Amid drug abuse crisis, state mounts effort to recruit and train more counselors
The state is spending $3 million in an effort to recruit and retain more substance abuse counselors amid a surge in drug abuse and overdoses that began during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Counselors have been in short supply as the need has grown, according to state officials. Last year, there were 18,547 reported opioid-related drug overdoses in Illinois, of which 3,261 were fatal, according to data from the Illinois Department of Public Health. The number of overdoses represented a 17.5% increase since 2018 when there were 15,783 cases, the data show, while fatal overdoses have jumped by 50% with 2,167 that same year.
“It makes it vital that somebody who goes into the field has evidence-based training on how to deal with those issues,” said Chris Boyster, executive director of the Illinois Certification Board. “If you are successful at knowing what you’re going into, you’ll have successful outcomes.”
The certification board is partnering with the state’s Department of Human Services to make more counselors, also known as Certified Alcohol and Other Drug Counselors, or CADCs, available to respond to the crisis and help people with addiction who are at-risk of harming themselves.
The state money will go toward expanding a program to recruit potential CADCs to help them with tuition payments, scholarships, internship stipends and other payments related to the training needed to get certified. The program also offers assistance with job placement, continuing education and credential renewal opportunities for existing CADCs.
In addition to providing emotional and psychological support, counselors are trained to help addicts manage their cravings and develop coping strategies to steer them away from bad habits, the certification board said.
“The whole design of this program is to invest in retaining the field and growing the field,” Boyster said.
Statistics show the availability of substance abuse counselors in Illinois has declined as the opioid crisis has worsened in recent years.
According to a 2019 report from a task force that examined the behavioral health workforce, Illinois had a below-national-average rate of 30 substance abuse disorder providers for every 1,000 adults identified as having such a disorder.
The report, commissioned by the Illinois General Assembly, also noted that according to the state Department of Human Services, the substance abuse disorder workforce was aging while the number of people entering the profession was decreasing.
The report showed that 56% of substance abuse disorder professionals certified through the Illinois Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Professional Certification Association were over 50. In addition, new certifications for CADCs — the most common credential for the field — dropped by a third from 2016 to 2019.
The number of CADC applicants has continued to drop, from around 400 a year in 2017 through 2019 to 364 in 2022, and the existing workforce “is not sufficient to meet the demand for substance use service needs,” according to IDHS.
Boyster said that in addition to counselors retiring, many are leaving the field after becoming emotionally burned out.
“That goes again to the training,” Boyster said. “You’re going to be a lot more successful in addressing someone’s burnout if they go into the field equipped to handle what they’re going into.”
Eight colleges or universities are participating in the CADC certification program: Aurora University, College of Lake County, Governors State University in University Park, Kennedy-King College in Chicago, Loyola University Chicago, University of St. Francis in Joliet, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and The Chicago School, which places an emphasis on professional psychology.
The funding will go to people who agree to enter the field for at least two years in Illinois once they get certified, according to IDHS.
Marcia Van Natta, a certified drug and alcohol abuse counselor and an instructor at the University of St. Francis in Joliet, said counselors face a number of challenges, from figuring out appropriate treatments to changing the mindsets of people with addiction.
“The problem with drugs and alcohol is that it’s chemical-based. So, therefore, your body now craves it,” said Van Natta, who also oversees DHS’ certified recovery support specialist grant program through the state certification board. “So, you have the mental aspect, the emotional aspect and I call it the spiritual aspect as well because drugs and alcohol rob you of all of that.”
The General Assembly passed bills related to drug education that were later signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker. One measure requires all schools to maintain a supply of opioid antagonists, such as Narcan, while another requires high schools to “provide instruction, study and discussion on the dangers of fentanyl” beginning with the 2024-25 school year. Both laws go into effect Jan. 1.
In Cook County, 73% of the opioid overdose deaths from 2015 through last year have involved fentanyl, a powerful painkiller that, according to law enforcement, has been known to be mixed with other opioids like heroin that are sold on the street.
Van Natta said recruiting and training counselors, as well as retraining those already in the field, is key to saving lives.
“There are a lot of different clinicians out there … who don’t recognize that substance abuse disorders are specific,” Van Natta said. “So, the education needs to be there to treat the individual for what they need. It’s kind of like the doctor-specialist kind of thing. And that’s what I hope that this (state funding) will promote because it is desperately needed.”
