BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2213
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 8, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND CONSUMER
PROTECTION
Susan A. Bonilla, Chair
AB 2213 (Eggman) - As Amended: March 28, 2014
SUBJECT : Behavioral health care licensees.
SUMMARY : Revises the current education and curriculum
requirements for licensure as a Marriage and Family Therapist
(MFT) and Professional Clinical Counselor (PCC) for out-of-state
applicants who are applying for licensure on or after January 1,
2016. Specifically, this bill affects the following license
categories, as specified :
For persons licensed outside of California and apply for
licensure as a MFT on or after January 1, 2016:
1)Permits the Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS) to accept time
actively licensed as a MFT towards licensure at a rate of 100
hours per month, up to a maximum of 1,200 hours if the if the
applicant has less than 3,000 hours of qualifying supervised
experience and the applicant's degree meets specified
practicum requirements without exemption and remediation.
For persons who do not hold a license outside of California and
apply for licensure or registration as a MFT on or after January
1, 2016:
2)Revises the current number of units required for an applicant
educated outside of California as follows:
a) For an applicant who obtained his or her degree within a
specified timeline, the degree must contain no less than 60
semester units or 90 quarter units of instruction, and up
to 12 semester or 18 quarter units of instruction may be
remediated if missing from the degree and may occur while
the applicant is registered as an intern;
b) For an applicant who obtained his or her degree within a
specified timeframe, the degree must contain no less than
48 semester units or 72 quarter units of instruction; and,
c) An additional 75 hours of either face-to-face counseling
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or client-centered advocacy, or a combination thereof.
3)Revises the coursework requirements for California law and
ethics as follows:
a) An applicant who completed a course in law and
professional ethics for MFTs, as specified, that did not
contain instruction in California law and ethics must
complete an 18-hour course, as specified, prior to
registering as an intern; and,
b) An applicant, who has not completed a course in law and
professional ethics for MFTs, as specified, must complete
coursework which contains content specific to California
law and ethics and completes the coursework prior to
registration as an intern.
4)Clarifies for an applicant who completes specified educational
requirements, which were not completed during his or her
education, that the coursework must be from an accredited
school, college or university, as specified, an educational
institution approved by the Bureau of Private Postsecondary
Education (BPPE) or from a continuing education provider that
is acceptable to BBS, as specified, which cannot be
undergraduate coursework.
5)Requires an applicant to complete the following coursework,
which cannot be undergraduate coursework, not already
completed in his or her education from a specified educational
institution:
a) At least three semester units or 45 hours of instruction
regarding the principles of mental health recovery-oriented
care and methods of service delivery in recovery-oriented
practice environments, including structured meetings with
various consumers and family members of consumers of mental
health services to enhance understanding of their
experience of mental illness, treatment, and recovery; and,
b) At least one semester unit, or 15 hours, of instruction
that includes an understanding of various California
cultures and the social and psychological implications of
socioeconomic position.
6)Clarifies that an applicant may complete any specified units
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and course content requirements not already completed in his
or her education while registered as an intern, unless
otherwise specified.
For persons licensed outside of California and apply for
licensure or registration as a MFT on or after January 1, 2016:
7)States that education will be considered substantially
equivalent if all of the following requirements are met:
a) The degree is obtained from a school, college or
university accredited by an accrediting agency recognized
by the United States Department of Education and consists
of:
i) For an applicant who obtained his or her degree
within a specified timeframe, the degree must contain no
less than 60 semester or 90 quarter units of instruction
and up to 12 semester or 18 quarter units of instruction
may be remediated while registered as an intern.
b) For an applicant who obtained his or her degree within a
specified timeline, the degree must contain no less than
48 semester or 72 quarter units of instruction;
c) Six semester or nine quarter units of practicum,
including but not limited to, a minimum of 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 thereof;
i) An out-of-state applicant, who has been licensed for
at least two years in clinical practice, as verified by
the BBS, is exempt from the requirement above; and,
ii) An applicant who has been licensed for less than two
years in clinical practice, as verified by the BBS, who
does not meet the practicum requirement, is required 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, as
specified, in addition to the 3,000 hours of experience
required while registered as an intern.
d) Twelve semester or 18 quarter units in the areas of
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marriage, family, and child counseling and marital and
family systems, and approaches to treatment, as specified.
