ACA gains another champion in its fight against the VA

ACA is happy to announce that through the legislative advocacy of our North Carolina members, we have another federal lawmaker stepping up to the plate for counselors! Recently, Congressman Walter Jones submitted a letter to the Secretary of Veteran's Affairs, asking that LPCs be more integrated into the VA's mental health workforce.

Specifically, the Congressman asks the VA to do the following:

• Provide paid training programs for counselors.
• Work with ACA to recruit counselors to fill vacant positions in the VA.
• Issue a notice to all VA facilities reminding them that they are empowered to hire counselors.
• Ask that the VA adopt grandfathering positions to allow counselors that did not attend a CACREP accredited school to work in the VA.

You can read the entire letter here.

We are grateful for Congressman Jones' efforts to help counselors find employment in the VA and for is continued commitment to our nation's veterans. Congressman Jones is a past recipient of the ACA Federal Legislative Service Award for his work supporting the counseling profession, and we're grateful that he's continuing to work on our behalf. If you live in the Congressman's district, please take a moment to thank Rep. Jones for joining us in this fight.