Healing arts.

Existing law, the Marriage and Family Therapist Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of marriage and family therapists by the Board of Behavioral Sciences. Existing law, the Educational Psychologist Practice Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of educational psychologists by the Board of Behavioral Sciences. Existing law, the Clinical Social Worker Practice Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of social workers by the Board of Behavioral Sciences. Existing law, the Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of professional clinical counselors by the Board of Behavioral Sciences. Existing law authorizes the board to issue a professional clinical counselor license to any person submitting an application between January 1, 2011, and June 30, 2011, if that applicant meets specified requirements, including the requirement that the applicant have at least 2 years of postdegree counseling experience that includes specified hours of experience in a clinical setting supervised by a marriage and family therapist, clinical social worker, psychologist, physician and surgeon specializing in psychiatry, or master's level counselor or therapist, as specified. Existing law makes these licenses valid for 6 years, specifies that such a license expires one year from the date of issuance, and prescribes a specified renewal procedure. Existing law provides that other professional clinical licenses expire no more than 24 months after the date of issuance and may be renewed within 3 years of expiration. Existing law also governs the regulation of clinical counselor trainees and interns. Existing law allows clinical counselor trainees, interns, and applicants to perform services as an employee or as a volunteer, but not as an independent contractor. This bill would set forth provisions that would provide that a person engages in the practice of marriage and family therapy, educational psychology, clinical social work, or professional clinical counseling when he or she performs or offers to perform or holds himself or herself out as able to perform this service for remuneration in any form, including donations. The bill would authorize the board to issue a professional clinical counselor license to any person submitting an application between January 1, 2011, and December 31, 2011, if that applicant meets specified requirements, and would add a professional clinical counselor and a person who is licensed out of state to independently practice professional clinical counseling to the list of persons who an applicant may have supervise his or her hours of experience in a clinical setting. The bill would provide that all licenses issued expire no more than 24 months after the issuance date and that all of these licenses would be eligible for renewal within 3 years of expiration. The bill would revise and recast the provision relating to clinical counselor trainees, interns, and applicants, and instead provide that experience shall not be gained by clinical counselor interns or trainees as an independent contractor. The bill would require a clinical counselor intern when applying for licensure as a professional clinical counselor to show proof of his or her employment as an employee or volunteer by providing to the board copies of his or her W-2 tax forms or a letter from an employer verifying employment as a volunteer for each year of experience claimed. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.