I hope your holiday season was a blessing to you and yours. We have exited the first decade of our millennium and now stand at the threshold of the “teens”. I heard someone say recently that “we fail at times to allow failures to be stepping stones of growth”.

Well, the holidays are right around the corner!  I hope you and your family are prosperous in health as well as financial stability.  The holidays always cause me to reflect back to my values, traditions, and beliefs which include the importance of faith, family, friends, apple cider, and tamales.  Now those are not necessarily in order, but if you know me well, you can figure out how I would prioritize the list!

I want to express my appreciation to all who attended the annual CAADAC conference in October in Rancho Cordova, Ca. 

Collaborative Program Makes an Impact on Prison Reform

According to the New International Webster’s Standard Dictionary, the term “collaborate” is defined as working together and to cooperate in an undertaking.  This could not have been more evident than on Friday, August 28, 2009 at California State Prison Solano for the Offender Mentor Certification Program graduation ceremony where  forty-seven inmates who were selectively chosen to participate in an alcohol and drug counselor certification program (IC & RC standards) with successful completion would be honored.

Addressing Substance Abuse and Dependency as a Public Health and Safety Issue

By Jose D. Aragon, CADC II, ICADC, SAP

The days of treating alcohol and drug abuse and dependency issues from a punitive or criminal justice approach have proven to be ineffective and counterproductive.  President Obama’s administration has encouraged Congress to recognize that health care reform focus on wellness and prevention.  For the past 20 plus years CAADAC has attempted to obtain parity via licensure by political lobbying and support.  Perhaps educating policy makers about the impact alcoholism and drug dependency has on public health and safety would cause acceptance of meeting our industry’s financial needs.  Though many policymakers are becoming aware of the benefits of treatment, many still view addiction as a moral issue.  CAADAC has been very fortunate in recent years to have champions like Senator Mark DeSaulnier, Assemblyman Jim Beall Jr. and Assemblyman Charles Calderon in promoting awareness and support for treatment and maintaining funding.

As the first quarter of 2009 ends, I am proud of the level of productivity our leadership has provided.  From the Administrative office to the Executive Committee to the twenty-two Regional Board of Directors, California has been impacted in a positive manner.  The leadership of CAADAC is more zealous and passionate than ever before in regards to meeting the needs of our membership.  It was very exciting to hear reports at our recent EC/BOD meetings on April 24-26th in Sacramento from our current conference committee, CCB Chair Jim Sellars, Legislative Co-Chairs Bob Tyler and Warren Daniels, CFAAP Chair Warren Daniels, Treasurer Tish Hughes, Secretary John Madsen, PAC Chair & President-Elect Tom Gorham and the “backbone” of our association, Executive Director Rhonda Messamore.  Our credibility, reputation and professionalism are a result of the hard work that these leaders put forth daily.

Passing the Baton

By: Jose "Joe" Aragon, III, CADC II, ICADC, SAP

On Saturday January 24th, I was honored to be seated as your current CAADAC President.  The event was one that created a variety of emotions for me.  Foremost were anticipatory anxiety and excitement during the passing of the “presidential baton” from Immediate Past-President, Bob Tyler.  My confidence level arose as business continued on during the weekend as usual, with support from the Executive Committee and Board of Directors.  I quickly realized the great responsibility of leading our elite association, which includes nearly 4,000 members.
 

As I finish my term as CAADAC’s President in a couple of weeks, I experience a profound sense of gratitude for the opportunity you, the members, have bestowed upon me to lead this wonderful organization.  Thirty-two days and twenty years ago, I entered a treatment center and met a man by the name of Jim Fulton (yes, a past CAADAC President and namesake for CAADAC’s annual James Fulton Memorial Award) who became my counselor.  I was so thoroughly impressed by the job he did in guiding me to a new way of life that I decided I too wanted to become a counselor.  When I first started going to school and asked which organization I should become certified by, I was told that CAADAC was by far the most respected credentialing body in our profession.  Well, I followed that direction and have never regretted it.

Well, we gave it our best shot, but unfortunately the Governor vetoed our licensure bill. Given that the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) unexpectedly came out against the bill by claiming that licensure was unnecessary, it was not a huge surprise that it was vetoed; after all, the DCA houses the Board of Behavioral Sciences, the department which would have administered the licensure. In his veto message, the Governor indicated that the two-tiered system was unacceptable.

Greetings!

Well, I’m 3 months into my presidency, and I’m still married, my children still recognize me, and I still have my paying job – so it’s going fine thus far!  As you may be aware, licensure has been #1 on the priority list and has consumed much of my focus.  Let me first correct a statement I made about the bill in the last Freedom that was incorrect.  I mistakenly stated that it would be mandatory for private practitioners to attain licensure.  However, the bill at this time is a title-protection bill only, but may become a regulatory bill as we move forward depending on the level of support for such a change. 
Our legislative team made up of Willie Guerrero, Warren Daniels, Sherry Daley, Rhonda Messamore’, and myself have been working very hard on clearing the way for its passage.  Among the highlights of our work was introducing the bill at the CSAM Legislative Conference (which was cosponsored by CAADAC) followed by introducing our author, Assemblyman Mark DeSaulnier, who shared his personal interest in seeing our bill get passed.