Healing arts: therapists and counselors: licensing.

(1) Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of marriage and family therapists under the Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Act, of clinical social workers under the Clinical Social Worker Practice Act, and of professional clinical counselors under the Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor Act by the Board of Behavioral Sciences. Existing law prescribes requirements for an applicant for licensure as a marriage and family therapist, clinical social worker, or professional clinical counselor who holds a valid license in good standing by a corresponding authority in any state or country, including that the applicant's education is substantially equivalent, as specified, and that the applicant's supervised experience is substantially equivalent as determined by the board. Existing law requires the board to determine substantially equivalency for these purposes based on specified standards for an applicant who has held a license for less than 4 years. This bill would revise and recast requirements for an applicant who holds a license in another jurisdiction of the United States as a marriage and family therapist, clinical social worker, or professional clinical counselor at the highest level of independent clinical practice that has been current, active, and unrestricted for at least 2 years. The bill would delete the requirement that the applicant's education is substantially equivalent and instead would require the applicant's degree that qualified the person for licensure is a master's degree or, if applicable, a doctoral degree, obtained from an accredited or approved institution. The bill would delete a requirement for the applicant to pass a clinical licensing examination set forth in regulations adopted by the board, and would impose specified coursework requirements on those applicants, including coursework in California cultures and social and psychological implications of socioeconomic position. The bill would also require, on or after January 1, 2021, all applicants holding out-of-state licenses, regardless of how long they have held the out-of-state license, to complete specified coursework or training in suicide risk assessment and intervention. The bill would make conforming and other nonsubstantive changes. (2) Existing law requires that, with respect to an applicant for licensure as a marriage and family therapist, clinical social worker, or professional clinical counselor who does not qualify for licensure as described above, education and experience that the applicant gained outside of the state to be accepted for specified licensure or registration requirements if that education or experience is substantially equivalent, subject to certain standards. This bill would revise those requirements by requiring the amount of time that the applicant held an active license in good standing in another state or country to be accepted as qualifying supervised experience at a specified rate and up to a maximum of a specified amount of hours. The bill would also exempt an applicant who obtained a license or registration in another state or country from the clinical examination if certain conditions are met. The bill would also revise the requirements to determine whether education is substantially equivalent for these purposes by, among other changes, requiring coursework to be from an accredited or approved institution or continuing education provider, on or after January 1, 2021, and for the applicant to complete specified coursework or applied experience in suicide risk assessment and intervention. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 4980.03 of the Business and Professions Code proposed by AB 1651 to be operative only if this bill and AB 1651 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 4980.81 of the Business and Professions Code proposed by SB 786 to be operative only if this bill and SB 786 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.