July/August - President's Report |
| Posted by Rhonda Messamore (rmessamore) on Dec 16 2008 |
Greetings Fellow CAADAC Members:
As you are probably aware by now, your CAADAC Board of Directors voted confidently, passionately, and unanimously to separate from NAADAC. As our organizations have been affiliated for the past 25 years, you might be concerned about the circumstances surrounding this separation. In case you have not received my email correspondence recapping the events leading up to this vote, I have included it in the pages that follow. If you happen to be troubled about this decision, I implore you to read this correspondence, for after doing so, I am sure you will understand the necessity of this decision being reached by your board. Below are some facts that I think are important for you to remember:
· CAADAC made every attempt to negotiate a fair contract with NAADAC, and eventually gave up all but one of our negotiating points (not to allow for an auto renew clause that they wanted to add to the contract) in an effort to maintain affiliation.
· It was NAADAC, not CAADAC, who in the end insisted that a revised contract be signed this year; as recommended by our attorney, I signed the contract from last year and requested NAADAC do the same in a final attempt to save the affiliation.
· NAADAC informed CAADAC of their recommendations for our licensure bill in the summer of 2007, also writing a letter of support knowing that we would consider these recommendations. Fact: If CAADAC took the recommendations of NAADAC, our bill would currently be dead. Every part of our bill has been meticulously developed and negotiated with other disciplines resulting in our success in getting it through the legislature. After last summer, NAADAC never re-approached CAADAC with their concerns and caught us totally off guard by writing a letter to the Governor.
· NAADAC has informed you that we have neglected to conduct a Sunrise Review which is a requirement of the Legislature. The fact is that we complied with this mandate, and the Business and Professions Committees (B & P) of both sides of the Legislature agreed that it was unnecessary to reproduce. Additionally, we held a full-day informational hearing last Fall hosted by the Assembly B & P which was similar to a Sunrise Review hearing.
· Our licensure bill requires that those who work outside of state licensed facilities need to get licensed because these facilities are completely unregulated. Licensure will also be available to those who work inside of licensed facilities.
· Even though NAADAC's letter to Governor Schwarzenegger was not an official letter of opposition, it was clearly intended that way and used as such by the opposition to our licensure bill when we made our case in front of legislators.
· As stated above, NAADAC had written a letter of support just last August for essentially the same legislation, thus we believe they only wrote the contradictory letter to our Governor after we refused to sign their revised contract.
· NAADAC certification is not recognized by the State of California as an approved certification and, therefore, is not valid in our state.
· Separating from NAADAC has no effect on your certification. Our standards, testing methods, and reciprocity come from our affiliation with IC&RC - not NAADAC.
· California will not lose Federal funding as a result of our separation from NAADAC; the State ADP ensures that California gets its "piece of the pie" by complying with federal mandates connected with receiving the monies and lobbying for California. CAADAC's Board of Directors will be voting at the end of the month to contract with a lobbyist for CAADAC in Washington, DC, who will provide California-specific lobbying on the federal level without our having to increase membership dues.
· NAADAC coming into California to compete with CAADAC will not weaken our organization. In fact, since our membership dues are now only $100 instead of $185 as a result of our disaffiliation with NAADAC, we will be able to retain the hundreds of counselors we had been losing annually due to the high cost of the dual CAADAC/NAADAC membership, and we are now financially competitive with the other certifying bodies enabling us to attract even more members annually.
· CAADAC is the only membership organization in California that provides substantial and tangible benefits, such as: professional liability insurance, the Counselor Magazine, discounts on health care and dental benefits, auto insurance, banking, car rental, legal assistance, and training and certification. CAADAC also provides state and federal advocacy for issues affecting CAADAC members and certificants and it provides voting rights for its members. The other two organizations which provide individual membership offer no benefits and no member vote. CAADAC works tirelessly to ensure your credential is the most sought after in California, and that your membership dollars are utilized to advocate for higher standards and consumer protection at the state and federal levels, thereby ensuring safe and professional treatment for all.
I’ve been out to multiple regions in the state sharing the circumstances surrounding CAADAC’s independence from NAADAC, and have been met with nothing but applause for CAADAC’s leadership making the decision it made. Regarding the board’s decision on this topic, I want to make one thing clear: Your Board of Directors took this issue very seriously, and in the eleven-plus years I’ve been on the Board, I have never witnessed them being more actively involved, courageous, passionate and unified, about any single issue prior. I am extremely proud of our Board Members for doing what they truly felt was right and necessary for our organization, despite the fear of what some of our members (especially those who do not keep themselves informed) might think. I have never felt so honored to be a member of CAADAC – I hope you feel the same!
Sincerely,
Bob Tyler, CAADAC President
Last changed: Dec 16 2008 at 11:31 PM
Back
