A substance abuse professional only provides specialized evaluations for certain federal workers. It is important to make sure you are not just seeing a regular alcohol and drug counselor to do your assessment.
Who Would have to get a DOT SAP Evaluation?
The federal department of transportation (DOT) oversees several transportation industries to protect the public from impaired workers who could pose serious risks to the general public. These include airline, railroad, transit, truck drivers, pipeline supply and the coast guard. The federal government operates alcohol and drug testing for regulated workers for pre-employment, random, post-accident, and reasonable suspicion to ensure workers are fit and not impaired on the job. Any DOT regulated worker that tests positive for alcohol or drugs is immediately removed from work and are required to get a chemical assessment from a certified Substance Abuse Professional (SAP). The SAP is tasked with protecting the public and ensuring that regulated workers are getting the proper education or treatment to reduce, or ideally eliminate, the risk of future violation or risks of accidents and injuries.
What is Involved in a DOT SAP Evaluation?
Employees meet with the substance abuse professional who will do a thorough alcohol and drug history as well as a mental health evaluation intended to look for abuse or dependence issues as well as mental health issues that may be fueling substance abuse. The SAP will complete an objective test to screen for issues as well as solicit additional information from the employee’s family and friends to ensure the accuracy of the information provided by the employee. Either some type of treatment or education will be recommended, and the employee must complete all recommendations and provide proof of completion. The SAP will conduct a follow-up meeting with the employee to verify completion and discuss what was learned to ensure recommendations were impactful and helpful. The SAP will write reports for the employer and let them know when the employee is ready to go for their return-to-duty drug or alcohol test. The SAP will also write up a follow-up testing schedule for the employer. The DOT requires these employees to be subject to a lot of additional drug and/or alcohol tests in addition to being in the random pool.
If you are DOT regulated employee who failed a test and is in need of a DOT SAP evaluation, feel free to contact IPC so you can schedule an appointment with Dr. Chris Anderson, Psy.D., LP who can help you complete the return to duty process. Please call us now at 763-416-4167, or request an appointment on our website: WWW.IPC-MN.COM so we can sit down with you and complete a thorough assessment and help you develop a plan of action that will work for you. Life is too short to be unhappy. Find the peace of mind you deserve.
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