8)Specifies that an applicant must complete coursework in law
and ethics as follows:
a) An applicant who has completed a course in law and
professional ethics for MFTs, as specified, that did not
include instruction in California law and professional
ethics must complete an 18 hour course in California law
and professional ethics prior to registering as an intern,
and the content of the course must at least include,
advertising, scope of practice, scope of competence,
treatment of minors, confidentiality, dangerous patients,
psychotherapist-patient privilege, recordkeeping, patient
access to records, state and federal laws relating to
confidentiality of patient health information, dual
relationships, child abuse, elder and dependent adult
abuse, online therapy, insurance reimbursement, civil
liability, disciplinary actions and unprofessional conduct,
ethic complaints and ethical standards, termination of
therapy, standards of care, relevant family law, therapist
disclosure to patients, differences in legal and ethical
standards in different types of work settings, and
licensing law and licensing process prior to registering as
an intern; and
b) An applicant, who has not completed a course in law and
professional ethics for MFTs, as specified, shall complete
the coursework which includes content specific to
California law and ethics, prior to registering as an
intern.
9)Permits coursework not already completed during an applicant's
education to be from an accredited school, college or
university, as specified, from the BPPE, or from a continuing
education provider that is acceptable to BBS, and cannot be
undergraduate.
10)Requires an applicant to complete coursework, not already
completed in his or her education, from an accredited school,
college or university, as specified, from the BPPE, or from a
continuing education provider that is acceptable to BBS, and
is not undergraduate to include:
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a) At least three semester units or 45 hours of instruction
regarding the principles of mental health recovery-oriented
care and methods of service delivery in recovery-oriented
practice environments, including structured meetings with
various consumer and family members of consumers of mental
health services to enhance understanding of their
experience of mental illness, treatment, and recovery; and
b) At least one semester unit or 15 hours of instruction
that includes an understanding of the various California
cultures and the social and psychological implications of
socioeconomic position.
11)Clarifies that an applicant's degree title does not need to
be identical to other specified degree titles.
12)Specifies that an applicant may complete specified units and
course content requirements not already completed in his or
her education, while registered as an intern unless otherwise
specified.
For persons who apply for licensure as a MFT between January 1,
2010, and December 31, 2015, and hold a valid license issued by
a board or corresponding authority outside of California:
13)Permits BBS to accept time actively licensed to be accepted
toward licensure at a rate of 100 hours per month, up to a
maximum of 1,200 hours if the applicant has less than 3,000
hours of qualifying supervised experience.
For persons who do not hold a license outside of California and
apply for licensure or registration as a MFT on or after January
1, 2016:
14)Requires an applicant to meet the following educational
requirements:
a) A minimum of two semester units of instruction in the
diagnosis, assessment, prognosis, and treatment of mental
disorders, including severe mental disorders,
evidence-based practices, psychological testing,
psychopharmacology, and promising mental health practices
that are evaluated in peer review literature; this must
include at least one semester unit or 15 hours of
instruction in psychological testing and at least one
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semester unit or 15 hours of instruction in
psychopharmacology;
b) Training in developmental issues from infancy to old
age, including demonstration of at least one semester unit
or 15 hours of instruction that includes the following
subjects:
i) The effects of developmental issues on individuals,
couples, and family relationships;
ii) The psychological, psychotherapeutic, and health
implications of developmental issues and their effects;
and,
iii) The understanding of the impact that personal and
social insecurity, social stress, low education levels,
inadequate housing, and malnutrition have on human
development and specifies that an applicant who is
deficient in any of the subject above may remediate the
coursework by completing three hours of instruction in
each deficient subject.
