the current President of the OCA, Jason McGlothlin, has been elected Chair-Elect of the ACA's Midwest Region. This Region represents professional counselors who live and practice in the following states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.  Jason has held many positions with the OCA and worked with the ACA Midwest Region in the past so this next step will be an easy step for him to take. The OCA congratulates Jason and wishes him well as we all support him in this next volunteer role.

The OCA Spring Conference (virtual) is set for April 22-23 and we have 20+ CE qualifying presentations over those two days covering general, ethics, and supervision topics. You can REGISTER HERE with students paying $75 and professional members paying $125. Register today and join your colleagues and future counselors online!

HERE is the Spring Conference announcement (to be updated as we develop content). The event will be virtual on Thursday and Friday April 22-23. Watch here for the Call for Proposals coming soon!

If you are interested in applying to get the Covid Vaccine and are in Central Ohio, here is a link to the application. Counselors are not in the top two tiers of those who will be offered the vaccine unless you work in a group home, hospital, psychiatric facility, etc. As we get more details on the vaccine and it's availability for counselors, we will post it here and on our FaceBook page.

Note that our Insured Student Membership comes with a full year of internship or practicum liability insurance. The basic student membership does NOT include insurance, be sure to choose (or instruct your students to choose) the INSURED STUDENT MEMBERSHIP option if they have an internship or practicum coming up.  CLICK HERE to go to our membership page or CLICK HERE for a handout to post or distribute at your school.

Telehealth in the School Environment: Meeting Student Needs amid Covid-19:

· Date and time: Friday, October 16, 2020, from 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM

· Event qualifies for 1.5 hours of continuing education (CE) credit for behavioral health practitioners

· So that you can get further details on the webinar, here is a link to the webinar information page: Information Page

The OCA will keep this section of the website updated through this crisis

NOTE: Counselors and MH Counselors are considered essential businesses, you are exempt from shut down but should use Telehealth or distance counseling to maintain safe distance.

• May 21 Urgent Health Advisory
• Our Telebehavioral Health Task Force issued these Telebehavioral Health Guidelines for the OCA
• Emergency Telehealth Rules - Summary of Updated Guidance  **NEW 4/14/20**
• When will the NCE exams or testing reopen? Answer from CSWMFT Board: the decision regarding testing is largely beyond the Board's control. We do not own any of the exams that we use, thus we have to follow the guidance of the exam owners. NBCC has not yet announced when testing will begin again as their decision also involves test center owner PearsonVue. We'll be exploring options with NBCC regarding testing, but I am doubtful any options will be available that do not involve a testing center given concerns about exam security. **NEW 4/7/20**
• The OCSWMFT Board Enacted Emergency Rule 4757-5-13 on Saturday **NEW 4/4/20**
  
• Ohio Governor's Order - Telehealth for Counselors, Social Workers, and MFTs **NEW 4/3/20**
• American Psychological Association Pandemic Resources 
• Ohio Dept of Medicaid FAQs  
• Medicaid and ODMHAS Seminars April 1&2 
• Department of Medicaid and Telehealth
• Ohio Department of Medicaid Website
• Ohio Department of Insurance - Medicare Resources
• Stay At Home Order from the Ohio Department of Health
• Stay At Home Order FAQ
• ListServ Messages - Compilation
• LINK to HPSO Website
• LINK to CPH Insurance Website
• CWSMFT Links and Info
• NASW (Social Workers) news and links
• Dewine Update on Covid 19
• CSWMFT Board Teletherapy Update
• COVID-19 Assistance to Individuals and Families

Go to the Awards Page to find the nomination form for the 2020 OCA Awards.  Nominate your counselor hero, mentor, educator, or student and then watch them be presented (virtually) their award during the online/virtual AOCC in late October.

The OSUDP (Ohio Substance Abuse Disorders Professionals) interest group has published their first interview/profile of one of their leadership. Read this profile on Tanya Middleton and hope this is one of many they offer our membership!

TANYA MIDDLETON

Join this 3 hour Supervision presentation at 9am on Friday June 19 as OCA President Martina Moore offers insight on providing supervision during the Covid-19 quarantine.

CLICK HERE for more info and to register