AB 2296: Licensed professional clinical counselors: licensed clinical social workers.

(1)The Psychology Licensing Law provides for the licensure and regulation of psychologists by the Board of Psychology and makes a violation of its provisions a crime. This law does not prevent qualified members of specified recognized professional groups from doing work of a psychological nature consistent with the law, as provided. This law describes a psychological corporation as a corporation that is authorized to render professional services if the corporation and its shareholders, officers, directors, and employees rendering professional services are specified healing arts licensees.

Existing law establishes the Board of Behavioral Sciences and makes it responsible for the licensure and regulation of marriage and family therapists, clinical social workers, professional clinical counselors, and educational psychologists.

This bill would list licensed professional clinical counselors as one of those recognized professional groups not prohibited from doing psychological work and would include a licensed professional clinical counselor as a healing arts licensee allowed to render services in a psychological corporation. By expanding the scope of a crime under the Psychology Licensing Law, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(2)The Psychiatric Technicians Law requires the Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians of the State of California, which is within the Department of Consumer Affairs, to license and regulate vocational nurses and psychiatric technicians.

This bill would provide that the Psychiatric Technicians Law does not apply to professional clinical counselors.

(3)Existing law requires an applicant seeking licensure as a professional clinical counselor to possess a degree that contains the equivalent of at least 3 semester units or 4¹/₂ quarter units of graduate study in specified core content areas. Existing law allows an applicant whose degree is deficient in no more than 2 of the specified required areas of study to satisfy those deficiencies by successfully completing post-masters or postdoctoral degree coursework, except that this option does not apply to the required areas of study relating to assessment, appraisal, and testing of individuals and principles of the diagnostic process.

This bill would instead require the equivalent of at least 3 semester units or 4 quarter units of graduate study in specified core content areas. The bill would allow an applicant whose application for licensure is received by the board on or before August 31, 2020, or whose application for registration was received by the board by that date and whose registration was subsequently issued to satisfy deficiencies in the required areas of study relating to assessment, appraisal, and testing of individuals and principles of the diagnostic process by completing post-masters or postdoctoral degree coursework.

(4)The Confidentiality of Medical Information Act authorizes the disclosure of medical information to the person or organization insuring, responsible for, or defending professional liability that the specified healing arts licensee may incur. A violation of the act that results in economic loss or personal injury to a patient is punishable as a crime.

This bill would expand this provision to include licensed clinical social workers and licensed professional clinical counselors. By expanding the scope of a crime under the act, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(5)Existing law requires the governing board of a school district to establish an open enrollment policy within the district, as specified, as a condition of receiving certain school apportionments from the State School Fund. Under existing law, the open enrollment policy may provide that special circumstances may exist that might be harmful or dangerous to a pupil in his or her current attendance area. A finding of these special circumstances may be based on a written statement from, among others, specified licensed or registered professionals.

This bill would additionally authorize a finding of special circumstances to be based on a written statement from a licensed professional clinical counselor.

(6)Existing law sets forth the qualifications for a court-connected or private child custody evaluator. Under existing law, in addition to specified education, experience, and training requirements, a person may be a child custody evaluator only if he or she meets one of specified licensure or certification criteria. Existing law requires a child custody evaluator to declare under penalty of perjury that he or she meets specified education, experience, training, and licensing requirements, as specified.

This bill would additionally authorize a licensed professional clinical counselor who is qualified to assess couples and families and who meets the education, experience, and training requirements to be a child custody evaluator. The bill would require a licensed professional clinical counselor who is a child custody evaluator to make the above-described declaration under penalty of perjury. By expanding the crime of perjury, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(7)Under existing law, for purposes of terminating parental rights in an adoption proceeding, a court is required to attempt to identify all alleged fathers and presumed parents by causing the mother and any other appropriate person to be questioned, in the case of a stepparent adoption, the licensed clinical social worker or licensed marriage and family therapist who is performing a specified written investigative report.

This bill would additionally authorize a licensed professional clinical counselor who is performing the investigative report to question the mother or other appropriate person under the above-described circumstances.

(8)Existing law authorizes a proceeding to be brought for the purpose of having a child under 18 years of age declared free from the custody and control of either or both parents under specified circumstances, including when the childs parent or parents are mentally disabled and are likely to remain so in the foreseeable future. Under existing law, in support of a finding of mental disability, a court has discretion to call a licensed marriage and family therapist, or a licensed clinical social worker, with specified experience, in circumstances where the court determines that this testimony is in the best interests of the child and is warranted by the circumstances of the particular family or parenting issues involved.

This bill would additionally authorize the court to call a licensed professional clinical counselor to provide this testimony, as specified.

(9)Existing law authorizes a petition to be filed by an interested person, as defined, for an order or judgment declaring a child free from the custody and control of either or both parents under specified circumstances. Upon the filing of the petition, existing law requires the clerk of the court to notify one of specified agencies or appropriately licensed individuals to investigate the circumstances of the child and report to the court, as specified.

This bill would include a licensed professional clinical counselor as one of the individuals authorized to investigate the circumstances of the child in the above proceedings.

(10)Existing law defines an adoption service provider to include licensed or approved adoption agencies, as specified, and licensed clinical social workers and marriage and family therapists with a minimum of 5 years of experience providing professional social work or adoption casework services, as prescribed. Existing law requires a court, prior to granting or denying a stepparent adoption request, to review and consider a written investigative report, which may be completed by a licensed clinical social worker, a licensed marriage and family therapist, or a private licensed adoption agency, if the petitioner so elects.

This bill would expand the definition of an adoption service provider to include a licensed clinical professional counselor with similar qualifications. The bill would additionally authorize a petitioner in a stepparent adoption request to elect to have the investigative report completed by a licensed professional clinical counselor.

(11)Existing law relating to workers compensation provides that treatment reasonably required to cure or relieve the effects of an injury include the services of licensed marriage and family therapists and clinical social workers.

This bill would expand those provisions to include the services of licensed professional clinical counselors.

(12)Existing law establishes the Office of Child Abuse Prevention to plan, improve, develop, and carry out programs and activities relating to the prevention, identification, and treatment of child abuse and neglect. Existing law provides for multidisciplinary personnel in this regard as a team of 3 or more persons trained in the prevention, identification, management, or treatment of child abuse or neglect cases and who are qualified to provide a broad range of services related to child abuse or neglect. Existing law also authorizes a county to establish a child abuse multidisciplinary personnel team within the county to allow provider agencies to share confidential information in order for provider agencies to investigate reports of suspected child abuse or neglect made pursuant to specified provisions. These multidisciplinary entities are similarly defined to include, among others, psychiatrists, psychologists, marriage and family therapists, or other trained counseling personnel.

This bill would expand the definitions of multidisciplinary personnel and child abuse multidisciplinary personnel teams to specifically include clinical social workers and professional clinical counselors.

(13)This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 4999.62 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. This bill would also incorporate additional changes to Sections 4999.62 and 4999.63 of the Business and Professions Code proposed by AB 93 and SB 1491 that would become operative if this bill and AB 93, this bill and SB 1491, or all 3 bills are enacted and this bill is enacted last.

(14)The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.