Chemical Dependency
Training Consortium
of the Northwest
P.O. Box 847
Vancouver, WA98666
(503) 805-0989
(360) 577-5073 FAX
Board Members:
Megan Hill, BA, CDP, NCAC II, CADC II
Chairperson
Columbia River Mental Health
Helene Vandeberg, BS, CDP
Co-Chair
Columbia River Mental Health
Lisa Westlund, LMHC, LPC, CADC III
Training Coordinator – Treasurer
Chelcie Kolaski, CDPSecretary
Drug Abuse Prevention Centers
Olga Parker, PhD, CADC III
Member-at-Large
Modus Vivendi LLC
G. Scott Sims, BS, CDP
Member-at-Large
Columbia Treatment Services
Elizabeth Angulo, CDP
Member-at-Large
Lifeline Connections
Miriam Hammer, MS, CDP
Member-at-Large
Columbia River Mental Health
Vacant
Member-at-Large
Vacant
Member-at-Large
Tatyana Bondarchuk
Student Representative
PortlandStateUniversity
Report from the Chair, April 8, 2011
It has been another successful year for the Chemical Dependence Training Consortium of the Northwest. We are in our second year of operating as our own non-profit without the guidance and leadership which was provided by the Clark College Foundation for much of our existence. I would like to take a moment and share with the new agencies and representatives some of the CDTC history.
In 1988 as a newly minted CD counselor I attended my first CDTC training. I first heard about the CDTC while attending a CDPWS conference in Lake Chelan where Rebecca Preston was being honored for founding this innovative organization. CD was still a fairly young field. When I attended that conference it had only been about 5 years since the state of Washington had recognized that we were treating other addictions along with alcoholism, and not too many years prior to that when the state had licensed its very first alcohol counselor, Roy Preston. For those early practitioners staying current with new information about treating addiction was a costly and time consuming task. Continuing education was available only at the yearly CDPWS conference or through colleges offering Alcoholism Studies in the Seattle area. The cost and time constraints were enormous for the small agencies in Southwest Washington, and few counselors could afford this on their own. Rebecca stepped into this void. She recognized the enormous amount of knowledge held by her fellow professionals, many of whom were teaching the Clark College alcoholism classes (as they were known at that time). Sharing their dedication she developed the CDTC, as a consortium. Finding difficulty in trying to navigate the complicated world of non-profit regulations and tax laws she sought the assistance of local higher education which eventually resulted in the Clark College Foundation taking the CDTC under their umbrella.
In December 2008, Clark College facilitated its last committee meeting with us. They cited the tough economic times and let us know they would make records available to us. It was at that time a couple of committee members resigned and a few agencies withdrew from the Consortium. Those of us committee members who remained decided to try to keep the CDTC going. We contacted member agencies, but received few responses. We had no place to hold trainings or to conduct committee meetings. A committee member offered space at a Portland agency where she worked to hold committee meetings. Our long term liaison with Clark College had left Clark a few months before and her replacement had only a basic understanding of the CDTC. The records that were
available to us turned out to be an account balance and a record of CEUs awarded. No business records, no meeting place, no training facility and a decrease in membership and committee members, we were on our own. A bank account was opened with the remaining funds. The CDTC was registered as a nonprofit in the state of Washington. We sought and were awarded NAADAC approval of our trainings. We resumed providing trainings in May 2009. We set up web-based registration, advertising and training announcements. Yet there were times our intended purpose drifted slightly. We had to hire trainers, and at times committee meetings became focused on which trainer might be hired, or what friend may give us deal on the price of training, losing sight of our original purpose of sharing the wealth - a consortium - of knowledge that exists within our membership. We held our committee meetings in Portland and one of the trainings was held at PCC. Soon there was an effort to move more of the trainings to Portland. Due to the rush hour traffic the committee meetings were being held later in the day. Some committee members found this difficult as it took about 2-2 1/2 to 4 hours out of the middle of their business day. Some member agencies from Clark County and north were thinking of withdrawing from the Consortium because of this.
In May 2010 the committee meetings returned to Vancouver. Those agencies that were contemplating leaving the Consortium reaffirmed their memberships, but this transition back to Clark County was not without problems. During the past year much valuable committee time was taken up by a minority of members from who were determined that the committee meetings should return to Portland. This was only recently resolved when we discovered that the Revised Code of Washington requires the committee meetings to take place in the same locale in which the nonprofit is registered.
We also strived to return to our original purpose of providing low-cost, effective trainings for the citizens of Clark County through our consortium: the sharing of our considerable knowledge on treating addiction disorders. Our member agencies provided all of our trainings this past year, eliminating the need to hire outside trainers. And they were very good trainings based on the evaluations we received: the average rating for these being 4.5 on a 5 point scale.
We also contracted for a new Training Coordinator/Treasurer. What she discovered was that in the committee's struggle to keep the CDTC going decisions and motions were made that were not documented. Committee members memories of these arrangements have differed leaving holes in our records that prevent us from complying with federal tax law, state corporation laws, and limit our ability to maintain the intended purposes of the CDTC. Our Training Coordinator/Treasurer has been unflagging in her efforts at attempting to reconstruct this record so we can be in compliance with state and federal law. She is providing meticulous records of all our business and has developed a top-notch bookkeeping system. We have a new professional looking training application packet. It has been updated with new criteria regarding the level of training. It is being distributed via e-mail, USPS, and is downloadable on our website, and may be returned through any of those means. We have signed a new agreement with Southwest Washington Medical Center to be able to use this facility at no cost on an ongoing basis as a space for providing trainings. Another big change is that agencies are no longer required to provide refreshments for the trainings. The CDTC has contracted with the Memorial Cafe for this and the CDTC covers the cost. All in all the CDTC is moving in forward as a strong provider of Chemical Dependency training for the region of Clark County and beyond.
I am grateful for having had this opportunity to share in Rebecca Preston's vision.
Sincerely,
Megan Hill
CDTC Chair 2010 - 2011