The motivation behind this "CACREP-Only" movement is not an effort to "improve" counseling standards, it is a political power-grab. Look at the details!! For decades, an appropriate Masters Degree and passing the National Certified Counselor (NCC) | NBCC or the National Clinical Mental Health Counselor Exam (NCMHCE) has sufficed as worthiness proof for licensure. Currently Virginia requires education and experience requirements similar to those in Maryland. If you believe that these requirements have ensured counselors are competent, then the CACREP-only argument is frivolous.  It is simply another impediment for those who wish to serve and those who require our service.

 Additionally,  the attached Economic Impact Analysis, which concludes “Given the significant costs associated with requiring CACREP accreditation, the uneven and uncertain benefits of doing so and the lack of empirical evidence that this proposal is necessary to protect the health and safety of Virginians, the costs of this proposed change appear to outweigh the benefits” (p. 14)  http://www.townhall.virginia.gov/l/ViewStage.cfm?StageID=7390