LINKS:
Discussion of proposed amended bill.
WORDING OF REVISED BILL.
Discussion
(of original bill). Recommended actions regarding the bill.
LINKS to related
materials:
Read the
Official (original) Bill Analysis
DISCUSSION OF REVISED BILL--"Proposed
Substitute House Bill 3006 (H-4862.2/10)"
The revised of House
Bill 3006 (H-4862.2/10) would exclude Licensed Mental Health
Counselor Associates and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
Associates from its private practice restrictions. When the
law goes into effect in 2013, only Licensed Social Work
Associates would be prohibited from private practice and forced to
find employment in agencies in order to accumulate the experience
hours needed to achieve full licensure.
The National Association
of Social Workers and it's Washington State Association sought this
restriction on their own member social workers in order to make sure
that Washington Social Workers meet the national association
standards for training, supervision and licensure. Thus social
workers will be the only category effected, if the bill passes as
currently amended.
I personally dislike the
amended bill, but I am willing to support it only because I believe
that counselors with degrees in social work can choose to apply to
be Licensed Mental Health Counselor Associates and thereby
accumulate the experience hours in private practice under qualified
supervision and gain full licensure as Licensed Mental Health
Counselors. Those who choose to do so can follow the more
restricted--agency employment--path and become Licensed Social
Workers.
However, there is
another important matter to consider. The Registered Counselor
Act of 2008 created a category of counselor credentialing known as Agency
Affiliated Counselors. The law did not attempt to place
any restrictions on agencies in Washington State with regard to whom
they can hire to work as counselors. The Agency Affiliated
Counselors have the lowest standards of education, training and
experience of any counselors--simply because there are NO
requirements for agency hiring, other than the agency's own
standards.
This proposed House Bill 3006 (as amended)
would force Licensed Social Worker Associates to compete for
employment with Agency Affiliated Counselors for employment.
Such competition for agency jobs would be unfair and the resulting
salaries would be very low. Social Worker Associates will become the
new minimum-wage, working poor, low-income counselor category.
THIS BILL SHOULD ALSO
CALL FOR TERMINATING THE CATEGORY OF "AGENCY AFFILIATED
COUNSELORS" CREDENTIAL or limiting the category to those
persons who currently hold the designation. Renewals
could be permitted, but no additional AAC credentials should be
issued.
Another shortcoming of
this proposed legislation is that there is no provision that would
give social workers credit for the supervised hours of experience
that they have already qualified (and paid for) under current
Washington State laws governing counselor supervision.
None-the-less, the
NASW, National Association of Social Workers is supporting (and appears was likely the
stimulant for) this bill. As previously suggested, some
modification seems called for, but, If social work wants to be so narrow
in its licensure, it doesn't seem appropriate to fight the bill in
order to protect social workers from their own national association.
Floyd Else, MA, LMHC,
NCC, Webmaster.
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Recommended actions:
Be ready for this to reappear in the 2011 legislative session.
(1.) Contact your local professional counseling organizations
about House Bill 3006 (2010) immediately and ask
them to oppose this proposed legislation.
--PROCEED NOW--
(2.) Send an email AND make
telephone calls to each of your own
Washington State Legislative Representatives. Many of you have
two representative and a senator. Ask each of them to
support "Proposed Substitute House Bill 3006 (H-4862.2/10)"
so long as it
continues to exclude Licensed Mental Health Counselor Associates and
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Associates from it's
restrictions. --HOLD UNTIL 2011 SESSION--
[
Here is
a tool to
find your legislator--just type in your address, city and zip. ]
(3.) Continue to spread the
word to your fellow counselors and let
them know about this pending legislation. Sound the alarm
regarding re-emergence of bill in 2011.
--PROCEED NOW--
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Discussion
[Of original bill]:
RCW 18.225.145 Associate licensing —
Requirements.
The law currently reads as follows==========
"(2) Associates may not provide
independent social work, mental health counseling, or marriage and
family therapy for a fee, monetary or otherwise. Associates must
work under the supervision of an approved supervisor."
[This has been interpreted by the
health department as meaning that associates can only do private
practice under a supervision contract with an approved supervisor.]
The proposed revision of RCW
18.222.145 reads as follows ========== (proposed bill)
(2)(a) Associates may only provide
independent clinical social work, advanced social work, mental
health counseling, or marriage and family therapy as employees
of a public or private agency, institution, or incorporated clinic
to acquire the experience hours necessary for full licensure.