c) Training in the broad range of matters and life events
that may arise within marriage and family relationships and
within a variety of California cultures, including
instruction in the following:
i) A minimum of seven contact hours of training or
coursework in child abuse assessment and reporting, as
specified, and any regulations promulgated;
ii) A minimum of ten contact hours of coursework that
includes:
(1) The assessment and reporting of, as well as
treatment related to, elder and dependent adult abuse
and neglect;
(2) Aging and its biological, social, cognitive,
and psychological aspects;
(3) Long-term care; and
(4) End-of-life grief.
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iii) A minimum of 15 contact hours of coursework in
spousal or partner abuse assessment, detection,
intervention strategies, and same-gender abuse dynamics;
iv) Cultural factors relevant to abuse of partners and
family members;
v) Childbirth, child rearing, parenting, and
step-parenting;
vi) Marriage, divorce, and blended families;
vii) Poverty and deprivation;
viii) Financial and social stress;
ix) Effects of trauma; and,
x) The psychological, psychotherapeutic, community and
health implications of the matters and life events, as
specified.
d) At least one semester unit, or 15 hours, of instruction
in multicultural development and cross-cultural
interaction, including experiences of race, ethnicity,
class spirituality, sexual orientation, gender, and
disability, and their incorporation into the
psychotherapeutic process;
e) A minimum of 10 contact hours of training or coursework
in human sexuality, as specified, including the study of
physiological, psychological, and social cultural variables
associated with sexual behavior and gender identity, and
the assessment and treatment of psychosexual dysfunction;
f) A minimum of 15 contact hours of coursework in substance
use disorders, co-occurring disorders and addiction and the
coursework must include:
i) The definition of substance use disorders,
co-occurring disorders and addiction and defines
"co-occurring" to mean a mental illness and substance
abuse diagnosis occurring simultaneously in an
individual;
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ii) Medical aspects of substance use disorders and
co-occurring disorders;
iii) The effects of psychoactive drug use;
iv) Current theories of the etiology of substance abuse
and addiction;
v) The role of persons and systems that support or
compound substance abuse and addiction;
vi) Major approaches to identification, evaluation, and
treatment of substance use disorders, co-occurring
disorders, and addiction, including best practices;
vii) Legal aspects of substance abuse;
viii) Populations at risk with regard to substance use
disorders and co-occurring disorders;
ix) Community resources offering screening, assessment,
treatment, and follow-up for the affected person and
family;
x) Recognition of substance use disorders, co-occurring
disorders, and addiction and appropriate referral; and,
xi) The prevention of substance use disorders and
addiction.
g) A minimum of a two semester or three quarter unit course
in law and professional ethics for MFTs, including
instruction in the following:
i) Contemporary professional ethics and statutory,
regulatory, and decisional laws that delineate the scope
of practice of marriage and family therapy;
ii) The therapeutic, clinical and practical
considerations involved in the legal and ethical practice
of marriage and family therapy, including family law;
iii) The current legal patterns and trends in the mental
health professions;
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iv) The psychotherapist-patient privilege,
confidentiality, the patient dangerous to self or others
and the treatment of minors with and without parental
consent;
v) A recognition and exploration of the relationship
between a practitioner's sense of self and human values
and his or her professional behavior and ethics;
vi) Differences in legal and ethical standards for
different types of work settings; and,
vii) Licensing law and licensing process.
For persons who apply for licensure as an MFT between January 1,
2010, and December 31, 2015, who have gained experience
out-of-state:
15)Permits BBS to accept time actively licensed as a MFT to be
accepted towards licensure at a rate of 100 hours per month,
up to a maximum of 1,200 hours if the applicant has less than
3,000 hours of qualifying supervised experience.
