Last fall, I was working out of state when a public hearing was being held by the Department of Health and Welfare to establish rules for who could provide services to substance-abuse clients. As past president of Idaho Mental Health Counselors Association, I was very distressed by the department’s lack of understanding of the training of licensed clinical professional counselors and the department’s refusal to accept input from professional associations.

I called Rep. Tom Trail for help on a Tuesday. The meeting was Wednesday morning in Lewiston. Rep. Trail told me he already had two meetings scheduled for Wednesday morning, but he thought he could make it in time to the hearing.

I sent an e-mail summary of my concerns for our counselors who are capable of serving this population and for the citizens who would be denied their service by this change of rules. Tom was good for his promise. He attended the meeting, expressed concern, filed a letter of objection with the department and contacted the director of Health and Welfare. He stayed with the process right through the rule proposal to the Legislature.

In the end, the rules were modified to allow counselors to provide service. Now that’s what I call constituent service.

Diana Pals

Licensed clinical professional counselor

Moscow, Idaho