Subdivision 1.General qualifications.

(a) All staff members who have direct contact must be 18 years of age or older.

Subd. 2.

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Terms Used In Minnesota Statutes 245G.11

  • Alcohol and drug counselor: means a person who is qualified according to section 245G. See Minnesota Statutes 245G.01
  • Client: means an individual accepted by a license holder for assessment or treatment of a substance use disorder. See Minnesota Statutes 245G.01
  • Commissioner: means the commissioner of human services. See Minnesota Statutes 245G.01
  • Direct contact: has the meaning given for "direct contact" in section 245C. See Minnesota Statutes 245G.01
  • Former student: means a staff person that meets the requirements in section 148F. See Minnesota Statutes 245G.01
  • Group counseling: means a professionally led psychotherapeutic substance use disorder treatment that is delivered in an interactive group setting. See Minnesota Statutes 245G.01
  • License: has the meaning given in section 245A. See Minnesota Statutes 245G.01
  • License holder: has the meaning given in section 245A. See Minnesota Statutes 245G.01
  • Nurse: means an individual licensed and currently registered to practice professional or practical nursing as defined in section 148. See Minnesota Statutes 245G.01
  • Paraprofessional: means an employee, agent, or independent contractor of the license holder who performs tasks to support treatment service. See Minnesota Statutes 245G.01
  • staff member: means an individual who works under the direction of the license holder regardless of the individual's employment status including but not limited to an intern, consultant, individual who works part time, or individual who does not provide direct care services. See Minnesota Statutes 245G.01
  • Student intern: means an individual who is enrolled in a program specializing in alcohol and drug counseling or mental health counseling at an accredited educational institution and is authorized by a licensing board to provide services under supervision of a licensed professional. See Minnesota Statutes 245G.01
  • Substance: means alcohol, solvents, controlled substances as defined in section 152. See Minnesota Statutes 245G.01
  • Substance use disorder: has the meaning given in the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. See Minnesota Statutes 245G.01
  • Substance use disorder treatment: means treatment of a substance use disorder, including the process of assessment of a client's needs, development of planned methods, including interventions or services to address a client's needs, provision of services, facilitation of services provided by other service providers, and ongoing reassessment by a qualified professional when indicated. See Minnesota Statutes 245G.01
  • Treatment director: means an individual who meets the qualifications specified in section 245G. See Minnesota Statutes 245G.01
  • Volunteer: means an individual who, under the direction of the license holder, provides services or an activity to a client without compensation. See Minnesota Statutes 245G.01

MS 2020 [Repealed, 2022 c 98 art 12 s 21]

[See Note.]

Subd. 3.Treatment directors.

A treatment director must:

(1) have at least one year of work experience in direct service to an individual with substance use disorder or one year of work experience in the management or administration of direct service to an individual with substance use disorder;

(2) have a baccalaureate degree or three years of work experience in administration or personnel supervision in human services; and

(3) know and understand the implications of this chapter, sections 626.557 and 626.5572, and chapters 245A and 260E. Demonstration of the treatment director’s knowledge must be documented in the personnel record.

Subd. 4.Alcohol and drug counselor supervisors.

An alcohol and drug counselor supervisor must:

(1) meet the qualification requirements in subdivision 5;

(2) have three or more years of experience providing individual and group counseling to individuals with substance use disorder; and

(3) know and understand the implications of this chapter, sections 245A.65, 626.557, and 626.5572, and chapter 260E.

Subd. 5.Alcohol and drug counselor qualifications.

(a) An alcohol and drug counselor must either be licensed or exempt from licensure under chapter 148F.