Associates may not provide such services under any other
circumstance on a voluntary basis or for a fee, monetary or
otherwise, including, but not limited to,
private practice. (Emphasis added.)
----------------------------------------------
I interpret this to mean that
original House
Bill 3006 would (1.) forbid all Licensed Associates from working
in any setting other than as an employee--totally eliminating
private practice counseling for associates, and (2.) only hours earned as an employee would count toward experience hours
needed for full licensure.
The unfairness of this proposal
nearly overwhelms me. We have hundreds of of masters-level
therapists who, as registered counselors, have been working as
self-employed counselors in private practice who would have to close
down their private practices if this is enacted. Many, many of
these counselors have been paying for supervision to accumulate
experience hours toward full licensure. These hours will not
count toward licensure if this proposal is enacted.
Counselor credentialing has been
through a long, public, transparent process. Now we are
confronted by someone's hidden, secret agenda. Who is behind
this? Who would benefit?
Floyd Else, MA, LMHC,
NCC, Webmaster.
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Original HB 3006
____________________________________________________
HOUSE BILL 3006
_____________________________________________
State of Washington 61st Legislature
2010 Regular Session
By Representative Green
Read first time 01/20/10.
Referred to Committee on
Health Care & Wellness.
1
AN ACT Relating to
clarifying the circumstances under which certain
2
counseling-related
associates may practice; amending RCW 18.225.145;
3 and providing an effective date.
4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE
OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
5 Sec. 1. RCW 18.225.145 and 2008
c 135 s 13 are each amended to
6 read as follows:
7 (1) The secretary shall issue an
associate license to any applicant
8 who demonstrates to the
satisfaction of the secretary that the
9 applicant meets the following
requirements for the applicant's practice
10 area and submits a declaration
that the applicant is working toward
11 full licensure in that
category:
12 (a) Licensed social worker
associate--advanced or licensed social
13 worker associate--independent
clinical: Graduation from a master's
14 degree or doctoral degree
educational program in social work accredited
15 by the council on social work
education and approved by the secretary
16 based upon nationally
recognized standards.
17 (b) Licensed mental health
counselor associate: Graduation from a
18 master's degree or doctoral
degree educational program in mental health
end of page. 1 HB 3006
1 counseling or a related
discipline from a college or university
2 approved by the secretary based
upon nationally recognized standards.
3 (c) Licensed marriage and family
therapist associate: Graduation
4 from a master's degree or
doctoral degree educational program in
5 marriage and family therapy or
graduation from an educational program
6 in an allied field equivalent to
a master's degree or doctoral degree
7 in marriage and family therapy
approved by the secretary based upon
8 nationally recognized standards.
9 (2)(a)
Associates may
((not)) only provide
independent clinical
10
social work, advanced social
work, mental health counseling, or
11
marriage and family therapy
((for a fee, monetary or otherwise))
as
12
employees of a public or
private agency, institution, or incorporated
13
clinic to acquire the
experience hours necessary for full licensure.
14
Associates may not provide
such services under any other circumstance
15
on a voluntary basis or for
a fee, monetary or otherwise, including,
16
but not limited to, private
practice.
17 (b) Associates must meet with
and work under the supervision of an
18 approved supervisor who
documents the overall experience hours required
19 for full licensure.
20 (3) Associates shall provide
each client or patient, during the
21 first professional contact,
with a disclosure form according to RCW
22 18.225.100, disclosing that he
or she is an associate under the
23 supervision of an approved
supervisor.
24 (4) The department shall adopt
by rule what constitutes adequate
25 proof of compliance with the
requirements of this section.
26 (5) Applicants are subject to
the denial of a license or issuance
27 of a conditional license for
the reasons set forth in chapter 18.130
28 RCW.
29 (6) An associate license may be
renewed no more than four times.
30 NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. This act
takes effect January 1, 2011.
--- END ---
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PROPOSED SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 3006 (H-4862.2/10)
by Representative Green
Original bill:
Clarifies the circumstances under which certain
counseling-related associates may practice.
|
Substitute bill compared to original bill: The proposed
substitute:
n
Applies the provision of the
original bill to social worker associates only; mental health
counselor associates and marriage and family therapist associates
are unaffected in the proposed substitute;
n Clarifies that associates
working under the supervision of an approved supervisor are not
providing independent practice; and
n Requires supervisor to document
"provided" experience hours, instead of "overall" experience hours.
