Senate Business, Professions & Economic Development Committee
State Capitol
Sacramento, CA 95814

Re: Support:  AB 1486 (Calderon)

Dear Senator Ridley-Thomas,

Please personalize the first paragraph with three to five lines that state who you are, how you are connected to the counseling profession, where you work and why you want licensure.

Example 1:  I am writing to express my support for AB 1486 (Calderon).  I work at ______ as ________.  I am a counselor with 12 years experience, and even though I have a master's degree and my education and training is on par with my licensed colleagues, I am unable to qualify for many positions that now require licensure.

Example 2:  I am writing to express my support for AB 1486 (Calderon).  I am a counselor licensed in another state, who is currently underemployed and not able to contribute to the workforce shortage in California's mental health delivery system, because California does not recognize my license, etc.

States have been licensing counselors for over 30 years and there are over 100,000 master's and doctoral-level professional counselors licensed to practice independently in 49 states. California is now the only state to not license professional counselors.  The requirements proposed in AB 1486, which will give counselors the legal right to practice psychotherapy, are on par with California's MFTs and LCSWs and with LPCs in 49 states.  Licensed Professional Counselors (LPCs) work collegially with MFTs, LCSWs, psychologists and psychiatrists, as part of the larger mental health delivery system, in the 47 states, where MFTs and LPCs are licensed, and the same can be true in California. 

AB 1486 addresses four important issues:

·    Consumer Protection:  Consumers seeking mental health services, from other than marriage and family therapists, deserve to know that their counselor has met the necessary standards to achieve and maintain licensure, including required education, post-degree supervision, passage of examinations, and fingerprinting, as required by a regulatory state board.

·     Mental Health Workforce Shortages:  There is a documented shortage of mental health professionals throughout the state, independently confirmed by the U.C. San Francisco study, The Mental Health Workforce: Who is Meeting California's Needs?, and further confirmed by the Mental Health Planning Council.  The state investment in Prop 63 is substantial, yet workforce shortages have hampered full implementation, and the demand is especially apparent in state mental health facilities and local mental health departments throughout the state.  LPCs with diverse backgrounds and diverse areas of expertise are well positioned to meet the needs of the unserved and underserved populations targeted by Prop 63.

·    Access to federal programs and funding:  Until LPCs are licensed, California cannot benefit from federal initiatives, such as:

-Veterans' Benefits and Health Care Act (S.3421) that adds LPCs as providers of mental health services to veterans.

-Pending legislation that would add LPCs and MFTs to Medicare's list of covered providers.

-Federal grants that deploy LPCs to disaster areas to provide mental health services.

-The Department of Defense program which is recruiting LPCs to support service members and their families on military installations.

·     Equity and parity:  California has made a tremendous investment in its higher education system, training graduate students in counseling programs, but without the opportunity to pursue licensure, other than for marriage and family therapy, many cannot address the state's consumers' needs.  Master's-level counselors, educated and trained on par with other master's-level licencees, should have the right to provide services in the profession for which they have been trained.

AB 1486 will not pose a financial burden on the state, as oversight of LPCs will be carried out by the existing Board of Behavioral Sciences, which currently regulates MFTs and LCSWs.  No new state dollars are required to fund the implementation costs, as the BBS can utilize its existing reserve fund, which will be re-paid within two years with the revenue from licensing fees.  After implementation, this program will be fully self-supporting through licensing fees.

AB 1486 is sponsored by ten statewide counseling organizations, and is supported by the California Psychiatric Association, the Mental Health Counselors Association in California, the American Counseling Association, university counseling departments throughout the state and many others.  AB 1486 passed the Assembly Business and Professions Committee with bi-partisan, unanimous support and passed out of Assembly Appropriations on an "A" roll call.  The measure also gained unanimous support from the State Board of Behavioral Sciences. 

Please support counselor licensure by voting "aye" for AB 1486, when the measure comes before you on June 9th in the Business and Professions Committee.  Thank you for your time and thoughtful consideration of this important measure.

Sincerely,

Name & credentials

cc:  Assembly Member Calderon, Sacramento Advocacy