Opinion: California shouldn’t set the bar too high for behavioral health workers, drug counselors

Re “Report recommends $128 million ‘down fee’ to coach hundreds extra psychological well being care employees in San Diego” (Aug. 14): The report describes the native want for extra behavioral well being employees, together with extra drug counselors.

San Diego desperately wants extra drug counselors as a result of there continues to be report drug overdoses and deaths all through the county.

But Meeting Invoice 2473, allegedly written to strengthen substance use dysfunction counselor coaching, will in truth hamper all efforts to recruit and retain certified drug counselors.

Authored by Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian, AB 2473 mandates that each one core competency necessities be accomplished in six months, a mere 183 calendar days; an arbitrary and ridiculous requirement that should be eliminated.

There is no such thing as a different well being care coaching program with such a slender window to finish instructional necessities and California has had state-certified drug counselors with persevering with training necessities since 2010.

Strengthening a area is all the time acceptable, however it shouldn’t be destroyed.

Linda Bridgeman Smith

El Cajon