In order to ensure quality assurance of alcohol and other drug programs and expand the availability of funding resources, the department shall implement a program certification procedure for alcohol and other drug treatment recovery services. The department, after consultation with the County Behavioral Health Directors Association of California, and other interested organizations and individuals, shall develop standards and regulations for the alcohol and other drug treatment recovery services describing the minimal level of service quality required of the service providers to qualify for and obtain state certification. The standards shall be excluded from the rulemaking requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code). Compliance with these standards shall be voluntary on the part of programs. For the purposes of Section 2626.2 of the Unemployment Insurance Code, certification shall be equivalent to program review.
(Amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 455, Sec. 3. (SB 804) Effective January 1, 2016.)