BILL ANALYSIS
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|Hearing Date:June 28, 2010 |Bill No:AB |
| |2167 |
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SENATE COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS
AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Senator Gloria Negrete McLeod, Chair
Bill No: AB 2167Author:Nava
As Amended:April 14, 2010 Fiscal:Yes
SUBJECT: Clinical social workers: examination requirements.
SUMMARY: Establishes new examination requirements for applicants
seeking licensure as clinical social workers (LCSWs).
Existing law:
1)Licenses and regulates clinical social workers (LCSWs) by the Board
of Behavioral Sciences (BBS) within the Department of Consumer
Affairs. The Board also licenses and regulates marriage and family
therapists (MFTs), licensed educational psychologists (LEPs), and
beginning January 1, 2012, professional clinical counselors (LPCCs).
2)Requires the BBS to issue a LCSW license to each applicant meeting
specified requirements who passes Board-administered written or oral
examination or both examinations, as specified.
3)Requires the BBS to establish fee amounts at or below specified
maximum amounts, including:
a) $150 for the standard written examination; and,
b) $100 for the clinical vignette written examination.
This bill:
1)Revises and recasts the requirements for LCSW licensure to repeal
(sunset) on January 1, 2014, the current examination requirements.
2)Requires the BBS, beginning January 1, 2014, to issue a LCSW license
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to each qualified applicant, as specified, who passes the following
examinations:
a) The Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Clinical Level
Exam administered by the ASWB; and,
b) A California jurisprudence and ethics examination incorporated
or developed and administered by the BBS.
3)Revises and recasts the examination fees above to instead authorize
the BBS to set a fee of up to $100 for the California jurisprudence
and ethics examination, commencing January 1, 2014, and requires the
fees to be based on the actual cost of developing and administering
the examination.
4)Provides that items #1), #2) , and #3), above shall become operative
on January 1, 2014, only if the BBS makes the determination by
regulation, by December 1, 2013, that the ASWB Clinical Level Exam
meets the prevailing standards for validation and use of the
licensing and certification tests in California.
5)Requires BBS to immediately post that determination on the main page
of its Internet Website.
6)Makes technical and conforming changes..
FISCAL EFFECT: The Assembly Appropriations Committee analysis, dated
May 5, 2010, indicates that costs associated with this legislation
would be minor and absorbable within existing resources.
COMMENTS:
1. Purpose. This bill is sponsored by National Association of Social
Workers (Sponsor) in order to replace the current state licensure
examinations administered by the BBS in order to license LCSWs with
the national examination plus a state jurisprudence and ethics
examination. The Sponsor further states that the bill does not
alter any other requirement for licensure.
The Sponsor states that currently, California administers a state exam
for licensure of LCSWs, and applicants are not allowed to take the
national examination.
The Sponsor further indicates that California is the only state that
does not allow masters level social workers to take the national
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exam, administered by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB),
for licensure. This, according to the Sponsor, effectively makes
California LCSWs ineligible for the federal National Health Service
Corps (NHSC) Loan Repayment program.
2. Background. The BBS was a member of ASWB from October 1991 through
March 1999, and required the ASWB Clinical level examination, along
with a state-constructed oral examination for licensure of clinical
social workers. However, around 1998, the BBS and the Department
of Consumer Affairs, Office of Examination Resources (OER) began
having concerns regarding the ASWB examination. Based on these
concerns, and the results of a new California occupational
analysis, the BBS determined that there was a need for a
state-constructed written examination. The new California written
examination was administered beginning in late spring 1999.
In 2008, the BBS formed the Examination Program Review Committee
(EPRC) to engage in a review of the BBS's examination programs for
all licensing types. The BBS also hired a consultant to perform an
audit of the ASWB LCSW exam plan. BBS staff has been working with
ASWB to address areas of concern identified by the audit.
3. Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB). ASWB is an association
of boards that regulate social work. ASWB develops and maintains
the social work licensing examinations used across the country and
in several Canadian provinces, and is a central resource for
information on the legal regulation of social work. ASWB indicates
that it has recently completed an analysis of the practice of
social work in the United States and Canada. This research has led
to a revision of examinations beginning January 1, 2011. The
revisions will not significantly change the content of the
examinations, but will result in reorganization of the test
content.
4. National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Loan Repayment Program. The
Sponsors have indicated that the since California does not accept
the national exam administered by the ASWB for LCSW licensure,
California LCSWs are effectively ineligible for the federal NHSC
Loan Repayment program.
The NHSC, through scholarship and loan repayment programs, helps
Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) in the U.S. get needed
medical, dental, and mental health providers to meet health care
needs. Since 1972, more than 30,000 clinicians have served in the
Corps, expanding access to health care services and serving people
who live in urban and rural areas where health care is scarce.
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The NHSC Loan Repayment Program offers primary care physicians, family
nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives, physician
assistants, dentists, dental hygienists, and certain mental health
clinicians $50,000 to repay student loans in exchange for 2 years
serving in a community-based site in a high-need HPSA. The loan
repayment program recruits both clinicians just completing training
and experienced professionals to meet the immediate need for care
throughout the Nation.
5. Arguments in Support. In sponsoring the bill, the National
Association of Social Workers - California Chapter , writes, "There
is a great need, especially in these bad economic times, for social
workers to work in underserved areas, which contain ethnically
diverse communities with access to few, if any, qualified mental
health professionals. The NHSC Loan Repayment Program can
reimburse qualified social workers up to $50,000 for their
education costs. This goes a long way toward recruiting talented
students to the profession."
The Sponsor states that it is working with the BBS to make sure the
national examination is up to California standards. "The ASWB has
already made changes to the exam based on comments from the BBS,
and the BBS will have the final say on whether or not the national
exam meets the prevailing standards. California is the only state
that does not use the national exam for licensure. Therefore,
social workers from California are the only ones that are shut out
of the loan repayment program. All other 49 states are confident
that the national exam reflects clinical social work as practiced
in their state.
The Board of Behavioral Sciences supports the bill, indicating that
because the bill allows the BBS to determine when and if the ASWB
has addressed the BBS's concerns regarding the examination, the BBS
is able to support this bill and plans to continue working with
ASWB to create an exam that is acceptable to both parties.
Aging Service of California (ASC) and American Federation of State,
County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) writes that the state has a
need for 19,000 to 25,000 social workers. Since the state's social
work programs graduate only 4,500 students annually, there is a
shortfall of roughly 20,000 trained social workers.
ASC states that in response to this growing need, this bill would
allow LCSWs to take the national exam, and require the BBS to
license lCSWs under the new model after January 1, 2014.
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Additionally, by returning to the national examination, California
could see a reduction in state expenditures by about $500,000.
California Mental Health Directors Association (CMHDA) indicates that
currently, it is difficult for California's mental health agencies,
including county mental health departments, to recruit out-of-state
social workers. By recognizing the national social work exam in
California, CMHDA believes that the bill has the potential to
broaden the pool of social work professionals willing to accept
employment in California and help county mental health departments
better meet their vast need for additional professionals in the
mental health workforce.
SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION:
Support:
National Association of Social Workers (Sponsor)
Aging Services of California
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
(AFSCME)
Board of Behavioral Sciences
California Mental Health Directors Association
County Welfare Directors Association of California
Opposition:
None received as of June 21, 2010
Consultant:G. V. Ayers