1 AN ACT Relating to clarifying the
circumstances under which certain
2 counseling-related associates may practice; amending RCW
18.225.145;
3 and providing an effective date.
4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
5 Sec. 1. RCW 18.225.145 and 2008 c 135 s 13 are each amended to
6 read as follows:
7 (1) The secretary shall issue an associate license to any
applicant
8 who demonstrates to the satisfaction of the secretary that the
9 applicant meets the following requirements for the applicant's
practice
10 area and submits a declaration that the applicant is working
under
11 supervision toward full licensure in that category:
12 (a) Licensed social worker associate--advanced or licensed social
13 worker associate--independent clinical: Graduation from a
master's
14 degree or doctoral degree educational program in social work
accredited
15 by the council on social work education and approved by the
secretary
16 based upon nationally recognized standards.
17 (b) Licensed mental health counselor associate: Graduation from a
18 master's degree or doctoral degree educational program in mental
health
Code Rev/KK:cro 1 H-4862.2/10 2nd draft
1 counseling or a related discipline from a college or university
2 approved by the secretary based upon nationally recognized
standards.
3 (c) Licensed marriage and family therapist associate: Graduation
4 from a master's degree or doctoral degree educational program in
5 marriage and family therapy or graduation from an educational
program
6 in an allied field equivalent to a master's degree or doctoral
degree
7 in marriage and family therapy approved by the secretary based
upon
8 nationally recognized standards.
9 (2) ((Associates)) (a) A licensed mental health counselor
associate
10 or a licensed marriage and family therapist associate may not
provide
11 independent ((social work,)) mental health counseling((,)) or
marriage
12 and family therapy for a fee, monetary or otherwise. Associates
13 working under the supervision of an approved supervisor are not
14 providing independent practice.
15 (b)(i)(A) A licensed
social worker associate--advanced or (B) a
16 licensed social worker
associate--independent clinical may only provide
17 independent clinical
social work or advanced social work as employees
18 of a public or private
agency, institution, or incorporated clinic to
19 acquire the experience
hours necessary for full licensure. (ii)(A)
A
20 licensed social worker
associate--advanced or (B) a licensed social
21 worker
associate--independent clinical may not provide services under
22 this subsection (2)(b)
under any other circumstance on a voluntary
23 basis or for a fee,
monetary or otherwise, including, but not limited
24 to, private practice.
25 (c) All types of associates must meet with and work under the
26 supervision of an approved supervisor who documents the provided
27 experience hours required for full licensure.
28 (3) Associates shall provide each client or patient, during the
29 first professional contact, with a disclosure form according to
RCW
30 18.225.100, disclosing that he or she is an associate under the
31 supervision of an approved supervisor.
32 (4) The department shall adopt by rule what constitutes adequate
33 proof of compliance with the requirements of this section.
34 (5) Applicants are subject to the denial of a license or issuance
35 of a conditional license for the reasons set forth in chapter
18.130
36 RCW.
Code Rev/KK:cro 2 H-4862.2/10 2nd draft
1 (6) An associate license may be renewed no more than four times.
2 NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. This
act takes effect January 1, 2013.
--- END ---
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With the CounselingSeattle.com counselor locator service,
counselors can be located by name, geographic area, or niche specialty in counties throughout Washington State.
The counseling specialty areas include: addictions, anger management training, anxiety and worry, career work &
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relationships, sexual issues, transitions (life changes), trauma (when awful things happen),
women's issues, and other issues (not covered elsewhere).
The mental health and
addictions counselors listed on these pages are:
(1.) Licensed Mental Health Counselors (LMHC),
(2.) Licensed Independent Clinical Social Workers (LICSW),
(3.) Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists (LMFT),
(4.) Licensed Mental Health Counselor Associates (LMHCA),
(5.) Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Associates (LMFTA),
(6.) Licensed Clinical Social Worker Associates (LCSWA),
(7.) Masters-level Certified Counselors, and
(until July 1st, 2010) Masters-level Registered Counselors.
To
top--New Legislation Would Attempt to Restrict Licensed Associates from
Private Practice