Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What qualifications do I need to become an SRS Substance Abuse Evaluator?
A: To qualify as a Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) provider for SRS, you must meet one of the following licensing requirements:
- Licensed Physician (Doctor of Medicine or Osteopathy)
- Licensed or qualified Social Worker
- Licensed or qualified Marriage and Family Therapist
- Licensed or qualified Psychologist
- Licensed or qualified Employee Assistance Professional
- Drug and Alcohol Counselor qualified by the National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors Certification Commission (NAADAC), the International Certification Reciprocity Consortium/Alcohol and other Drug Abuse (ICRC), or the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC)
A: To qualify as a provider for SRS, you must meet one of the following licensing requirements:
- Licensed Physician
- Licensed or qualified Social Worker
- Licensed or qualified Psychologist
- Licensed or qualified Employee Assistance Professional
- Drug and Alcohol Counselor qualified by the National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors Certification Commission (NAADAC) or the International Certification Reciprocity Consortium/Alcohol and other Drug Abuse (ICRC)
A: To qualify as a substance abuse specialist provider for SRS, you must meet one of the following licensing requirements:
- Licensed Physician (Doctor of Medicine or Osteopathy)
- Licensed or qualified Psychologist
- Licensed or qualified Social Worker
- Licensed or qualified Marriage and Family Therapist
- Licensed or qualified Employee Assistance Professional
- Licensed or qualified Drug and Alcohol Counselor
- Licensed Professional Counselor
Q: What is meant by “SAP’s own letterhead?”
A: By “SAP’s own letterhead” we mean the letterhead the SAP uses in his or her daily counseling practice.
- If the SAP is in private practice, the SAP should use the letterhead of his or her practice.
- If the SAP works as an employee assistance professional for an organization, the SAP should use the employee assistance program’s letterhead.
- If the SAP works for a community mental health service, the SAP should use the community mental health service’s letterhead.
- The Department wants to avoid a SAP network provider requiring the SAP to use the provider’s letterhead rather than that of the SAP.
- The Department wants to avoid another service agent contracting the SAP’s services to require the contracted SAP to use the service agent’s letterhead.
- The Department wants to avoid any appearance that anyone changed the SAP’s recommendations or that the SAP’s report failed to go directly from the SAP to the employer.
- The Department does not want the SAP to use a “fill-in-the-blanks” / “check the-appropriate-boxes” type of pre-printed form, including any that are issued to the SAP by a SAP network provider, to which the network or SAP would affix the SAP’s letterhead information.
- The SAP must generate and complete all information on the SAP report.
Q: How many referrals can I expect?
A: The number of referrals is dependent upon the quantity of intakes from your area. It varies greatly depending on geographic location and testing schedules.
Q: What is the term of the affiliate agreement?
A: Affiliate Agreements will automatically renew annually unless SRS receives in writing a request to terminate. You are not bound to accept any referrals and can withdraw at any time.
Q: Do you assist with case management?
Q: As a SAP, can I continue to conduct telehealth evaluations?
40.291 At the SAP’s discretion, this assessment or evaluation may be performed face-to-face in-person or remotely. If a SAP is not prohibited from using technology within the parameters of the SAP’s State-issued license or other credential(s), a remote evaluation must be conducted in accordance with the following criteria:
(i) The technology must permit real-time audio and visual interaction between the SAP and the employee; and
(ii) The quality of the technology (e.g., speed of the internet connection and clarity of the video display) must be sufficient to allow the SAP to gather all the visual and audible information the SAP would otherwise gather in an in-person face-to-face interaction, while providing security to protect the confidentiality of the communications at the level expected by industry standards for remote substance abuse evaluations.
Q: What are a substance abuse professional’s (SAP’s) responsibilities for reporting information to the Clearinghouse?
Per § 382.705(d), the SAP must report the following:
Date of initial SAP assessment. This must be reported by the close of the business day following the assessment.
Date the SAP determined the driver demonstrated successful compliance with education and treatment requirements and is eligible for return-to-duty (RTD) testing. This must be reported by the close of the business day following the determination.
Q: As a SAP, can I provide the testing plan to an employee upon request?
No. The DOT prohibits a SAP from providing the testing plan to an employee.
40.307 you must not provide to the employee a copy of their drug and/or alcohol follow-up testing schedule prescribed by the SAP. No employer, SAP, or other service agent will indicate to the employee what the frequency or duration of the employee’s follow-up testing schedule will be. The SAP can require follow-up testing for either or both drugs and alcohol for a drug-related or an alcohol-related violation.
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