Section 31. Substance Abuse Education Standards
Effective August 31, 2021
(a) Except as provided in subsection (h), this section applies to all substance abuse education courses that a court alcohol and drug program requires a client to complete, regardless of whether the court program offers the substance abuse education course directly to the client, by contract, or by referral.
(b) A program must have written policies and procedures describing:
(1) the different substance abuse education courses it provides to clients; and
(2) the procedure for determining placement of a client into a course pursuant to Section 22(d).
(c) Except as provided in subsection (d), for each substance abuse education course a program offers, the program must do each the following:
(1) have a written curriculum that includes:
(A) a course syllabus that provides detailed course information;
(B) course lesson plans or lesson outlines;
(C) a list of supporting materials including handouts, videos, class exercises, individual or group activities, and other materials as appropriate;
(D) general references; and
(E) research references;
(2) submit the curriculum to the Court Alcohol and Drug Program Advisory Committee (CADPAC) for evaluation and approval;* and
(3) maintain a copy of CADPAC’s approval with the course curriculum.
(d) CADPAC shall provide programs with a list of approved substance abuse education courses. If a program intends to offer a course from this list, the program is not required to follow the steps required under subsection (c). Instead, the program must notify CADPAC of the approved curriculum it will offer, and CADPAC will provide the program with a copy of the appropriate approval.
(e) A program shall keep CADPAC and the Indiana Office of Court Services informed of updates to or changes to the program’s approved education course curriculum.
(1) At least 60 days prior to the effective date of implementation, the program shall submit a request to CADPAC to approve any updates or changes to the program’s curriculum that include, but are not limited to, a change in the intended audience for the curriculum or a change in the educational content of the curriculum as referenced in subsections A and G of the education curricula checklists.
(2) The program shall report to the Indiana Office of Court Services the education course curriculum used by the program on an annual basis in conjunction with the reporting required under Section 27(d) of these rules. The program shall submit a copy of the program’s approved education course curriculum to the Indiana Office of Court Services in conjunction with the certification procedures in Sections 7 and 8 of these rules.
(f) Whenever CADPAC denies a program’s request for approval of a substance abuse education course curriculum under subsection (c), CADPAC must provide a notice to the program that includes each of the following:
(1) a brief statement explaining the reasons for the denial;
(2) a statement that the decision to deny approval of the curriculum will become final unless the program submits written objections following the procedure outlined in Section 10; and
(3) a statement informing the program that it may request a hearing on the issues as described in Sections 10 and 14.
(g) The following three substance abuse education courses are authorized for court alcohol and drug program clients:
(1) Substance Abuse Information. A course that provides clients with at least eight hours of information on substance abuse issues that is documented by research.
(2) Basic Substance Abuse Education. A course that includes at least ten hours of cognitive-based substance abuse education that:
(A) is documented by research; and
(B) contains a substance abuse self-assessment module.
(3) Advanced Substance Abuse Education.* A course that includes at least 20 hours of cognitive-based substance abuse education that:
(A) is documented by research;
(B) contains a substance abuse self-assessment module; and
(C) is designed primarily for substance abusers with some symptoms indicating a progression toward dependence.
(h) The program may employ program staff or contractors to teach substance abuse education courses provided the individual meets the requirements for a court substance abuse instructor. The program director must approve the instructor’s qualifications. A court substance abuse instructor must meet each of the following minimum qualifications:
(1) substance abuse expertise demonstrated by any of the following:
(A) designation as a professional staff member under Section 30;
(B) certification by the Indiana Counselors Association of Alcohol and Drug Abuse (ICAADA); or
(C) other substance abuse qualifications, including personal experience or certification by another professional organization, that the program director considers to be acceptable;
(2) criminal justice expertise, which includes knowledge of and experience dealing with courts and the criminal justice system, and
(3) training and experience as a teacher or instructor.
(i) Subsections (c), (d), (e), (f), and (g) do not apply when a program director refers a client or approves a referral of a client to a substance abuse education course that is located:
(1) in a county that does not have a certified court alcohol and drug program; or
(2) out-of-state.*
Commentary on Sec. 31(c).
The Court Alcohol and Drug Program Advisory Committee has adopted a checklist for IOCS to use to determine whether a curriculum meets the standards established by the rules. For courses that are required to be documented by research pursuant to subsection (f), subsection (c)(1)(E) does not require outcome-based research performed by a program to gauge the effectiveness of the curriculum used by the program, although outcome- based research would be a best practice. The research references required by subsection (c)(1)(E) include journal articles, case studies, and additional references that provide qualitative or quantitative data relevant to the subject matter of the curriculum.
Commentary on Section 31(f).
Based upon the assessment, substance abuse information may be appropriate for certain court alcohol and drug program clients. However, substance abuse education is different in that it examines and challenges the thought process of offenders and concentrates on behavior modification, including identifying the actions the client would need to take to prevent recidivating. Substance abuse education also provides the client with an opportunity for a substance abuse self-assessment. The 20 hour substance abuse education course is specifically structured and designed for those clients who have been identified, through the assessment process as needing a course of instruction that is designed primarily for substance abusers with some symptoms indicating a progression toward dependence.
Cognitive-based education approaches in the substance abuse field are characterized by the following:
1. Collaboration between instructor and clients to build trust.
2. Active client participation.
3. Self-guided discovery and empirical testing of beliefs.
4. Highly structured and focused content.
5. Concrete problem-solving techniques for alcohol or drug problems.