For persons who apply for examination eligibility or
registration, as a PCC, between January 1, 2011, and December
31, 2015, and who are not licensed out-of state:
16)Exempts an applicant from taking an 18-hour ethics course, as
specified, if the applicant completed a course that included
instruction in California law and ethics.
For persons who apply for examination eligibility between
January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2015, and who have held a PCC
license, out-of-state, for at least two-years:
17)Permits BBS to accept time actively licensed as a PCC to be
accepted towards licensure at a rate of 100 hours per month,
up to a maximum of 1,200 hours if the applicant has less than
3,000 hours of qualifying supervised experience.
18)Exempts an applicant from taking an 18-hour ethics course, as
specified, if the applicant completed a course that included
instruction in California law and ethics.
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For persons who apply for examination eligibility between
January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2015, and who have held a PCC
license, out-of-state, for less than two-years:
19)Permits BBS to accept time actively licensed as a PCC to be
accepted towards licensure at a rate of 100 hours per month,
up to a maximum of 1,200 hours if the applicant has less than
3,000 hours of qualifying supervised experience.
20)Exempts an applicant from taking an 18-hour ethics course, as
specified, if the applicant completed a course that included
instruction in California law and ethics.
For persons who apply for examination eligibility for licensure
as a PCC who are licensed outside of California and apply on or
after January 1, 2016:
21)Permits BBS to accept time actively licensed as a PCC to be
accepted towards licensure at a rate of 100 hours per month,
up to a maximum of 1,200 hours if the if the applicant has
less than 3,000 hours of qualifying supervised experience and
the applicant's degree meets specified practicum requirements
without exemptions or remediation.
For persons who apply for examination eligibility or
registration as a PCC on or after January 1, 2016, who do not
hold a license outside of California:
22)Clarifies that education is considered substantially
equivalent if:
a) For an applicant who obtained his or her degree within a
specified timelime, the degree must contain no less than 60
graduate semester or 90 graduate quarter units, and up to
12 semester or 18 quarter units of instruction may be
remediated while registered as an intern; and,
b) For an applicant who obtained his or her degree within a
specified timeline, the degree must contain no less than 48
graduate semester or 72 graduate quarter units of
instruction, as specified.
23)Clarifies that an applicant whose degree is deficient, as
specified, may satisfy those deficiencies by successfully
completing graduate level coursework at an accredited or
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approved institution and the coursework taken must be the
equivalent of three semester units or four and one-half
quarter units of study.
24)Provides that an applicant who completed a course in
professional orientation, ethics, and law in counseling that
did not contain instruction in California law and professional
ethics must complete an 18-hour course, as specified, prior to
registering as an intern.
25)Provides that an applicant, who has not completed a course in
law and professional ethics for MFTs, as specified, shall
complete the coursework which includes content specific to
California law and ethics, prior to registering as an intern.
26)Requires an applicant who completes any units, as specified,
not already in his or her education to comply with the
following:
a) At least 15 semester units or 22.5 quarter units of
advanced coursework to develop knowledge of specific
treatment issues or special populations in addition to
currently required coursework; and
b) Coursework must be from and accredited or approved
school, college of university as specified.
27)Requires an applicant to complete the following graduate
level coursework not already completed in his or her education
to comply with the following:
a) A minimum of 10 contact hours of training in human
sexuality, as specified, including the study of the
physiological, psychological, and social cultural variables
associated with sexual behavior, gender identity, and the
assessment and treatment of psychosexual dysfunction;
b) A minimum of 15 contact hours of instruction in spousal
or partner abuse assessment, detection, intervention
strategies, and same-gender abuse dynamics;
c) A minimum of seven contact hours of instruction in child
abuse assessment, and reporting, as specified; and,
d) A minimum of 10 contact hours of instruction in aging
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and long-term care, including biological, social,
cognitive, and psychological aspects of aging, and include
instruction on the assessment and reporting of, and
treatment related to elder and dependent adult abuse and
neglect.
