Kan. Admin. Regs. § 102-7-4b - Application for licensure based on reciprocity

(a) Each individual who wishes to be licensed as an addiction counselor or a clinical addiction counselor based on reciprocity, pursuant to L. 2011, ch. 114, sec. 13 and amendments thereto, shall submit an application for licensure in accordance with this regulation.

(b) Each applicant for licensure as an addiction counselor shall request the application forms for licensure by reciprocity from the board. Each applicant shall ensure that the application materials are submitted to the board as follows:

(1) The applicant shall submit the completed application form and payment in full of the application for a license fee, as specified in K.A.R. 102-7-2.

(2) The applicant shall forward to the licensing agency for the jurisdiction in which the applicant is currently licensed, certified, or registered as an addiction counselor a form provided by the board on which the licensing agency is to provide the following information directly to the board:

(A) Verification that the applicant currently holds a valid license, registration, or certification to practice addiction counseling issued by the licensing agency;

(B) the date on which the applicant was initially licensed, registered, or certified as an addiction counselor by the licensing agency and a complete history of each subsequent renewal, reinstatement, and lapse in licensure, registration, or certification. If an applicant is seeking licensure based on reciprocity pursuant to L. 2011, ch. 114, sec. 13(a)(2) and amendments thereto, the applicant shall ensure that documentation covering the five years of continuous licensure, registration, or certification as an addiction counselor that immediately precede the date of the application is submitted to the board by the licensing agency for each jurisdiction in which the applicant was licensed, registered, or certified during that five-year period; and

(C) a complete history of any disciplinary action of a serious nature brought by the licensing agency against the applicant. For purposes of this regulation, "disciplinary action of a serious nature" shall mean the revocation or suspension of a license, registration, or certification issued by the licensing board or the voluntary surrender of a license, registration, or certification in lieu of the completion of an investigation or final disciplinary action.

(3) The applicant either shall provide verification that the standards for licensure, certification, or registration as an addiction counselor in that jurisdiction are substantially equivalent to the standards in Kansas or shall meet the following requirements:

(A)

(i) Demonstrate completion of a baccalaureate or master's degree in addiction counseling as specified in K.A.R. 102-7-3 ; or

(ii) demonstrate completion of a baccalaureate or master's degree in a related field that included all required addiction counseling coursework requirements as specified in K.A.R. 102-7-3 ; and

(B) arrange for the applicant's transcripts covering all applicable college or university coursework to be sent directly from each academic institution to the board office. Each applicant who graduated from a college or university outside the United States also shall arrange for the applicant's transcript to be translated and evaluated for degree equivalency by a source and in a manner that are acceptable to the board.

(4) The applicant shall submit an attestation that the applicant engaged in the professional practice of addiction counseling an average of at least 15 hours each week for nine months during each of the five years immediately preceding the date of application for licensure based on reciprocity.

(c) In addition to meeting the requirements of subsection (b), each applicant for licensure as a clinical addiction counselor shall demonstrate competence to diagnose and treat substance use disorders by submitting at least two of the following forms of documentation:

(1)

(A) A transcript sent directly from a regionally accredited university or college documenting satisfactory completion of 15 graduate credit hours supporting diagnosis or treatment of substance use disorders, including the following coursework:

(i) Three graduate semester hours of discrete course-work in ethics;

(ii) three graduate semester hours of discrete course-work in the diagnosis of substance use disorders that includes studies of the established diagnostic criteria for substance use disorders; and

(iii) coursework that addresses interdisciplinary referrals, interdisciplinary collaborations, and treatment approaches; or

(B) verification from either the licensing agency or the testing service that the applicant passed a national clinical examination approved by the board, including the applicant's score on the exam and the passing score established for the exam;

(2) one or both of the following types of documentation, which shall cover periods of time totaling at least three years:

(A) An attestation by a supervisor or other designated representative of the applicant's employer that the applicant has at least three years of clinical practice, including at least eight hours of client contact each week during nine months or more of each year, in a treatment facility, community mental health center or its affiliate, state mental hospital, or another employment setting in which the applicant engaged in clinical practice that included diagnosis or treatment of substance use disorders; or

(B) an attestation by the applicant that the applicant engaged in at least three years of independent clinical practice that included diagnosis or treatment of substance use disorders, as well as supporting documentation in the form of a published job description, a description of the applicant's practice in a public information brochure, a description of services in an informed consent document, or other similar published statements demonstrating that the applicant has engaged in independent clinical practice for at least three years; or

(3) an attestation that the applicant has demonstrated competence in diagnosis or treatment of substance use disorders, which shall be signed by either a professional licensed to practice medicine and surgery or a professional licensed psychologist, a licensed clinical social worker, or another professional licensed to diagnose and treat mental disorders or substance use disorders, or both, in independent practice.

Notes

Kan. Admin. Regs. § 102-7-4b

Authorized by K.S.A. 2010 Supp. 74-7507, as amended by L. 2010, ch. 45, §15; implementing L. 2010, ch. 45, §7, as amended by 2011 HB 2182, §13; effective, T-102-7-1-11, July 1, 2011; effective, T-102-10-27-11, Oct. 27, 2011; effective Jan. 20, 2012.