AB 2117: Marriage and family therapists: clinical social workers: professional clinical counselors.

(1)Existing law provides for the licensure, registration, and regulation of marriage and family therapists, associate marriage and family therapists, clinical social workers, associate clinical social workers, professional clinical counselors, and associate professional clinical counselors by the Board of Behavioral Sciences. Existing law provides that the registration for an associate marriage and family therapist, associate clinical social worker, or associate professional clinical counselor may be renewed before its expiration date by taking specified actions.

This bill would authorize renewal of an expired registration for an associate marriage and family therapist, associate clinical social worker, or associate professional clinical counselor in the same manner in which an unexpired registration is renewed.

(2)With respect to associate clinical social workers, existing law requires a registrant to comply with specified requirements to renew his or her registration, including obtaining a passing score on a state law and ethics examination. Existing law also authorizes that registration to be renewed a maximum of 5 times.

This bill would instead require an associate clinical social worker to participate in the state law and ethics examination each year until successful completion of the exam. The bill would prohibit renewal or reinstatement of a registration beyond 6 years from the month that registration was issued and would require an applicant seeking to obtain a subsequent associate clinical social worker registration where no further renewals are possible to pass the state law and ethics examination as a condition of obtaining a subsequent associate clinical social worker registration.

(3)Existing law requires experience gained outside of California to be accepted toward requirements for licensure as a clinical social worker and requires an applicant with education gained outside of California to complete a course in California law and ethics. Existing law also authorizes the board to issue a license in clinical social work to a person who holds a valid clinical social work license issued in another state if certain conditions are met, including completion of a course in California law and ethics.

This bill would require the course in California law and ethics to be completed before registration as an associate clinical social worker.

(4)Existing law authorizes the board to issue a license as a marriage and family therapist or a professional clinical counselor to a person who holds a valid license in another state or country if certain conditions are satisfied, including that the applicants supervised experience is substantially equivalent to requirements for licensure in this state, and specifies a method for the board to consider and calculate substantial equivalency for those purposes.

This bill would revise the method for determining substantially equivalent experience.

(5)The bill would make other related, nonsubstantive changes.

(6)This bill would incorporate additional changes to Sections 4980.72, 4999.60, and 4999.100 of the Business and Professions Code proposed by SB 1491 to be operative only if this bill and SB 1491 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.

(7)This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 4984.01 of the Business and Professions Code proposed by AB 93 to be operative only if this bill and AB 93 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.

(8)This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 4996.17 of the Business and Professions Code proposed by SB 1491 and AB 93 to be operative only if this bill and SB 1491, this bill and AB 93, or all 3 bills are enacted and this bill is enacted last.