Title 5
Businesses and Professions

Chapter 69
License Procedure for Chemical Dependency Professionals

R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-69-2

§ 5-69-2. Definitions.

As used in this chapter:

(1) “ACDP” means an advanced chemical dependency professional certification as per the Rhode Island board for certification of chemical dependency professionals requirements.

(2) “ACDP II” means an advanced chemical dependency professional II certification as per the International Certification and Reciprocity Consortium/Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse. “ICRC/AODA.”

(3) “Acudetox specialist (ADS)” means an individual licensed as a chemical dependency professional or clinical supervisor who holds a certificate of training that meets or exceeds the NADA training from a recognized agency.

(4) “Advertise” includes, but is not limited to, the issuing of, or causing to be distributed, any card, sign, or device to any person; or the causing, permitting, or allowing of any sign or marking on, or in, any building or structure, or in any newspaper or magazine or in any directory, or on radio or television, or by the use of any other means designed to secure public attention.

(5) “Approved continuing education” means research and training programs, college and university courses, in-service training programs, seminars, and conferences designed to maintain and enhance the skills of substance-abuse counselors or clinical supervisors and that are recognized by the ICRC/AODA member board.

(6) “Auricular acudetox” means the subcutaneous insertion of sterile, disposable acupuncture needles in consistent, predetermined bilateral locations on the ear in accordance with the NADA protocol.

(7) “CDCS” means chemical dependency clinical supervisor.

(8) “Clergy” includes any minister, priest, rabbi, Christian Science practitioner, or any other similar religious counselor.

(9) “Continuum of care network” means public and private substance-abuse care agencies such as detoxification centers, emergency rooms, hospitals, treatment centers, outpatient- and day-treatment clinics, and community residences for substance abusers. The services employ, or refer to, medical, psychological, health, and counseling professionals who treat substance abuse and related concerns.

(10) “Department” means the Rhode Island department of health.

(11) “Director” means the director of the Rhode Island department of health.

(12) “Documented professional work experience” means the ICRC/AODA member board-approved form, completed by an employer or approved supervisor, verifying dates of employment and responsibilities.

(13) “Experience” means six thousand (6,000) hours of supervised practice of chemical dependency counseling in a department of behavioral healthcare, developmental disabilities and hospitals licensed or ICRC/AODA member-board-approved facility during a sixty-month (60) period of time immediately preceding the date of application for licensure.

(14) “General supervision” means available by telephone, cellphone, or electronic means during business hours.

(15) “ICRC/AODA” means International Certification and Reciprocity Consortium/Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse.

(16) “Licensed chemical dependency clinical supervisor” means an individual licensed by the department of health to practice and supervise substance-abuse counseling and who meets the qualifications established in this chapter.

(17) “Licensed chemical dependency professional” means an individual licensed by the department of health to practice substance-abuse counseling and who meets the qualifications established in this chapter.

(18) “Licensing board” or “board” means the board of licensing for chemical dependency professionals.

(19) “Member board” means the Rhode Island board for certification of chemical dependency professionals.

(20) “National Acupuncture Detoxification Association” (“NADA”) means a not-for-profit organization that provides a certificate of acudetox training.

(21) “Practice of substance-abuse counseling” means rendering, or offering to render, professional service for any fee, monetary or otherwise, documented to individuals, families, or groups. Those professional services include the application of the ICRC/AODA, specific knowledge, skills, counseling theory, and application of techniques to define goals and develop a treatment plan of action aimed toward the prevention, education, or treatment in the recovery process of substance abuse within the continuum-of-care service network. The practice further includes, but is not limited to, networking and making referrals to medical, social services, psychological, psychiatric, and/or legal resources when indicated.

(22) “Recognized education institution” means any educational institution that grants an associate, bachelor, masters, or doctoral degree and that is recognized by the board or by a nationally or regionally recognized educational or professional accrediting organization.

(23) “Substance abuse” means addictive (chronic or habitual) consumption, injection, inhalation, or behavior of/with a substance (such as alcohol and drugs), progressively injuring and afflicting the user’s psychological, physical, social, economic, and/or spiritual functioning.

(24) “Supervision” means no less than one hour per week and consists of individual or group supervision with a clinician licensed or certified in substance-abuse counseling with education, supervisory experience, and ethics approved by the ICRC/AODA member.

History of Section.
P.L. 1994, ch. 117, § 1; P.L. 1995, ch. 370, art. 14, § 13; P.L. 2008, ch. 100, art. 11, § 1; P.L. 2016, ch. 183, § 1; P.L. 2016, ch. 187, § 1; P.L. 2017, ch. 451, § 3.