28)Requires an applicant who completes coursework not already
completed in his or her education to be at a graduate level
and include:
a) At least three semester units or 45 hours of instruction
regarding the principles of mental health recovery-oriented
care and methods of service delivery in recovery-oriented
practice environments, including structured meetings with
various consumers and family members of consumers of mental
health services to enhance understanding of their
experiences of mental illness, treatment and recovery; and
b) At least one semester unit or 15 hours of instruction
that includes and understanding of various California
cultures and the social and psychological implications of
socioeconomic position.
29)Clarifies that an applicant may complete units and course
content requirements not already completed in his or her
education while registered with the BBS as an intern.
For persons who apply for examination eligibility or
registration as a PCC on or after January 1, 2016, and hold a
license outside of California:
30)Specifies that education is deemed substantially equivalent
if:
a) The degree was obtained at an accredited or approved
institution, as specified, and consists of the following:
i) For an applicant who obtained his or her degree
within a specified timeframe, the degree must be no less
than 60 graduate semester or 90 quarter units and up to
12 semester or 18 quarter units of instruction may be
remediated if missing from the degree while registered as
an intern.
b) For an applicant who obtained his or degree within a
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specified timeframe, the degree shall contain no less than
48 graduate semester or 72 graduate units of instruction;
c) Six semester or nine quarter units of practicum,
including but not limited to, a minimum of 280 hours of
face-to-face counseling:
i) An applicant who has been licensed for at least two
years in clinical practice, as verified, is exempt; and,
ii) An out-of-state applicant who has been licensed for
less than two years in clinical practice, as verified by
BBS, and does not meet the practicum requirement, shall
remediate the requirement by demonstrating completion of
a total of 280 hours of face-to-face counseling, as
specified, in addition to the 3,000 hours of experience
required and must be gained while registered as an
intern.
d) Specified areas of study:
i) An applicant whose degree is deficient in no more
than six of the required areas of study, as specified,
may satisfy those deficiencies by successfully completing
graduate level coursework which must be the equivalent of
three semester units or four and one-half units of study;
ii) An applicant who completed a course in professional
orientation, ethics, and law in counseling that did not
contain instruction in California law and ethics must
complete an 18 hour course in California law and
professional ethics, as specified; and,
iii) An applicant who has not completed a course in
professional orientation ethics and law in counseling, as
specified must complete this coursework prior to
registration as an intern.
31)Requires an applicant to complete any required units, as
specified, not already completed in his or her education as
follows:
a) At least 15 semester units or 22.5 quarter units of
advanced coursework to develop knowledge of specific
treatment issues or special populations, in addition to
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specified requirements; and,
b) Coursework shall be from an accredited or approved
school, college, or university, as specified.
32)Requires an applicant to complete the following coursework
not already completed in his or her education:
a) A minimum of 10 contact hours of training in human
sexuality, as specified, and any regulations promulgated
thereunder including the study of physiological,
psychological and social cultural variables associated with
sexual behavior, gender identity, and the assessment and
treatment of psychosexual dysfunction;
b) A minimum of 15 contact hours of instruction in spousal
or partner abuse, assessment, detection, intervention
strategies, and same-gender abuse dynamics;
c) A minimum of seven contact hours of training or
coursework in child abuse assessment and reporting, as
specified;
d) A minimum of 10 contact hours of instruction in aging
and long-term care including biological, social, cognitive,
and psychological aspects of aging and this coursework must
include instruction on the assessment and reporting of, as
well as treatment related to elder and dependent abuse and
neglect; and,
e) This coursework may be from an accredited or approved
school, college or university, as specified, and
undergraduate coursework will not satisfy this requirement.
33)Requires an applicant to complete the following coursework
not already completed in his or her education from an
accredited or approved school, college, or university, as
specified, or from a continuing education provider that is
acceptable to the BBS and undergraduate coursework will not
satisfy this requirement:
a) A least three semester units or 45 hours of instruction
regarding the principles of mental health recovery-oriented
care and methods of service delivery in recovery-oriented
practice environments, including structured meetings with
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various consumers and family members of consumers of metal
health services to enhance understanding of their
experience of mental illness, treatment, and recovery; and,
b) At least one semester unit or 15 hours of instruction
that includes an understanding of various California
cultures and the social and psychological implications of
socioeconomic position.
