BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 632|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 632
Author: Emmerson (R)
Amended: 6/6/12
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
SENATE FLOOR : 38-0, 1/26/12
AYES: Alquist, Anderson, Berryhill, Blakeslee, Calderon,
Cannella, Corbett, Correa, De León, DeSaulnier, Dutton,
Emmerson, Evans, Fuller, Gaines, Hancock, Harman,
Hernandez, Huff, Kehoe, La Malfa, Leno, Lieu, Liu,
Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Pavley, Price, Rubio,
Simitian, Steinberg, Strickland, Vargas, Walters, Wolk,
Wright, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner, Wyland
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Not available
SUBJECT : Marriage and family therapists
SOURCE : Board of Behavioral Science
DIGEST : This bill clarifies which marriage and family
therapist (MFT) trainees are allowed to counsel clients
outside of a practicum course, and clarifies a limited
exemption for trainees who are not allowed to counsel
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clients outside of a practicum course.
Assembly Amendments state legislative intent that trainees
who begin graduate studies before August 1, 2012, and
complete that study on or before December 31, 2018, shall
be allowed to gain experience and counsel clients as of
January 1, 2012, and that this bill, in that respect, is to
operate retroactively, and make other clarifying changes.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Licenses and regulates the practice of MFTs, licensed
educational psychologists, licensed professional
clinical counselors and licensed clinical social workers
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
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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.
This bill:
1. Specifies that trainees who begin graduate study before
August 1, 2012, and complete that study on or before
December 31, 2018, may gain hours of experience and
counsel clients outside of the required practicum.
2. Specifies that the following trainees may gain hours of
experience outside of the required practicum but must be
enrolled in a practicum course to counsel clients:
A. Applicants for licensure or registration who
begin graduate study before August 1, 2012, and do
not complete that study on or before December 31,
2018.
B. Applicants for licensure or registration who
begin graduate study before August 1, 2012, and who
graduate from a degree program that meets
additional educational requirements, as specified.
C. Applicants for licensure or registration who
begin graduate study on or after August 1, 2012.
3. Specifies that the trainees identified in #2 above, 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 by enrollment in a practicum course and
immediately followed by enrollment in a practicum course
or completion of the degree program.
4. Deletes an irrelevant implementation date.
5. States legislative intent that trainees identified in #1
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above, shall be allowed to gain experience and counsel
clients as of January 1, 2012, and that this bill, in
that respect, is to operate retroactively.
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, requires 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 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.
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FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/14/12)
Board of Behavioral Sciences (source)
American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy,
California Division
Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council
California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists
MFT Consortium of Orange County
Pacific Asian Counseling Services
OPPOSITION : (Verified 6/14/12)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees, AFL-CIO
(prior version of the bill)
JJA:do 6/14/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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