BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON
BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Senator Jerry Hill, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 1917 Hearing Date: June 6,
2016
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|Author: |Obernolte |
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|Version: |February 11, 2016 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant|Sarah Huchel |
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Subject: Mental health care professionals: qualifications
SUMMARY: Revises educational requirements for specified licensed
marriage and family therapist (LMFT) license and registration
applicants and licensed professional clinical counselor (LPCC)
license and registration applicants and clarifies that the Board
of Behavioral Sciences may accept education from an out of state
school, as specified.
Existing law:
1) Establishes the BBS within the Department of Consumers (DCA)
to license and regulate LMFTs and LPCCs. (Business and
Professions Code (BPC) Sections 4980 et seq. and 4999.10 et
seq.)
2)States that a person engages in the practice of marriage and
family therapy when he or she performs, offers to perform, or
holds himself or herself out as able to perform this service
for remuneration in any form, including donations. (BPC §
4980.10)
3)Authorizes the BBS to issue a LMFT license to a person who
holds a valid license in good standing issued by a board of
marriage counselor examiners, board of marriage and family
therapists, or corresponding authority of any state or country
under specified conditions. (BPC § 4980.72 (b)(1))
AB 1917 (Obernolte) Page 2
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4)Authorizes the BBS to accept education gained outside of
California for purposes of satisfying LMFT licensure or
registration requirements if the education is substantially
equivalent, as specified. (BPC § 4980.74)
5)Allows an out-of-state LMFT applicant, who has been licensed
for less than two years in clinical practice, and who does not
meet specified practicum requirements, to remediate it by
obtaining 150 hours of face-to-face counseling and an
additional 75 hours of either face-to-face counseling or
client-centered advocacy, or a combination of both, as
specified. (BPC § 4980.79)
6)Authorizes the BBS to issue a license to a LPCC applicant who,
at the time of submitting an application for licensure, holds
a valid license as a professional clinical counselor, or other
counseling license, that allows the applicant to independently
provide clinical mental health services, if specified
conditions are met.
(BPC § 4999.60)
7)Authorizes the BBS to accept education gained while residing
outside of California, for purposes of satisfying licensure or
registration requirements for LPCC applicants who do not hold
a license outside of California, if the education is
substantially equivalent to in-state education requirements,
as specified. (BPC Sections 4999.61 and 4999.62)
8)Specifies the degree requirements for licensure as an LPCC to
contain no less than 48 graduate semester or 72 graduate
quarter units of instruction and specifies the core content
areas. (BPC § 4999.32)
This bill:
1)For LMFTs:
a) For those applicants not holding a license by
reciprocity and apply for licensure after January 1, 2016:
i) States that the BBS shall accept education "from an
out of state school," rather than education based on the
applicant's residency outside of California, for purposes
of satisfying MFT licensure or registration requirements
AB 1917 (Obernolte) Page 3
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if the education is substantially equivalent, as
specified.
ii) Specifies criteria for 150 hours of face-to-face
counseling to include experience counseling individuals,
couples, families, or groups, and specifies the criteria
for the additional 75 hours to also include experience
counseling individuals, couples, families, or groups, or
a combination of experience counseling individuals,
couples, families, or groups.
b) For purposes of obtaining a license by reciprocity:
i) Specifies additional criteria for substantially
equivalent education from an accredited institution by
stating that a minimum of 150 hours of face-to-face
counseling shall also include experience counseling
individuals, couples, families, or groups, and the
additional 75 hours shall also include experience
counseling individuals, couples, families, or groups, or
experience counseling individuals, couples, families, or
groups.
ii) States that practicum remediation for an
out-of-state applicant who obtained a degree from an
accredited institution and has been licensed for less
than two years shall include 150 hours of face-to-face
experience counseling individuals, couples, families, or
groups, and an additional 75 hours of either face-to-face
experience counseling individuals, couples, families, or
groups, or experience counseling individuals, couples,
families, or groups.
2)For LPCCs:
a) Specifies that applicants for examination eligibility
who completed study between August 1, 2012 and December 31,
2018 must have:
i) Supervised practicum or field study experience that
involves direct client contact, as specified.
ii) Experience in the following:
AB 1917 (Obernolte) Page 4
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(1) Assessment, appraisal, and testing of
individuals, including basic concepts of standardized
and non-standardized testing and other assessment
techniques, norm-referenced and criterion-referenced
assessment, statistical concepts, social and cultural
factors related to assessment and evaluation of
individuals and groups, and ethical strategies for
selecting, administering, and interpreting assessment
instruments and techniques in counseling; and,
(2) Principles of the diagnostic process,
including differential diagnosis, and the use of
current diagnostic tools, such as the current edition
of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, the impact
of co-occurring substance use disorders or medical
psychological disorders, established diagnostic
criteria for mental or emotional disorders, and the
treatment modalities and placement criteria within the
continuum of care.
b) Specifies that applicants for examination eligibility
who began study after August 1, 2012, but did not complete
by December 31, 2018; applicants for examination
eligibility or registration who begin graduate study before
August 1, 2012, and who graduate from a degree program that
meets the specified requirements; and applicants for
examination eligibility or registration who begin graduate
study on
or after August 1, 2012 must have specified experience that
involves direct client contact and must have experience in:
i) Assessment, appraisal, and testing of individuals,
including basic concepts of standardized and
non-standardized testing and other assessment techniques,
norm-referenced and criterion-referenced assessment,
statistical concepts, social and cultural factors related
to assessment and evaluation of individuals and groups,
and ethical strategies for selecting, administering, and
interpreting assessment instruments and techniques in
counseling; and,
ii) Principles of the diagnostic process, including
differential diagnosis, and the use of current diagnostic
tools, such as the current edition of the Diagnostic and
AB 1917 (Obernolte) Page 5
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Statistical Manual, the impact of co-occurring substance
use disorders or medical psychological disorders,
established diagnostic criteria for mental or emotional
disorders, and the treatment modalities and placement
criteria within the continuum of care.
c) For applicants who apply for examination eligibility or
registration on or after January 1, 2016, and who do not
hold an out of state license, requires:
i) The BBS to accept education "from an out of state
school," rather than education based on the applicant's
residency outside of California, if the education is
substantially equivalent, as specified.
ii) Face to face supervised clinical experience
counseling individuals, families, or groups.
iii) That the applicant have experience in:
(1) Assessment, appraisal, and testing of
individuals, including basic concepts of standardized
and non-standardized testing and other assessment
techniques, norm-referenced and criterion-referenced
assessment, statistical concepts, social and cultural
factors related to assessment and evaluation of
individuals and groups, and ethical strategies for
selecting, administering, and interpreting assessment
instruments and techniques in counseling; and,
(2) Principles of the diagnostic process,
including differential diagnosis, and the use of
current diagnostic tools, such as the current edition
of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, the impact
of co-occurring substance use disorders or medical
psychological disorders, established diagnostic
criteria for mental or emotional disorders, and the
treatment modalities and placement criteria within the
continuum of care.
d) For applicants who apply for examination eligibility or
registration on or after January 1, 2016, and who do hold
an out of state license, requires:
AB 1917 (Obernolte) Page 6
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i) Face to face supervised clinical experience
counseling individuals, families, or groups.
ii) That the applicant have experience in:
(1) Assessment, appraisal, and testing of
individuals, including basic concepts of standardized
and non-standardized testing and other assessment
techniques, norm-referenced and criterion-referenced
assessment, statistical concepts, social and cultural
factors related to assessment and evaluation of
individuals and groups, and ethical strategies for
selecting, administering, and interpreting assessment
instruments and techniques in counseling; and,
(2) Principles of the diagnostic process,
including differential diagnosis, and the use of
current diagnostic tools, such as the current edition
of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, the impact
of co-occurring substance use disorders or medical
psychological disorders, established diagnostic
criteria for mental or emotional disorders, and the
treatment modalities and placement criteria within the
continuum of care.
3)Makes technical changes.
FISCAL
EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee
analysis dated April 6, 2016, this bill will have minor and
absorbable costs to the BBS (Behavioral Science Examiners Fund).
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose. This bill is sponsored by the California Board of
Behavioral Sciences . According to the Author's office, this
bill is necessary because, "Current law requires an applicant
seeking licensure as an LPCC to possess a degree that is
counseling or psychotherapy in content and that contains
specified coursework. BBS receives applications where the
applicant's degree had some counseling or psychotherapy
content. However, it is clear that the degree was not
intended to lead to licensure as a clinical counselor.