34)Provides that an applicant may complete any units and course
content requirements, as specified, not already completed in
his or her education while registered with the BBS as an
intern, unless otherwise specified.
35)Makes other technical and clarifying changes.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes licensing requirements for MFT applicants who are
licensed outside of California and apply for licensure on or
after January 1, 2016. (Business and Professions Code (BPC)
Section 4980.72)
2)Establishes registration, education and experience
requirements for MFT applicants who currently do not hold a
license outside of California, on or after January 1, 2016.
(BPC 4980.74)
3)Establishes the equivalent education guidelines for MFT
applicants licensed outside of California who apply for
licensure on or after January 1, 2016, and obtained education
outside of California, as specified. (BPC 4980.78)
4)Establishes the licensure requirements for MFT applicants who
hold an out-of-state license and apply for licensure between
January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2015, and repeals these
requirements effective January 1, 2016. (BPC 4980.80)
5)Authorizes experience gained outside of California to be
accepted towards the licensure requirements for MFT applicants
who apply for licensure between January 1, 2010, and December
31, 2015, if specified criteria are met, and repeals that
authority effective January 1, 2016. (BPC 4980.90)
6)Authorizes experience gained outside of California to be
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accepted towards the licensure requirements for PCCs
applicants who apply for examination or eligibility
requirements between January 1, 2011, and December 31, 2015,
if specified criteria are met, and repeals that authority
effective January 1, 2014. (BPC 4999.57)
7)Establishes the examination eligibility requirements for PCC
applicants who apply for licensure between January 1, 2011,
and December 31, 2015, who hold a valid license outside of
California for more than two years and meet specified
criteria, and repeals these requirements effective January 1,
2016. (BPC 4999.58)
8)Establishes the examination eligibility or registration
requirements for PCC applicants who apply for licensure
between January 1, 2011, and December 31, 2015, and hold a
valid license outside of California for less than two years
and meet specified criteria, and repeals that authority
effective January 1, 2016. (BPC 4999.59)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of this bill . This bill revises and updates the new
educational requirements for licensure as a MFT and PCC for
out-of-state applicants which are scheduled to become
effective January 1, 2016, to allow more flexibility for
applicants who reside outside of California and may have met
all other licensing requirements except certain coursework
relevant to California. This bill will address the issue that
current education and experience requirements for out-of-state
MFT and PCC applicants may be overly restrictive and present
barriers to obtaining licensure in California. This bill is
sponsored by the Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS).
2)Author's statement . According to the author, "The BBS is
concerned that new requirements that are set to take effect in
January of 2016, for licensure of MFTs and PCCs from
out-of-state create unnecessary barriers to licensure for
these professionals, thus restricting portability of these
licenses to California. These changes would come as a result
of SB 33(Correa), Chapter 26, Statutes of 2009, which modified
requirements for MFT licensure, yet inadvertently created
barriers for out of state applicants.
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"Beginning January 1, 2016, out-of-state applicants will be
required to complete a long list of educational requirements,
including courses that deal with topics specific to
California, which out-of-state applicants are highly unlikely
to have completed. Under existing law, this coursework would
need to be completed at the graduate level and would thus
require out-of-state applicants to enroll in a graduate
program in order to remediate this coursework. Additionally,
all coursework and practicum requirements would need to be
remediated prior to registering with [BBS] as an intern.
"This bill address[es] these concerns by allowing out-of-state
applicants to remediate coursework through continuing
education and to do so while registered as an intern.
