Certification of alcohol and other drug programs.

Assembly Member Davies proposes extending evidence-based treatment standards to all certified alcohol and drug treatment programs in California, building upon requirements already in place for licensed facilities. The legislation would require the Department of Health Care Services to adopt the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) treatment criteria, or an equivalent evidence-based standard, as the minimum standard of care for programs seeking state certification.

The bill's findings point to the Drug Medi-Cal Organized Delivery System as a model, noting its use of ASAM criteria to establish a continuum of care for substance use disorder treatment. Under the proposed requirements, certified programs would need to maintain these standards in their level of care delivery. The Department would have authority to issue implementation guidance through bulletins and similar instructions while developing formal regulations, which must be adopted by January 2026.

This measure aligns certification requirements with existing standards for licensed facilities, creating uniform evidence-based treatment criteria across California's substance use disorder programs. The Department of Health Care Services would oversee implementation through its existing certification processes, with programs required to demonstrate compliance with ASAM or equivalent standards to maintain their certification status.