Winter Survey Reveals Members' Opinions Print
Monday, 26 March 2007 19:00

State Support and Communication are Priorities for Respondents

For Immediate Release - Alexandria, VA

Donovan Kuehn
703-741-7686, ext. 125
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NAADAC members want its leadership to focus its energy on communication and supporting state organizations, according to the first 2007 NAADAC member survey.

NAADAC members were split on what the priorities of 2007 should be. Over one in three (33.9%) felt that providing support for NAADAC's state organizations should be the main focus for the year, while almost one in four (23.6%) chose improving communication with individual members.

One area that wasn't seen as a priority was focusing on international growth, which was selected by just 4.5% of the survey respondents.

Almost 15% of respondents selected the "other" choice. Those who chose this selection wanted NAADAC to cover various issues including resolving discussions with the International Credentialing & Reciprocity Consortium (IC&RC) on credentials, strengthening NAADAC's certification process, focusing on advocacy issues and promoting education and research.

The second question of the survey asked why people want to join a national association. The most popular selection, with exactly a third of all selections (33.3%), was "all of the above" ? a combination of gaining access to information on clinical and professional issues; for a strong national voice and to receive nation discounts on products. That was followed by the desire to gain access to cutting edge information on clinical and professional issues (with 26.4%) and to have a strong national voice in Washington, D.C. (with 21%).

NAADAC members were also asked how many professional membership organizations they belonged to. Over half (50.5%) of respondents belonged to three or less national professional organizations, while 37% of respondents only belonged to NAADAC. Almost one in eight, (12.4%) of those who responded belonged to four or more organizations.

When asked what national membership organizations respondents belong to, participants selected 194 different organizations. The top five responses were:

1. National Association of Social Workers (NASW)
2. American Counseling Association (ACA)
3. American Psychological Association (APA)
4. American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT)
5. California Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors (CAADAC)

The final question of the winter survey centered on international exchange programs.

When asked if NAADAC should participate in international exchange program, the majority of respondents selected the option "I don't know enough about international exchange programs to answer this question" with 54%.

Of those who felt they did know about international exchange programs, 77.7% of respondents felt that NAADAC should participate in international programs while 18% opposed participation and 4.3% selected "other."

NAADAC has begun collecting responses for its spring 2007 survey. To participate visit the survey page or fill out a hard copy of the survey available in the NAADAC News.

Full Results of the Survey (conducted December 2006 - March, 2007)

1. Which should be the NAADAC Leadership's main focus for 2007?

  • State support 33.9%
  • Improve communication with individual members 24.1%
  • All of the above 23.6%
  • Other (listed below) 13.8%
  • International growth 4.5%

2. I am a member of a national association because I want:

  • All of the above 33.3%
  • To gain access to cutting edge information on clinical and professional issues 26.4%
  • For a strong national voice in Washington, D.C. 21%
  • To receive discounts on national certification, publications, events, etc. 11%
  • Other (listed below) 8.2%

3. I belong to ________ (#) of professional national MEMBERSHIP organizations (such as NASW, APA, ANA, AMA, etc) NOTE: This does NOT include certifying agencies, only MEMBERSHIP organizations.

  • 1 to 3 other Professional National Organizations 50.5%
  • Only NAADAC 37%
  • 4 to 6 other Professional National Organizations 9.6%
  • 7 or more other Professional National Organizations 2.8%

4. What other national membership organizations (if any) do you belong to?

Top five responses:

  • National Association of Social Workers (NASW)
  • American Counseling Association
  • American Psychological Association (APA)
  • American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT)
  • California Association of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselor (CAADAC)

5. Should NAADAC participate in international exchange programs?

  • I don't know enough about international exchange programs to answer this question. 54%
  • Of those who did know enough about international exchange programs:
  • Yes 77.7%
  • No 18.0%
  • Other 4.3%