Furthermore, it will allow applicants who are licensed in
another state to remediate practicum requirements while
registered as an intern with the BBS [and] exempt out-of-state
applicants who have been licensed for more than two years from
this requirement. This bill will allow [BBS] to accept
supervised hours at a rate of 100hrs/months for up to 1,200
hours for applicants licensed in another state. Finally, this
bill adds clarity to existing coursework requirements by
specifying the number of course hours or units required."
3)LMFT licensure requirements . MFTs are employed in clinics,
counseling centers and private practice. They use counseling
or psychotherapeutic techniques to assist individuals,
couples, families, and groups with a focus on marriage and
family relationship issues.
The minimum educational and experience requirements for MFTs
include a master's degree in areas such as marriage, family,
and child counseling, marriage and family therapy, couple and
family therapy, psychology, clinical psychology, and
counseling psychology, from an accredited school. In
addition, MFTs must complete supervised work experience of at
least 3000 hours within a period of two-years. Requirements
for licensure are consistent for out-of-state applicants and
instate applicants; however, the way in which out-of-state
applicants are able to take additional coursework that meet
California-specific standards may be overly burdensome without
the clarification and revisions addressed in this bill to
ensure that those with the proper education and experience are
able to become licensed without unreasonable or unattainable
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constraints. According to the BBS, approximately3% of
applicants for MFT intern and 1.5% of applicants for MFT exam
eligibility are out-of-state applicants, and 35% of applicants
for clinical counselor intern are out-of-state applicants.
According to BBS, they currently do not have statistics on the
exam eligibility for out-of-state Licensed PCC applicants
because they have only been issuing registrations for less
than two years.
The licensure requirements for MFTs and PCCs vary based on the
date an applicant applies for licensure, the time in which the
applicant obtained his or her degree, and whether or not the
applicant holds an active license from out-side of California.
This bill addresses each licensure category to revise and
update the current educational requirements including
specifying the number of units obtained and the specific law
and ethics coursework to allow more flexibility for
out-of-state applicants to meet California-specific
educational requirements.
4)PCC licensing . SB 788 (Wyland) (Chapter 619, Statutes of
2009) established the PCC Act which provided for the licensing
and regulation of PCCs by BBS. When the legislation was set
to take effect in 2010, many sections of California law that
applied to other mental health professionals had yet to be
revised to incorporate PCCs.
Because PCCs are largely comparable to MFTs, SB 146 (Wyland)
(Chapter 381, Statutes of 2011) was passed to amend various
code sections relating to MFTs so that the same substantive
provisions and requirements would apply to PCCs as well.
Because the out-of-state applicant requirements for PCCs were
patterned after MFT law, with similar education, exam and
experience requirements, PCC applicants are faced with similar
licensure access and portability issues as MFTs. This bill
revises the out-of-state educational and experience
requirements consistent with the changes for MFT requirements.
5)Out-of-state MFT and PCC applicants . Certain educational and
experience requirements were scheduled to take effect as
result of SB 33 (Correa) (Chapter 26, Statutes of 2009)
beginning January 1, 2014. SB 33 revised the requirements
for MFTs seeking licensure or registration in California who
were educated or licensed outside of California. Based on
concerns raised by the BBS, that out-of-state applicants were
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not going to be able to meet those revised requirements
without significant challenges, the BBS sponsored AB 451
(Eggman) Chapter 551, Statutes of 2013, which extended the
effective date for the new education, examination and
eligibility requirements for out-of-state applicants for MFTs
and PCCs by two years from January 1, 2014, to January 1,
2016. The two-year delay allowed the BBS time to revise
changes contained in SB 33 for licensure requirements for
out-of-state applicants.
Under the provisions of SB 33, new applicants are required
take a broad range of coursework, from understanding marriage
and family principles to cultural competency and sensitivity,
including a familiarity with the racial, cultural,
linguistic, and ethnic backgrounds of persons living in
California. These courses could be difficult to obtain in
out-of-state programs as they relate specifically to
California and may not be offered at out-of-state educational
institutions which could potentially block an individual
licensed or educated outside of California from qualifying
for licensure in California without providing an appropriate
way to make up the required coursework.
