BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                      



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                   SB 632|
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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  SB 632
          Author:   Emmerson (R)
          Amended:  1/23/12 
          Vote:     27 - Urgency

           
           SENATE BUS., PROF. & ECON. DEVELOP. COMMITTEE  :  8-0, 1/9/12
          AYES:  Price, Emmerson, Corbett, Correa, Hernandez, Negrete 
            McLeod, Vargas, Walters
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Wyland


           SUBJECT  :    Marriage and family therapists

           SOURCE  :     Board of Behavioral Science


           DIGEST  :    This bill clarifies that marriage and family 
          therapist trainees who begin graduate study on or after 
          August 1, 2012, may counsel clients while not enrolled in a 
          practicum course if the period of lapsed enrollment is less 
          than 90 calendar days, and if that period is immediately 
          preceded and immediately followed by enrollment in a 
          practicum course.  Allows trainees who have begun graduate 
          studies before August 1, 2012, to gain hours of experience 
          and counsel clients outside of the required practicum.

           Senate Floor Amendments  1/23/12 clarify that trainees who 
          have begun graduate study before August 1, 2102 may gain 
          hours of experience and counsel clients outside of the 
          required practicum, make clarifying and conforming changes, 
          and add an urgency clause to the bill.

                                                           CONTINUED





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           ANALYSIS  :    

          Existing law:

          1. Licenses and regulates the practice of marriage and 
             family therapists (MFTs), licensed educational 
             psychologists (LEPs), licensed professional clinical 
             counselors (LPCCs) and licensed clinical social workers 
             (LCSWs) by the Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS) within 
             the Department of Consumer Affairs.

          2. Establishes education requirements for MFT licensure, 
             including a requirement for a practicum completed by an 
             MFT intern and trainee that involves certain types and 
             hours of experience, as specified.

          3. Defines certain terms for purposes of the licensing law, 
             including:

             A.    "Intern" to mean an unlicensed person registered 
                with BBS who has earned a masters or doctors degree 
                qualifying for licensure.

             B.    "Trainee" to mean an unlicensed person currently 
                enrolled in a masters or doctors degree program, as 
                specified, that is designed to qualify him or her 
                for licensure as an MFT.

          4. Authorizes MFT interns and trainees to perform 
             counseling activities and services in certain work 
             settings, provided that the activities and services are 
             part of the trainee's supervised course of study.

          5. Authorizes an MFT trainee who begins graduate study on 
             or after August 1, 2012 to gain hours of experience 
             outside the required practicum, but specifies that a 
             trainee must be enrolled in a practicum course to 
             counsel clients. 

          6. Further provides that trainees may counsel clients while 
             not enrolled in a practicum course if the period of 
             lapsed enrollment is less than 90 days and if that 
             period is immediately preceded and immediately followed 
             by enrollment in a practicum course. 







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          This bill:

          1. Provides that trainees who begin graduate study on or 
             after August 1, 2012, may counsel clients while not 
             enrolled in a practicum course if the period of lapsed 
             enrollment is less than 90 calendar days, and if that 
             period is immediately preceded and immediately followed 
             by enrollment in a practicum course.

          2. Provides trainees who have begun graduate study before 
             August 1, 2012, may gain hours of experience and counsel 
             clients outside of the required practicum.

          3. Makes an updating change by deleting an irrelevant 
             implementation date.

           Comments
           
          This bill is sponsored by the BBS as a clean-up bill to SB 
          363 (Emmerson), Chapter 384, Statutes of 2011.  Currently, 
          under Section 4980.42 (c), beginning in January 1, 2012, 
          all marriage and family therapist trainees must be enrolled 
          in a practicum course to counsel clients if the period of 
          lapse enrollment is less than 90 days.  However, according 
          to the Author, the intent of SB 363 was to apply this 90 
          day exemption period to the practicum requirement only to 
          those trainees subject to Section 4980.36, which 
          specifically refers to trainees who begin graduate study on 
          or after August 1, 2012.  Therefore, SB 363 will correct 
          this oversight and only apply this practicum requirement to 
          trainees who begin graduate study on or after August 1, 
          2012.

           Background
           
          Over the last several years, the BBS had sponsored several 
          bills to revise and update its licensing laws.  Revisions 
          made in the MFT law by SB 33 (Correa), Chapter 26, Statutes 
          of 2009, require MFT trainees to be enrolled in a practicum 
          course while counseling clients.  In response to the number 
          of schools who voiced concern on how the practicum course 
          requirement would operate during intersession and summer 
          break when students may not be able to enroll in a 







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          practicum course, the BBS sponsored SB 363 last year to 
          allow a trainee to continue counseling clients while not 
          enrolled in a practicum if that lapse in enrollment is less 
          than 90 days and immediately preceded and followed by 
          enrollment in a practicum course.

          According to the BBS, this bill is necessary to correct an 
          oversight in SB 363 and apply the 90-day exemption period 
          to the practicum requirement to those marriage and family 
          therapist trainees who begin graduate study on or after 
          August 1, 2012 in keeping with the original intent of the 
          bill.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes   
          Local:  Yes

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  1/23/12)

          Board of Behavioral Sciences (source)
          American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy 

           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    In sponsoring the bill, the BBS 
          writes that many current MFT graduate school programs may 
          not be able to provide the practicum courses for 
          individuals before August 1, 2012, and, therefore, may not 
          be able to implement the provisions of SB 33 allowing 
          students to continue counseling clients and providing 
          services to students enrolled before August 2012.  The BBS, 
          therefore, believes that the clarifications made by this 
          bill are vital for MFT trainees.


          JJA:do  1/25/12   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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