BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 956 Page 1 Date of Hearing: May 4, 2011 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Felipe Fuentes, Chair AB 956 (Roger Hernández) - As Introduced: February 18, 2011 Policy Committee: Business and Professions Vote: 9-0 Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: Yes Reimbursable: No SUMMARY This bill increases the specificity of information that a marriage and family therapist registered intern (registered intern) or a marriage and family therapist trainee (trainee), prior to performing professional services, is required to provide each client or patient. It requires any advertisement by or on behalf of an intern or trainee to include specified information. Specifically, this bill : 1)Specifies that registered interns and trainees inform each client or patient prior to performing any professional services, that he or she is a registered intern, and provide the name of his or her employer. 2)Requires any advertisement by or on behalf of a registered intern or trainee to include at a minimum that he or she is a registered intern, the name of his or her employer, and that he or she is supervised by a licensed person. It also prohibits the use of the abbreviation "MFTI" in an advertisement unless the title "marriage and family therapist registered intern" appears in the advertisement. FISCAL EFFECT Negligible state fiscal impact. This bill simply increases the specificity of current disclosure requirements. COMMENTS Rationale . According to the author's office, misleading and deceptive online advertisements offering mental health services AB 956 Page 2 are becoming an emerging trend. Certain advertisements appear to offer services performed by licensed professionals, but are instead carried out by interns. These advertisements can mislead consumers to believe interns are medical professionals by using the acronym MFTI, instead of explicitly stating the full title of the intern. This bill seeks to protect the public from unknowingly receiving inferior care from an unlicensed individual. Background . Current law regulates the licensure and registration of marriage and family therapists and interns by the Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS), and requires registered interns and trainees to disclose to patients that they are unlicensed and under the supervision of a licensed mental health professional. Analysis Prepared by : Lisa Murawski / APPR. / (916) 319-2081