, Professor of Psychology and Law in Psychiatry, and Associate Director of the Center for Neuroscience and Society at the University of Pennsylvania. His work emphasizes individual responsibility and the relation of the behavioral sciences and neurosciences to responsibility and social control.

His presentation will consider the moral and legal responsibility of addicts for their addiction, including recovery, and for other behaviors related to their addictions. The central argument is that seeking and using substances is voluntary action and thus may be fairly assessed morally and legally, even if these actions are the signs of a disease.

Advances in addiction neuroscience and other addiction sciences do not conclusively demonstrate that most addicts are not responsible for their addictions and related behaviors. Nonetheless, criminalization of the behaviors that constitute addiction is not wise social policy, and advances in the addiction sciences may guide sensible reforms.

Sessions on Friday, October 28th will include ethics in:

• Prevention
• Criminal Justice
• Co-Occurring Disorders Treatment
• Clinical Supervision

Half-day workshop on Saturday, October 29th will cover “Culturally Complex Ethical Challenges” with Stephanie Murtaugh, MA, MBA, LPC, CAC, CCS, CCJP, CCDP Diplomate.

Attendees are also invited to IC&RC’s 30^th Anniversary Celebration Reception on Thursday, October 27, 2011 at 6pm.

Registration fees are:

	Full Conference	Friday Only(One Day)	Saturday Only (Half Day)
Early (Until September 23)	$150	$110	$50
Regular (After October 1)	$190	$145	$55

This year only, your conference registration includes complimentary access to IC&RC Professional Services – priced at $25 a year but valued much higher.

Register Now!

Science-Driven Policy

The Treatment Research Institute, a non-profit research and development organization specializing in science-driven reform of policy and practice in substance use and abuse, is reporting that four teams of high-level executive and legislative branch decision makers from South Dakota, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia have completed a late-April policy development workshop offered by the Addiction Studies Program for the States (“ASP”).

“ASP is a NIDA-funded educational series bringing cutting-edge, policy relevant research and other expert findings to help states develop effective substance use/abuse policies. The program was co-founded and is directed by David Friedman, Ph.D. of the Wake Forest University School of Medicine and Sue Rusche from National Families in Action. Friedman and Rusche started ASP in 1999 as a journalist series that continues to this day. In 2005 they brought on the Treatment Research Institute and National Conference of State Legislatures to establish a separate ASP series for state legislators, and by 2007, the team had created the current format.”

“This year’s workshop was influenced by federal health reform initiatives (Affordable Care Act and the Mental Health Parity Act) and the opportunities they present for substance use/abuse programming at the state level. Also weighing heavily on everyone’s minds – participants as well as ASP project staff – was the negative fiscal situation confronting most states this year.

“Friedman and Rusche spoke to the issue of why the workshops go forward even in the face of serious fiscal constraints facing the states. “If ASP is advocating for anything, it is for the need for states to address substance use and abuse, and to do so with programs shown to be effective,” they said.

“The policymakers participated April 28 to 30 in Washington, D.C. Like all ASP workshops, the session was 2.5 days in length and consisted of presentations by leading researchers and other experts along with break-out sessions where facilitators help the teams discuss and incorporate instructional content into plans they develop on-site, all plans based on unique state priorities. If they so choose, each team can also receive follow-up telephone assistance for six months following the session to help them with plan implementation.”

For more information, visit the project web site at www.addictionstudies.org.

Best Wishes

All the attendees at the Spring Meeting felt the absence of three, dear colleagues. We wish to send our greatest wishes for healing and support to:

 Jeff Wilbee, Canada

 Roland Piper, Michigan

 Bonnie Freeland, Minnesota

Welcome, New Delegates and Guests!

IC&RC was also proud to welcome new delegates from member boards:

• Judith Burgess, Bermuda
• Carla Scott, Bermuda
• Richard Olivarez, California
• Mary Christy, Idaho
• Chris Daniel, Idaho
• Christopher Cohen, New Jersey
• Sigurlina Davidsdottir, Nordic/Baltic
• Amy Woods, U.S. Air Force

 Special guests included:

• Irv Williams, Florida
• Robyn McCarty, Illinois
• Dianne McFarling, Kentucky

Coulson Keynoted Spring Meeting

Anthony Coulson, Director of ADAPTE International, gave a keynote presentation on the situation between the U.S. and Mexico, including statistics on drug seizures and images of the violence along the border. Coulson discussed the U.S. foreign policy dilemma and advocated treatment and recovery efforts as an effective solution.

In 2010, Anthony Coulson retired from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) as the Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the DEA’s Tucson District Office and directed the Federal Government’s drug enforcement strategy in Southern Arizona. He began his career with the DEA in 1982 and has served in Washington, D.C.; Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona; Los Angeles, California; and Songkhla, Thailand. In 1996 and 2002, he received the DEA’s highest award, the Administrator’s Award for Exceptional Service.

Coulson explained that 90 percent of drugs in this country enter through the southwest border, and he emphasized that, at 2,000 miles long, the U.S. southern border can never be secured.

“I’m a big proponent of putting people in jail,” summarized Coulson. “If they have a problem, give them treatment. But I don’t want to see them again.” He argued that dealers and traffickers need to be removed from communities, so that the communities have time to heal. He added that there must be strategies in place to facilitate that recovery.

Based on seizures, Coulson asserted that marijuana trafficking creates the channels that all other drugs – cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine – use. In 2009, 3.5 million pounds of marijuana was seized, at a value of $3.5 billion dollars. Coulson asserted that amount likely represents 20 percent of the total marijuana trade, but that drug cartels plan for this loss as a part of their business strategy.

