Section 2060.309  Professional Staff Qualifications

a)         All professional staff providing clinical services (except as set forth in subsection (b)(2)), as defined in this Part, shall:

1)         hold clinical certification as a Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor from the Illinois Alcoholism and Other Drug Abuse Professional Certification Association (IAODAPCA), 1305 Wabash Avenue, Suite L, Springfield, Illinois 62704; or

2)         be a licensed professional counselor or licensed clinical professional counselor pursuant to the Professional Counselor and Clinical Professional Counselor Licensing Act [225 ILCS 107]; or

3)         be a physician licensed to practice medicine in all its branches pursuant to the Medical Practice Act of 1987; or

4)         be licensed as a psychologist pursuant to the Clinical Psychology Practice Act [225 ILCS 15]; or

5)         be licensed as a social worker or licensed clinical social worker pursuant to the Clinical Social Work and Social Work Practice Act [225 ILCS 20].

b)         All professional staff providing only clinical assessments, DUI evaluations or designated program intervention services, as defined in this Part, shall:

1)         meet one of the qualifications specified in subsection (a) above; or

2)         hold assessor certification as a Certified Assessment and Referral Specialist (CARS) from IAODAPCA.

c)         In any medically managed or monitored detoxification service at least one staff, 24 hours a day, shall:

1)         be a registered nurse pursuant to Section 3(k) of the Illinois Nursing and Advanced Practice Nursing Act of 1987 [225 ILCS 65/3(k)];

2)         be a licensed practical nurse pursuant to Section 3(i) of the Illinois Nursing and Advanced Practice Nursing Act of 1987 [225 ILCS 65/3(i)] who has completed at least 40 clock hours of formal training in the field of alcoholism or other substance abuse; or

3)         be a certified emergency medical technician pursuant to Section 4.12 of the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Systems Act [210 ILCS 50/4.12] who has completed at least 40 clock hours of formal training in the field of alcoholism or other substance abuse.

d)         Any other staff who provide direct patient care that is not defined as a clinical service shall be supervised by an individual who meets the requirements for professional staff as defined in subsection (a), (b) or (c)(1) and (2) as applicable to detoxification.

e)         Any new professional staff, including interns, who will provide clinical services in a treatment or designated program service and who do not meet the requirements of subsection (a) or (b) when hired shall:

1)         meet the requirements specified in subsection (a) or (b) within two years after the date of employment; and

2)         not work in any supervisory capacity until such requirements are met; and

3)         work under the direct, verifiable supervision of an individual who has staff supervisory responsibility at the facility and who meets the requirements for professional staff specified in subsection (a); and

4)         sign, and adhere to, a professional code of ethics developed by the organization.

f)         The above referenced supervision shall last until the employee meets at least one of the requirements for professional staff designation specified in subsection (a) or (b) or until the two year period has elapsed.  Such supervision is verifiable, at a minimum, by:

1)         signature of the supervisor and the affected employee on the treatment plan and all reviews of or any change to the patient's treatment plan; and

2)         documentation of face-to-face supervision meetings, at least once monthly. This supervision can occur in a group or individual setting and shall be a distinct activity separate from regularly scheduled patient staffings.

g)         Any employee providing clinical services under supervision at one or more organizations who does not meet at least one of the requirements specified in subsection (a) or (b) within the relevant two year period shall not provide any direct clinical services at the end of the two years until such requirement is met.

h)         All staff providing DUI risk education services shall:

1)         meet one of the qualifications specified in subsection (a); or

2)         hold Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse (AODA) certification from IAODAPCA.

i)          It is the responsibility of each organization to ensure that all professional staff meet the requirements outlined in this Section.

j)          The Department will consider granting an exception to the requirements specified in subsection (e) of this Section based upon timing of certification or licensure examinations and part-time employment.  In such cases, the exception will be time limited and based upon the minimum extension of time necessary to achieve full compliance.  All exceptions shall be granted in accordance with Section 2060.303 of this Part.

(Source:  Amended at 25 Ill. Reg. 11063, effective August 14, 2001)