BILL ANALYSIS Ó ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 632| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ 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 SB 632 Page 2 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. SB 632 Page 3 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 SB 632 Page 4 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 **** END ****