Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counseling - CA2, AAS

The degree program leads to an Associate of Applied Science Degree in Mental Health Services and prepares students for credentialing as Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselors (LCDCs) and to sit for that competency-based exam. The Prevention Specialist Certificate exceeds state mandated education requirements for credentialing as a Certified Prevention Specialist (CPS) and prepares students to sit for a competency-based exam for that credential. Prerequisite for the programs is a 12th grade reading level. In order to sit for the LCDC exam, students must have a minimum of a two-year degree and at least 270 contact hours (6 courses in alcohol and drug abuse counseling or related courses of 3 credit hours each). In addition, candidates for licensure must have completed at least 300 hours of supervised field work in an approved cooperative education, clinical, or practicum course. The candidate for licensure must also have 4000 hours of experience in substance abuse counseling prior to sitting for the exam. The student is responsible for the 4000 hours of field work. The Certificate of Completion in Substance Abuse Prevention consists of 6 DAAC courses, 2 specifically prevention courses, plus a 120 hour supervised cooperative education class. After the cooperative education class, the student is candidate for Certified Prevention Specialist credentialing exam.