Laws and Regulations with CACREP-Only Restrictions


Counselors who graduated – or will graduate – from programs that are not accredited by CACREP remain eligible for counselor licensure in 48 of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. APC is working to keep those options open!

In 2011, a grassroots coalition of counselors and counselor educators in New Jersey blocked the first national attempt to restrict counselor licensure to graduates of programs accredited by CACREP. Since then, advocates for all counselors have blocked attempts to restrict licensure and school counselor certification in NY, NH, MN, MS, UT, and secured broader access, at least temporarily, for all qualified counselor to work with the VA/Tricare system.

However, Kentucky and North Carolina are scheduled to restrict initial counselor licensure to graduates of programs accredited by CACREP by 2022. Ohio law restricts initial counselor licensure to graduates of Ohio programs accredited by CACREP; this law does not affect graduates from programs in other states. CACREP only partisans have also had some limited success in their efforts to restrict the placement of interns, school counselor certification, and VA/Tricare employment/reimbursement.

 

CACREP-only licensing laws and regulations:

Kentucky – new regulations, adopted by the Board of Licensed Professional Counselors 11/14/14, restrict initial licensure to graduates of CACREP-accredited programs, effective 2017 with the exception of students enrolled in a counseling program before January 15, 2015 who maintain continuous enrollment who have until May 31, 2020 to qualify. (The new KY regulations also require the applicant to have completed a program staffed by “faculty who identify with the professional counseling profession.”).  Please see the following links for more information:

North Carolina – A law, signed by Governor 10/20/15, restricts initial counselor licensure to graduates of CACREP accredited programs, effective 2022.  Please see the following links for more information:

Ohio – law signed 5/14- applies only to graduates of counseling programs in OH; it does not affect graduates from other states.  Please see the following link for more information: