BILL ANALYSIS Ó
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1917|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
CONSENT
Bill No: AB 1917
Author: Obernolte (R)
Introduced:2/11/16
Vote: 21
SENATE BUS., PROF. & ECON. DEV. COMMITTEE: 8-0, 6/6/16
AYES: Hill, Bates, Block, Gaines, Galgiani, Hernandez,
Mendoza, Wieckowski
NO VOTE RECORDED: Jackson
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 76-0, 4/14/16 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT: Mental health care professionals: qualifications
SOURCE: Board of Behavioral Sciences
DIGEST: This bill 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 (BBS) may accept
education from an out-of-state school, as specified.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Establishes the BBS within the Department of Consumers (DCA)
AB 1917
Page 2
to license and regulate LMFTs and LPCCs. (Business and
Professions Code (BPC) §§ 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 MFTs, or corresponding
authority of any state or country under specified conditions.
(BPC § 4980.72 (b)(1))
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
AB 1917
Page 3
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 §§ 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)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
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:
AB 1917
Page 4
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)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:
(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
AB 1917
Page 5
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
AB 1917
Page 6
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.
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
AB 1917
Page 7
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:
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.
AB 1917
Page 8
Background
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.
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."
The BBS licenses and regulates LMFTs, LPCCs, licensed clinical
AB 1917
Page 9
social workers, and licensed educational psychologists. As of
2015, there were 36,600 LMFTs and 930 LPCCs.
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
relationships, and the use, application, and integration of
specified coursework and training.
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.
AB 1917
Page 10
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified6/20/16)
Board of Behavioral Sciences (source)
American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, California
Division
California Association for Licensed Professional Clinical
Counselors
OPPOSITION: (Verified6/20/16)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: BBS writes in support of this 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 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."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 76-0, 4/14/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker,
AB 1917
Page 11
Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke,
Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley,
Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth
Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto,
Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper,
Roger Hernández, Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey,
Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty,
Medina, Mullin, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Quirk,
Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark
Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams,
Wood, Rendon
NO VOTE RECORDED: Irwin, Levine, Melendez, Nazarian
Prepared by:Sarah Huchel / B., P. & E.D. / (916) 651-4104
6/22/16 15:14:59
**** END ****