(b) An individual who is exempt from licensure under chapter 148F, must meet one of the following additional requirements:

(1) completion of at least a baccalaureate degree with a major or concentration in social work, nursing, sociology, human services, or psychology, or licensure as a registered nurse; successful completion of a minimum of 120 hours of classroom instruction in which each of the core functions listed in chapter 148F is covered; and successful completion of 440 hours of supervised experience as an alcohol and drug counselor, either as a student or a staff member;

(2) completion of at least 270 hours of drug counselor training in which each of the core functions listed in chapter 148F is covered, and successful completion of 880 hours of supervised experience as an alcohol and drug counselor, either as a student or as a staff member;

(3) current certification as an alcohol and drug counselor or alcohol and drug counselor reciprocal, through the evaluation process established by the International Certification and Reciprocity Consortium Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse, Inc.;

(4) completion of a bachelor’s degree including 480 hours of alcohol and drug counseling education from an accredited school or educational program and 880 hours of alcohol and drug counseling practicum; or

(5) employment in a program formerly licensed under Minnesota Rules, parts 9530.5000 to 9530.6400, and successful completion of 6,000 hours of supervised work experience in a licensed program as an alcohol and drug counselor prior to January 1, 2005.

(c) An alcohol and drug counselor may not provide a treatment service that requires professional licensure unless the individual possesses the necessary license. For the purposes of enforcing this section, the commissioner has the authority to monitor a service provider’s compliance with the relevant standards of the service provider’s profession and may issue licensing actions against the license holder according to sections 245A.05, 245A.06, and 245A.07, based on the commissioner’s determination of noncompliance.

Subd. 6.Paraprofessionals.

A paraprofessional must have knowledge of client rights, according to section 148F.165, and staff member responsibilities. A paraprofessional may not admit, transfer, or discharge a client but may be responsible for the delivery of treatment service according to section 245G.10, subdivision 3.

Subd. 7.Treatment coordination provider qualifications.

(a) Treatment coordination must be provided by qualified staff. An individual is qualified to provide treatment coordination if the individual meets the qualifications of an alcohol and drug counselor under subdivision 5 or if the individual:

(1) is skilled in the process of identifying and assessing a wide range of client needs;

(2) is knowledgeable about local community resources and how to use those resources for the benefit of the client;

(3) has successfully completed 30 hours of classroom instruction on treatment coordination for an individual with substance use disorder;

(4) has either:

(i) a bachelor’s degree in one of the behavioral sciences or related fields; or

(ii) current certification as an alcohol and drug counselor, level I, by the Upper Midwest Indian Council on Addictive Disorders; and

(5) has at least 2,000 hours of supervised experience working with individuals with substance use disorder.

(b) A treatment coordinator must receive at least one hour of supervision regarding individual service delivery from an alcohol and drug counselor, or a mental health professional who has substance use treatment and assessments within the scope of their practice, on a monthly basis.

Subd. 8.Recovery peer qualifications.

A recovery peer must:

(1) meet the qualifications in section 245I.04, subdivision 18; and

(2) provide services according to the scope of practice established in section 245I.04, subdivision 19, under the supervision of an alcohol and drug counselor.

[See Note.]

Subd. 9.Volunteers.

A volunteer may provide treatment service when the volunteer is supervised and can be seen or heard by a staff member meeting the criteria in subdivision 4 or 5, but may not practice alcohol and drug counseling unless qualified under subdivision 5.

Subd. 10.Student interns and former students.

(a) A qualified staff member must supervise and be responsible for a treatment service performed by a student intern and must review and sign each assessment, individual treatment plan, and treatment plan review prepared by a student intern.

(b) An alcohol and drug counselor must supervise and be responsible for a treatment service performed by a former student and must review and sign each assessment, individual treatment plan, and treatment plan review prepared by the former student.

(c) A student intern or former student must receive the orientation and training required in section 245G.13, subdivisions 1, clause (7), and 2. No more than 50 percent of the treatment staff may be students, former students, or licensing candidates with time documented to be directly related to the provision of treatment services for which the staff are authorized.

Subd. 11.Individuals with temporary permit.

An individual with a temporary permit from the Board of Behavioral Health and Therapy may provide substance use disorder treatment service according to this subdivision if they meet the requirements of either paragraph (a) or (b).

(a) An individual with a temporary permit must be supervised by a licensed alcohol and drug counselor assigned by the license holder. The supervising licensed alcohol and drug counselor must document the amount and type of supervision provided at least on a weekly basis. The supervision must relate to the clinical practice.

(b) An individual with a temporary permit must be supervised by a clinical supervisor approved by the Board of Behavioral Health and Therapy. The supervision must be documented and meet the requirements of section 148F.04, subdivision 4.