State-by-State Variation in the Credentialing, Training, Supervision, and Medicaid Reimbursement of the High-School, Associates, and Bachelor’s-Level Addiction Counselor Workforce

Addiction counselors are a critical workforce tasked with addressing SUD. To do so, they require clear training pathways, regulations, and payment mechanisms. Findings highlight wide variability within the addiction counselor workforce at the HS/BA level, including inconsistencies in minimum educational requirements and training hours, as well as an overall lack of uniformity across states. Clearly articulating addiction counselor career pathways is necessary to simplify and enhance states' SUD workforce. Identifying Medicaid and other reimbursement mechanisms is an important way to further expand how the SUD workforce is deployed to meet increased addiction-related needs.