In addition, because current law requires that specified
coursework must be taken in a graduate course, without the
clarifications provided by this bill, it may be difficult for
applicants to re-apply to a graduate program to take one or
two courses. This could be both time consuming and
cost-prohibitive for out-of-state applicants who have already
completed masters' or doctoral degree programs outside of
California. Because it could cost applicants several
thousands of dollars and potentially months of additional
delay to satisfy educational requirements, it could
discourage otherwise qualified mental health providers from
applying for licensure in California.
To avoid those problems, this bill modifies the current
requirements to allow a specified amount of coursework
remediation to be completed during intern registration,
clarifies the California law and ethics course content and
length, clarifies the required number of units depending on
graduation and application dates, and allows some supervised
experience gained out-of-state to be accepted in California.
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6)This bill the result of extensive BBS working group meetings .
As a result of the current challenges predicted for
out-of-state applicants seeking licensure or intern
registration resulting from the education and curriculum
changes made by SB 33, BBS formed the Out-of-State Education
Review Committee (Committee) which was established to consider
the potential barriers to licensure for out-of-state
applicants after January 1, 2014. The challenge that
out-of-state applicants would encounter as they applied to
California for LMFT licensure under the new curriculum
requirements was discussed during the Committee process.
The Committee held its first meeting on April 26, 2013 and
through a series of meetings the Committee and stakeholders
discussed and considered the following topics: current
educational requirements; educational requirements after
January 1, 2014; current options to remediate educational
deficiencies and potential cost; and options to remediate
educational deficiencies and potential cost. The Committee
held its fourth and last meeting in November 2013. The
Committee's work resulted in the recommended changes this bill
proposes with respect to continuing education, coursework
remediation, practicum experience, and course content
requirements.
7)Arguments in support . According to BBS, "Licensing
requirements for out-of-state applicants were set to change on
January 1, 2014. However, BBS had concerns that these new
out-of-state requirements may be too stringent, restricting
portability of these license types to California. The
resulting proposal makes changes to the practicum requirements
for out-of-state applicants as well as allows them to
remediate certain coursework through continuing education,
instead of requiring all coursework to be from a graduate
program. It also allows certain coursework to be remediated
while registered as an intern."
8)Previous legislation . AB 451 (Eggman) (Chapter, 551, Statutes
of 2013) extended the current effective date for new
education, examination and eligibility requirements for
out-of-state applicants for MFT and PCC licenses 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
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January 1, 2014, to January 1, 2016.
SB 146 (Wyland) (Chapter 381, Statutes of 2011) extended
existing law that applies to MFTs to apply to PCCs as well.
SB 33 (Correa) (Chapter 26, Statutes of 2009) updated the
educational curriculum requirements for MFTs to require
persons who begin graduate study after August 1, 2012 to meet
increased total unit requirements and practicum hours for
face-to-face counseling. Additionally, it added new elements
to the curriculum, including public mental health practices,
revised the requirements for applicants licensed or educated
outside of California; and repeals the current MFT educational
requirements on January 1, 2019.
SB 788 (Wyland) (Chapter 619, Statutes of 2009) established
the PCC Act which provides for the licensing and regulation of
PCCs by BBS.
SB 1218 (Correa) of 2008 attempted to update and recast the
educational curriculum requirements for MFTs. SB 1218 was
vetoed by the Governor, stating that due to the 2008-2009
State Budget delay, only bills of the highest priority for
California would be signed.
AB 234 (Eng) (Chapter 586, Statutes of 2007) revised to the
LMFT licensing law pertaining to the number of hours of
experience required for licensure.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Board of Behavioral Sciences (sponsor)
American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy
Association of California Healthcare Districts
California Council of Community Mental Health Agencies
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Elissa Silva / B.,P. & C.P. / (916)
319-3301
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