• Has acknowledged the professional status of alcoholism and drug abuse counselors.
• Has been recognized by government bodies, treatment agencies, and professional associations on the national, state and local levels as Indiana's "voice" of Certified Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors.
• Has consistently sought to uphold and improve the quality of services provided to individuals with alcohol and drug abuse problems through the fostering of professionalism and ethical conduct on the part of its members.
• Provided assurance to treatment programs that ICAADA certified alcoholism and/or drug abuse counselors have demonstrated an acceptable level of competence.
• Has provided a mechanism for individuals to become certified as alcohol and drug abuse counselors.

Other credentialing organizations actively advocate a position that all addiction counselors should hold a Masters degree or be supervised by someone with a Masters degree. For more than 30 years ICAADA has promoted access to the profession for capable persons who are recovering from alcoholism and/or drug abuse, as well as those who have earned academic credentials.

ICAADA is an association of individual and sustaining members who are concerned with the prevention and treatment of addictions and with the certification of individual professional counselors.

ICAADA is endorsed by the Indiana Division of Mental Health and Addiction, as an official certification body for Alcoholism and Drug Counselors in Indiana.

ICAADA is a charter member of the International Certification & Reciprocity Consortium/Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse, or IC&RC. IC&RC includes 73 agencies representing more than 35,000 certified professionals internationally. Persons certified by ICAADA at a senior level are assured of certification in 44 states, the District of Columbia, 2 U.S. territories, and 11 global jurisdictions. IC&RC certification boards also include those affiliated with the U.S. Army, U.S Air Force, U.S. Navy and Marines, the Indian Health Services, the World Federation of Therapeutic Communities, and the U.S. Administrative Office of the Courts.