A SAP, or Substance Abuse Professional, is a person who can help transportation employees who violate regulations. An SAP’s goal is to help the employee get back on the right track to help them get their jobs back. Here are some quick facts that you need to know about SAPs with a substance abuse professional certification and where you can find one.
Who Has to Go Through the DOT Return to Sap Process?
If an employee violates the federal DOT alcohol and drug testing rules, such as refusing to take a test or getting a positive test result, they are required to go through it. People who are expected to do so will include candidates or employees who are under DOT regulated safety-sensitivity rules like pipeline, maritime, trucking, public transit, railroad, and aviation industries.
How Does an SAP Help?
To start the return to duty process, you will be removed from your job for safety purposes. Afterward, you will get an SAP, such as American Substance Abuse Professionals, from an agency that offers DOT SAP services. From there, they will start the process with education and/or treatment.
Throughout the plan given by the SAP, the SAP will track the progress of the employee. The SAP can send a report of compliance to the employer if the SAP decides that the treatment worked. A future or current employer can ask for a return-to-duty test where they will observe the specimen collection. Of course, the result of the test must be negative for the employer to want to re-hire the employee.
However, the employee will get a new violation if they get a positive result. You will have to redo the assessment and get a new treatment recommendation to restart the process. If the SAP decides that you were not compliant or did not appropriately participate with the given treatment plan, a report of non-compliance will be sent to the employer by the SAP and the employee will have to continue the program.
Employers will be happy to know that help from an SAP is not a one-time thing. Aftercare is given to each employee that violates the rules to make sure they stay on track and are able to safely continue their job. American Substance Abuse Professionals have an Aftercare Compliance and Management team that offers support groups, follow-up testing, etc.
How Can I Find an SAP?
It would always be best to make sure that you are choosing reliable SAP Referral Services to make sure that an employee efficiently makes it through treatment and can safely return to work. A quick search online will tell you about reputable agencies, such as American Substance Abuse Professionals. You can see a list of their services and how you can avail of them on their website.
With the Return to Duty process and help of certified SAPs, you will be able to help an employee get back on track to living a clean life. It is good to give everyone a second shot at becoming a better person with this process to help them safely return to work and lead a fruitful life.
The American Substance Abuse Professionals offers a quality network of care through its SAP Referral Services. Interested to join our network? Contact us today!
