While the American Medical Society declared that alcoholism and drug addiction was a disease in 1955, the treatment field was primarily comprised of individuals in recovery who had a desire to help others.  Today, professionals in social welfare, criminal justice, physical and mental health care, and other disciplines are acquiring the training and licensure to work more effectively with individuals experiencing a substance use disorder.

The Kansas Association of Addiction Professionals (KAAP) in its evolution has mirrored this movement.  In the early 1970’s, the counselors in Kansas working in alcoholism treatment became organized and formed an association.  At the same time, an association of counselors working with individuals with a drug addiction was formed.  In Kansas, these two organizations came together in the 1980’s with the merger of the Kansas Alcoholism Counselors Association (KACA) with the Kansas Association of Drug Abuse Counselors (KADAC) to form the Kansas Alcoholism and Drug Addiction Counselors Association (KADACA).  In March 2000, KADACA was reorganized as KAAP.   In 2011, KAAP played an instrumental role in the passage of the Addiction Counselor Licensure Act in Kansas.   This legislation phased out counselor certification and, along with it, KAAP’s contract with the state of Kansas to perform this function.  As a result, KAAP reinvented itself again into a provider advocacy group with a focus on policy and legislation in the field of alcohol and drug prevention and treatment.  At the same time, KAAP adopted the following mission statement: “Serving members with advocacy and support to achieve excellence in addiction prevention and treatment.”