CAADE Accredited Colleges

California Association for
Alcohol/Drug Educators

Alcohol & Drug Studies Higher Education Accreditation &
workforce career track Program Approval

CAADE accredited Alcohol and Drug Studies higher education programs consist of a minimum of 36 semester credit units (or approximately 600 clock hours). CAADE College/University programs are fully accredited and transferrable to other colleges, universities and graduate programs nationwide. Students may attend CAADE accredited colleges full- or part-time, depending on their individual needs and time constraints. CAADE college programs provide the opportunity to develop the necessary knowledge, skills and attitudes required to be effective in the treatment of alcohol and other drug dependency and abuse in all treatment settings. CAADE college programs are designed to provide students who have no prior experience in the field of Alcohol and Drug Counseling with a competency based educational program that meets certification standards in California in the most efficient, effective and inexpensive manner available. Because all community college or university programs are fully accredited, financial aid is available for students who qualify. Only students who complete a CAADE accredited community college or university education program (or equivalent) are qualified to sit for the NOCA approved CAADE Certified Addictions Treatment Counselor (CATC) examination.

Click here for a list of CAADE accredited colleges & universities in California and Arizona (Nevada and Oregon coming soon!)

CAADE approved Extension and Private Post Secondary (PPS) Workforce Career Track Programs consist of 350 hours of classroom education in addiction counseling and currently meet the minimum state requirements for level 1 addiction counselor education. These programs are not transferrable to colleges but meet strict minimum guidelines for educational quality and TAP 21 compliance. (Workforce Career Track Manual, application form and Fee Schedule coming in October, 2009). Students who complete Extension and Private Post Secondary Alcoholism and Drug Counselor Training Programs may sit for the examination and earn certification from one of the other eight counselor certification organizations in California.

Click here for CAADE Approved Extension and Private Post Secondary Vocational Training programs (coming soon)

Program Accreditation Background Documents (Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader )	Get Adobe Acrobat Reader Here
Download College/University Program Accreditation Application and Self-Study Checklist Choose the file for your version of MS Word. If you don't have MS Word, click here to download the Free Word Viewer *Word 2003 Format Word 2007 Format*	Extension/PPS Vocational Training Program Approval Application and Self-Study Checklist (Currently being developed as an easy auto-fill document for electronic submission)
Download College/University Program Re-Accreditation Application Word 2003 Format *Word 2007 Format* click here for MS Word viewer or Word 2007 compatibility update	Extension/PPS/Vocational Training Program Accreditation Approval Renewal Application and Checklist (auto-fill electronic form coming soon)
Guidelines for Alcohol/Drug Studies Programs Within Higher Education (Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)	Guidelines for Extension and Private Vocational Training Programs (non-transferrable) (Currently being updated to reflect 350 hours of education)

History of CAADE Accreditation in California

THE ALCOHOL AND DRUG STUDIES CURRICULUM GUIDELINES MANUAL

Under Contract with the Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs, the Guidelines for an Alcohol and Drug Studies Program Within Higher Education was prepared for and adopted by the Accreditation Committee at the annual educators conference in Sacramento during April of 1986. This study was initiated by the Accreditation Committee in the fall of 1985. The Committee is composed of members representing educational and treatment and recovery interests throughout the state to include: the California Association of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselors (CAADAC), California Association of Addiction Recovery Resources (CAARR), California Association of Drinking Driver Treatment Programs (CADDTP), California Therapeutic Community (CTC), American Academy of Health Care Providers, American Indian Commission, County and State Alcohol and Drug agencies, DUI and EAP programs, service providers, and educators from community colleges, state universities, and private colleges. After the first meeting at UCLA, the Accreditation Committee was divided into four sub-committees to work on the following aspects of accreditation:

Subcommittee A: Alcohol and Drug Studies Core

Subcommittee B: Alcohol and Drug Studies Skills

Subcommittee C: Alcohol and Drug Field Studies

Subcommittee D: Admission and Evaluation of Students; and Standards for Instructors in Alcohol/Drug Studies Programs

Over an eight year period the Guidelines underwent three revisions. The first draft was reviewed at CAADE's spring 1985 meeting. An open session was
held to receive input from committee members and other interested persons. These comments were incorporated in the first revision. The second draft
was circulated to an extensive list of authorities throughout the state to solicit comments and concerns. This resulted in a second revision.

The third draft of the Guidelines underwent review via four public meetings held in different regions of the state. The net result of the three efforts was a
broadly based curriculum model whose utility is expanding as the field of alcohol and drugs continues its professional growth.

These Guidelines were revised and updated in 1997,1998 and 2000 to include competency infusion from the State and National Curriculum Competencies developed under the auspices of the Addiction Technology Transfer Center (ATTC). The California Association for Alcohol/Drug Educators (C.A.A.D.E.) has been responsible for revising and maintaining the educational standards for this Guidelines Manual.

In 2006, with the release of the newly revised TAP 21, the Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs contracted with Dick Wilson, Lori Phelps, and California State University Fullerton, to continue the work of accrediting community college Alcohol and Drug Studies Programs and to update the Guidelines Manual for Higher Education. The current Guidelines Manual is the culmination of the work performed during that contract. There are currently some 40+ CAADE accredited community college and university Alcohol and Drug Studies Programs throughout California that were developed using the Guidelines Manual curriculum. More are in process and the accreditation program is expanding to include states outside of California.

CAADE is in the process of expanding its accreditation activities to include establishing guidelines for approving non-transferrable Extension and Private Post Secondary Alcohol and Drug Counselor Vocational Training Programs using the 270-hour (soon to be 350 hours) workshop model.

DOWNLOAD THESE FILES IF NECESSARY

Download Microsoft Word 2007 Compatibility pack
(If you have MS Word 2003 you will need this download to view Word 2007 documents)

Download MS Word 2003 Viewer
(If you do not have MS Word you will need this viewer to open the application files)

If you have comments or questions, please contact:

Lori Phelps, Psy.D., CATC, Executive Director
PO Box 2292, Anaheim, CA 92814
Phone: 714-588-1359 / FAX: 714-687-0913
Email: caade@sbcglobal.net