Substance Abuse Professional (SAP): Find One in Your Area
If you are a DOT regulated employee and work in a safety sensitive position, in the public transit, trucking, aviation, maritime, railroad or pipeline industries and have violated a DOT drug and alcohol testing regulation, you are required to go through the SAP process. DOT mandated employees must see a DOT qualified Substance Abuse Professional (SAP). DOT Regulations require your employer or a service agent of the employer to provide a list of DOT qualified SAPs. You will then have to call various Substance Abuse Professionals in your area and try to make an appointment. Sometimes this can be hard, as many times you will have to leave messages for the providers and wait for them to return your call. Finding a Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) doesn’t have to be so hard.
What is a Substance Abuse Professional?
The US Department of Transportation defines a SAP as “A person who evaluates employees who have violated a DOT drug and alcohol program regulation and makes recommendations concerning education, treatment, follow-up testing, and aftercare.”
A Substance Abuse Professional makes a decision to recommend or not recommend an applicant or employee be put into a safety sensitive position. This means giving recommending that someone who has violated a DOT drug and/or alcohol program regulation is ready to be “behind the steering wheel of a school bus, in the cockpit of a plane, at the helm of an oil tanker, at the throttle of a train, in the engineer compartment of a subway car, or at the emergency control valves of a natural gas pipeline.”
A SAP is required to have specialized training, credentialing and continuing education. The SAP must also follow specific rules and regulations regarding recommended education and/or treatment facilities.
Are You Looking for a Substance Abuse Professional?
Whether you are just beginning the SAP process or are ready to give up looking for a SAP, SAP Referral Services can help. When you enroll in our FastTrack Enrollment program, we can typically get you scheduled with a SAP in your area within 72 hours. We understand how important it is for you to get the SAP process started.
Our FastTrack Enrollment program includes scheduling of the initial evaluation, 2 face-to-face substance abuse evaluations with a DOT qualified SAP (if applicable), recommendations for education or treatment (as per the requirement of the DOT), 2 SAP reports (initial and follow-up), recommendations for submitting to a return-to-duty test. Signing up for our FastTrack Enrollment is easy. With just 2 simple steps you can enroll. For more information on enrollment for our FastTrack Enrollment program, click here.
source:
Substance Abuse Professionals (SAP): SAP Guidelines