The Certification Examining Board (CEB) of LASACT facilitates credentialing and certification issues and functions under authority granted to it by LASACT. CEB carries out its duties independent of the political structure of LASACT. The President and President-Elect of  LASACT serve on the CEB, but it has its own Chairperson and conducts Board meetings independent of  LASACT's Board.

CEB members are elected by the eight Substance Abuse Counselors Organizations (SACO’s) in the state, with one representative from each district. The CEB is affiliated with the International Certification and Reciprocity Consortium/Alcohol and other Drug Abuse (IC&RC/AODA), which offers reciprocity to 70 member Boards.

Currently a major responsibility of the CEB is to handle certification testing – both oral and written – for the Addictive Disorders Regulatory Authority (ADRA) under contract with that Authority.

The CEB’s responsibilities for LASACT issues currently include the following functions:

• setting standards for credentials granted by LASACT, i.e. AADC, CCS, CCJP
  and any future credentials that may be approved;
• reviewing applications and portfolios for LASACT certification(s) and approving or
  rejecting them
• resolving appeals and grievances related to LASACT certification, credentialing,
  and testing.

Until August 1999, the CEB handled the certification and every two year recertification process of LASACT for Certified Substance Abuse Counselor (CSAC); Certified Prevention Specialist and Manager (CPS/CPM); and Certified Compulsive Gambling Counselor (CCGC). In September 1999, those functions were taken over by the State Board. This Board was dissolved by Act 803 of July, 2004, and was replaced by the Addictive Disorders Regulatory Authority (ADRA), which is part of  the Office for Addictive Disorders of the Louisiana State Department of Health & Hospitals (DHH).

Act 803 eliminated the BCSAC classification and established a tiered certification system with the following categories:
Licensed Addiction Counselor -- LAC (master's degree required)
Certified Addiction Counselor  -- CAC (bachelor's degree required)
Registered Addiction Counselor -- RAC (experiential requirements; no degree)
Certified Clinical Supervisor -- CCS
Counselor in Training -- CIT
Addiction Treatment Assistant -- ATA
Licensed Prevention Professional  -- LPP
Certified Prevention Professional  -- CPP
Registered Prevention Professional -- RPP
Prevention Specialist in Training -- PSIT
Registered Preventionist -- RP
Certified Compulsive Gambling Counselor -- CCGC
Certified Criminal Justice Professional -- CCJP

Rules for implementing Act 803 became effective March 21, 2005. All former BCSAC's have been notified of their new certification category and should use the LAC, CAC, RAC initials since the BCSAC no longer exists.

An appropriate practice credential, i.e., LAC, CAC, RAC, LPP, CPP,  RPP, or CCGC, is required in order to legally practice Substance Abuse Counseling, Gambling Counseling, or Prevention in the State of Louisiana.

Currently LASACT offers four credentials, which are add-ons to the Practice Credentials issued by ADRA. The Advanced Alcohol and Drug Counselor (AADC), Certified Clinical Supervisor (CCS), Certified Co-occurring Disorder Professional (CCDP), Certified Co-occurring Disorder Professional - Diplomate (CCDP-D) at the master's level), and Certified Criminal Justice Professional (CCJP). Certifications offered by LASACT DO NOT grant the privilege to practice.

Click on links below for more information about the AADC, CCS, and CCJP credentials offered by LASACT.
AADC Information
CCJP Inquiry Packet
CCS Class Registration Form
CCS Inquiry Packet
CCS Portfolio Packet
CCS Candidate Guide from IC&RC
Substance Abuse Specialty Certificate Portfolio Packet

NEW CERTIFICATE BEING OFFERED - GRANDFATHERING DEADLINE IS now 10/8/08
IMPORTANT NOTICE:
The deadline for submitting grandfathering applications for the CCDP and CCDP-D certificate has been extended to Wednesday October 8, 2008.

Click here for Letter of Explanation for grandfathering of AADC's
into CCDP-D.
Click here for CCDP-D Application Form for current AADC's only.

Certified Co-Occurring Disorder Professional (CCDP/CCDP-D) Inquiry / Application Packet for NON-AADC's

Candidate Guides from IC&RC for Various Credentials/Certifications offered by ADRA and LASACT
AAODA (AADC) Candidate Guide
AODA (LAC/CAC/RAC) Candidate Guide
Case Presentation Method Candidate Guide (Oral Test)
Criminal Justice Candidate (CCJP) Guide
Clinical Supervisor (CCS) Candidate Guide
Prevention (LPP) Candidate Guide

In addition to the Candidate Guides listed above study materials are available from http://readytotest.com. 

Testing for Credentials
Test dates are set by IC&RC for two days - Friday and Saturday - on the second weekend of the last month of each quarter (March, June, September, and December). LASACT schedules Test Preparation Workshops two weeks prior to the test dates. ADRA notifies LASACT of the names of those who are qualified to test for the LAC, CAC, RAC, LPP, CPP and RPP credentials.
The LASACT Certification Examining Board determines who is ready to take the tests for CCS and CCJP.

Currently, tests are given in Opelousas on Fridays and in Baton Rouge on Saturdays.

                       Test Dates
2008                                       2009

December 12th and 13th            March 13th & 14th                                         
                                                      June 12th & 13th
                                                       September 11th & 12th
                                                        December 11th & 12th

The following persons are Certified Clinical Supervisors (CCS)
in the State of Louisiana

LASACT.ORG NEWS