BILL ANALYSIS
SB 788
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Date of Hearing: August 19, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Kevin De Leon, Chair
SB 788 (Wyland) - As Amended: August 17, 2009
Policy Committee: Business &
Professions Vote: 11-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill establishes the licensing and regulation of Licensed
Professional Clinical Counselors (LPCC) under the jurisdiction
of the Board of Behavioral Services (BBS) within the Department
of Consumer Affairs (DCA). Specifically, this bill:
1)Establishes the LPCC scope of practice to include the
remediation of cognitive, mental, and emotional problems and
psychosocial and environmental problems. Specifies what is not
included in the scope of practice, including
non-clinical/non-mental health interventions.
2)Establishes requirements for licensure for applicants who
begin or complete studies by specified dates and provides BBS
the authority to make a final determination whether specified
degrees meet licensure requirements. Establishes a
grandfathering mechanism for current professionals meeting
specified requirements.
3)Establishes a fee schedule ranging from up to $100 to up to
$250 for licensure, licensure renewal, and examinations for
LPCC applicants and interns.
4)Requires BBS to develop an examination that addresses
differences between LPCC, Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT),
and Licensed Clinical Social Work (LCSW) scope of practice.
Adds two members to the BBS.
FISCAL EFFECT
Annual fee-supported special fund workload to BBS of $1.2
SB 788
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million to $1.5 million to administer exams, licensure, criminal
background checks, and additional oversight in establishing and
maintaining a new licensure category and scope of practice.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . This bill is sponsored by the California Coalition
for Counselor Licensure which includes members from nine state
and national counseling organizations. This bill establishes
LPCC licensure to increase the depth, breadth, and number of
licensed mental health professionals in California. Currently,
California is the only state to not license LPCC. There are
more than 110,000 LPCC nationally, but none in California. The
lack of licensure prevents professionals in other states from
moving to and practicing in California and prevents
professionals here from fully participating in various
disaster aid efforts such as following hurricane Katrina or
participating in federally funded programs to support
returning veterans and their families.
2)Recent Amendments include addressing client centered advocacy
to conform to SB 33 (Correa), Chapter 26, Statutes of 2009,
reorganizing a section to recognize intern training hours, a
date change, and additional corrections of grammatical errors
or typos.
3)Background . LPCC are professional counselors with at least a
Master's level education and they are trained to work with
individuals, families, and groups in treating mental,
behavioral and emotional problems with sometimes with a
broader focus than MFT or LCSW. For example, LPCC in other
states may more likely attend to needs in supporting
individuals facing unemployment, grief, or trauma recovery
than MFT or LCSW. According to California-specific workforce
research, the state faces a shortage of 13,000 to 20,000
mental health professionals by 2010. This bill helps expand
the number of avenues to licensure for mental health
professionals.
4)Related Legislation . AB 1486 (Calderon) in 2008 and AB 894 (La
Suer) in 2005 were both similar to this bill. AB 1486 was held
on the Suspense File of the Senate Appropriations Committee
and AB 894 was held on the Suspense File of this committee.
According to the sponsors of SB 788, a number issues of
concern have been addressed in SB 788 to remove opposition.
SB 788
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Analysis Prepared by : Mary Ader / APPR. / (916) 319-2081