In addition to drugs, the U.S. seizes billions of dollars in cash and assets each year. A percentage of that amount goes back to law enforcement agencies, but Coulson encouraged treatment and prevention organizations to advocate for a share of these funds. “You need to be a voice. Get $2 billion of seized assets, and turn it into treatment and prevention. Law enforcement will fight you on it, but they don’t do anything with it.”

From Coulson’s perspective, all law enforcement efforts should have the goal of raising prices of drugs high enough to drive people to treatment. He claims that the U.S. government doesn’t value treatment and prevention as the true solution to drug trafficking. It doesn’t recognize that, without addressing the underlying problem of addiction, the costs of enforcement and corrections will continue.

Celebrating 30 Years

President Rhonda Messamore opened the Spring 2011 meeting of the IC&RC Board of Directors with the bang of a gavel – and a heartfelt speech about the 30^th anniversary.

“With this meeting, we kick off IC&RC’s anniversary, ‘Celebrating 30 Years of Setting Standards for Addiction Professionals.’ According to some traditions, the 30^th wedding anniversary is the pearl anniversary. We’ve taken the pearl as a symbol for this year. Think about it: a pearl begins as a grain of sand, but oh-so-slowly, over time, the oyster turns this irritation into a beautiful treasure. A pearl represents healing from imperfection, creating beauty and meaning from pain.”

“This imagery resonated strongly for me, and I hope it does for you too. Our very work has at its foundation a world of hurt – the pain that drives addiction, and the pain that it causes, in individuals, in families and in communities. But slowly, with persistence, through the long, hard effort of counselors and prevention specialists, many of these wounds have been healed – and miraculous beauty has come from them. Through the long, patient work of certification boards, clients and their families can rest easy knowing they are working with competent, ethical professionals. Funders and employers know they are working from the latest, evidence-based practices.”

The Certification Reciprocity Consortium/Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse, Inc. adopted bylaws and articles of incorporation in South Bend, Indiana in 1981. At that time, the first office of the consortium was located in Waukesha, Wisconsin.

After three decades, IC&RC is stronger than ever. It represents 76 certification boards and more than 43,000 reciprocal-level certified professionals.  The organization now administers more than 8,000 examinations a year.

From the Executive Director

Welcome, Colorado Prevention!

Last week in Denver, Colorado, more than 75 delegates from Member Boards gathered to set the direction for the future of the international organization. Being in Colorado was made all the more special, when the Colorado Prevention Certification Board was joyfully welcomed into the organization. Carmelita Muniz, Mary Anne Burdick, and Cheryl Reid represented the new board at the meeting and already made their contributions clear.

I’m also happy to announce that Tammi Lewis, LPC, AADC, ALPS, Therapist at CAMC Family Resource Center in Charleston, West Virginia, is the new co-chair of the Advanced Alcohol and Drug Counselor (AADC) Committee. Frank Davis, IAADC, ICCJP, LCDC, of the Texas Certification Board of Addiction Professionals has agreed to become the new co-chair of the Certified Criminal Justice Addictions Professional (CCJP) committee.

The Peer Recovery Support Specialist credential is continuing toward adoption. Based on three states that already offer a peer recovery credential, minimum standards have been developed, and the credential will undergo IC&RC’s evaluation process over the next six months.

As our 30th anniversary year continues, the staff is working to make all of our activities special. So don’t forget to mark your calendars for the Fall Meeting – October 25 to 27 in Orlando, Florida. See you there! 

Sincerely,

Mary Jo Mather
Executive Director

Sponsorships Available

For the first time, the Administrators Meeting will be broadcast to Member Boards who cannot send staff to Denver. IC&RC is making a special sponsorship opportunity available to organizations in the field who want to promote a product or service to the IC&RC membership, while supporting our work. Contact Kay Glass, Marketing Director, for detals.

Building a New Treatment System in South Africa

By Donna Johnson, CAS, ICADC, ICCJP, ICCDP, LADC

During a month-long training and consulting project in South Africa, I witnessed first-hand the overwhelming addiction treatment needs of that country. Rampant addiction in South Africa affects many other aspects of its citizens’ lives, including HIV, domestic violence and abuse, with a strong impact on the criminal justice system. South Africa’s current treatment structure is not meeting the vast needs of the population.

Fortunately government officials and treatment professionals are recognizing that fact, and invited Johnson to identify and establish specific areas of reform. As a result, a comprehensive strategic plan was developed to cost-effectively expand or redesign current treatment programs. Some treatment programs are operated illegally, with untrained staff using outdated models and charging exorbitant admission fees. I believe that new strategies are needed, including a more comprehensive, cost-effective approach.

These new strategies include adding trained addiction professionals to other programs and agencies and integrating addiction treatment into primary health care and other agencies such as private physician offices, primary care clinics, public health clinics, schools, hospitals and court service offices. As a result of adding these addiction professionals to non-traditional treatment sites these agencies can share facilities, staff, expenses and resources to expand services for those needing treatment.

In addition to these expanded non-traditional sites for services, I helped train and work with Comprehensive Care Centers that are placed in high-risk areas. These care centers will offer not only addiction treatment but mental health services, medical care for HIV and other physical issues, vocational training and court service staff. These Comprehensive Care Centers will be a one-stop shop for those needing assistance. Since these programs will also share facilities and resources, it can be done in a cost-effective manner and serve more individuals and families.

Treatment programs will also be established in some of the most needed schools, which will assist those children being able to access services. I also provided training for all of those professionals included in the new redesign of services including, doctors, nurses, social workers, court staff and law enforcement.

The training and consultation will be on-going. I will be returning the later part of this year to provide further services and trainings as well as on-going assistance.  I am also assisting in establishing an addiction credentialing board to set international standards for addiction professionals through IC&RC. Trained and credentialed staff will also add to the success and expansion of these new programs.