This issue has been raised (and struck down) again and again in Virginia. No evidence exists that counselors trained in CACREP programs are superior in any way to counselors trained in programs accredited by MPCAC (recognized by CHEA as accrediting science-based counseling programs) or programs that remain unaccredited but have nonetheless been graduating license-eligible counselors for many decades. Many of these programs actively choose not to pursue CACREP accreditation due to values differences or because of the discriminatory hiring practices for counselor educators only as core faculty in CACREP programs (yes, the 50% core faculty rule exists, but almost no program can afford to double its faculty to satisfy this inane requirement, which coincidentally works against a multidisciplinary approach to training and mental health care). None of CACREP's attempts to legitimize itself as the sole authority on counselor education are based in empirical fact and none are actually working on behalf of the public, which is the role of the regulatory board. At a time when mental health needs are at an all-time high, this attempt to prioritize CACREP graduates in practice (based on not a shred of evidence) is not only tone deaf, but dangerous for the mental health of Virginians who desperately need care from duly trained, licensed and experienced therapists, many of whom did not and will not graduate from CACREP programs.