AB 1917 (Obernolte) Page 7
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Examples of these types of degrees include degrees in human
relations or rehabilitation counseling.
"Furthermore, current LMFT and LPCC law permits BBS to accept
education gained outside of California if it is substantially
equivalent to BBS's in-state education requirements. The law
refers to out-of-state education as 'education gained while
residing outside of California.' This definition is
problematic, because some applicants who reside in California
are obtaining degrees online through programs based in other
states. However, because such an applicant resides in
California, the degree is considered an in-state degree.
"For in-state degrees, remediation of missing coursework is
not allowed because these degrees are required to integrate
certain California-specific curriculum throughout the degree
program. All schools in California design their curriculum
to qualify their students for California licensure, so
needing to make up coursework is not a problem for a student
who obtains a degree from a school located in California.
However, if the school is located out-of-state and the degree
is obtained online, the degree was most likely not designed
to meet California-specific curriculum. Therefore, the
applicant will need to remediate certain coursework - which
is not permitted if the law defines out-of-state education as
based on where the applicant resides."
2.Background. The BBS licenses and regulates LMFTs, LPCCs,
licensed clinical social workers, and licensed educational
psychologists. As of 2015, there were 36,600 LMFTs and 930
LPCCs.
a) LMFT. Current law defines the practice of marriage and
family therapy to mean services performed with individuals,
couples, or groups wherein interpersonal relationships are
examined for the purpose of achieving more adequate,
satisfying, and productive marriage and family adjustments.
This practice includes relationship and pre-marriage
counseling. The application of marriage and family therapy
principles and methods include, but is not limited to, the
use of applied psychotherapeutic techniques to enable
individuals to mature and grow within marriage and the
family, the provision of explanations and interpretations
of the psychosexual and psychosocial aspects of
AB 1917 (Obernolte) Page 8
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relationships, and the use, application, and integration of
specified coursework and training.
b) LPCC. "Professional clinical counseling" means the
application of counseling interventions and
psychotherapeutic techniques to identify and remediate
cognitive, mental, and emotional issues, including personal
growth, adjustment to disability, crisis intervention, and
psychosocial and environmental problems, and the use,
application, and integration of specified coursework and
training. The practice of professional clinical counseling
includes conducting assessments for the purpose of
establishing counseling goals and objectives to empower
individuals to deal adequately with life situations, reduce
stress, experience growth, change behavior, and make
well-informed, rational decisions.
This bill tightens coursework and practicum requirements for
certain LMFT and LPCC applicants to ensure standardization of
education and experience across applicants and amends the
definition of education gained out-of-state to relate to the
location of the school rather than on the residence of the
applicant.
3.Prior Related Legislation. AB 428 (Eggman), Chapter 379,
Statutes of 2014, authorized certain coursework requirements
for licensure as a LMFT and licensed clinical social worker to
be completed through continuing education instead of formal
classroom training, as specified.
AB 451 (Eggman), Chapter 551, Statutes of 2014, extended the
current effective date for new education, examination, and
eligibility requirements for out-of-state applicants for LMFT
and LPCC, from January 1, 2014, to January 1, 2016, and
extended the operation and repeal date for current
examination, eligibility, and curriculum requirements for
out-of-state applicants from January 1, 2014, to January 1,
2016.
4.Arguments in Support. BBS writes in support of the bill,
stating that "these amendments will work to assist with
license portability for applicants with degrees from
out-of-state schools, while upholding public protection by
ensuring that an applicant's degree was carefully designed to
AB 1917 (Obernolte) Page 9
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prepare an applicant for his or her chosen licensed
profession."
The American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy,
California Division writes, "Under current law, a California
resident who completes their education through an
out-of-state program (as commonly happens with online
programs) will be held to the degree requirements for
in-state programs. Such applicants then may not be able to
qualify for California licensure, as the programs are not
geared toward California's in-state requirements. By basing
degree requirements on the location of the degree program,
and not the residency of the student, you are instituting a
more modern and sensible standard."
SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION:
Support:
The Board of Behavioral Sciences (Sponsor)
American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, California
Division
California Association for Licensed Professional Clinical
Counselors
Opposition: None on file as of May 31, 2015.
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