Legislative Updates
Legislature issues the IMHCA Board is addressing
Only California left!
ACA, the American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMHCA), and the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC) are pleased to announce that on Sunday, June 3, 2007, legislation to license mental health counselors was passed by both the Nevada Senate and Assembly. The passage of this legislation ends almost a decade of struggle for counselor licensure in Nevada. The legislation is expected to be signed by Governor Jim Gibbons (R) the week of June 11, 2007.
ACA, AMHCA, and NBCC worked closely as coalition partners, in coordination with Nevada grassroots leaders, in the successful effort to enact counselor licensure legislation in Nevada. California is now the only remaining state that does not license mental health counselors, although the California Coalition for Counselor Licensure is making unprecedented progress in promoting their licensure bill.
Under the Nevada legislation, requirements to become a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) will include:
- a master’s degree in mental health counseling or community counseling from a program approved by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP),
- 2 years/3,000 hours of post-master’s degree supervised experience, and
- successful completion of a national counselor examination administered by the National Board for Certified Counselors. Examinations include:
o The National Counselor Examination (NCE) (This examination may be used during the first two years of the law’s enactment with evidence satisfactory to the Board of at least 3 years of work experience in mental health counseling.)
o The National Clinical Mental Health Counselor Examination (NCMHCE)
According to the legislation, the practice of clinical professional counseling means the treatment, assessment and counseling or equivalent activities, to a person or group of persons to achieve mental, emotional, physical and social development and adjustment. The term, as defined by legislation, includes counseling interventions to prevent, diagnose and treat emotional or behavioral disorders which interfere with mental health. Licensing will be conducted by a joint board overseeing both professional counselors and marriage and family therapists.
ACA, AMHCA, and NBCC wish to thank their Nevada members and certificants, especially Louise Sutherland, Erik Schoen, and Pat Markos, EdD, and the bill’s authors, Senator Joe Heck (R-Henderson), Senator Maggie Carlton (D-Clark) and Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie (D-Reno) for their efforts in working to see the ultimate enactment of this important legislation. Our hearty congratulations and thanks go out to everyone who responded to the alerts and contacted their legislators in support of this legislation.
For more information, contact Scott Barstow (information below), Beth Powell, Director, Public Policy and Professional Issues, AMHCA (bpowell@amhca.org or phone: 800-326-2642, ext. 105), or Kristi McCaskill, Counseling Advocacy Coordinator, NBCC (mccaskill@nbcc.org or phone: 336-547-0607).
Scott Barstow
Director of Public Policy and Legislation
American Counseling Association
5999 Stevenson Avenue
Alexandria, VA 22304
703.823.9800 x234
703.823.0252 fax
800.347.6647
703.823.6828 TDD
sbarstow@counseling.org
www.counseling.org
E-News from Washington
Vol. 06-52
December 11, 2006Congress Passes Bill to Include Counselors in VA Programs
Inclusion of mental health counselors as providers at the Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA), a top policy goal for the American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMHCA) and the American Counseling Association (ACA), passed both the U.S. House and Senate during the waning hours of the 109th Congress. The provision, included in S. 3421, the Veterans Benefits, Healthcare, and Information Act, opens up the VA health care system to mental health counselors, increasing access to care for veterans. S. 3421 now goes to President Bush to be signed into law.
The bill, which passed the House by voice vote and the Senate under unanimous consent, includes the AMHCA and ACA provision to add mental health counselors to the list of appointed positions within the Veterans Healthcare Administration (VHA). The provision would also delineate the qualifications mental health counselors would need to be appointed to a position in the VHA.
Currently, the VA cannot hire mental health counselors at the same pay grade as clinical social workers, nor can mental health counselors apply for supervisory positions open to clinical social workers and others. Partially as a result, the VA is the largest employer of social workers in the United States, and the VA employs very few mental health counselors on a full-time basis.
The AMHCA and ACA supported provision will allow mental health counselors to be eligible for better paying jobs with a greater potential for promotion at the VA. Currently, licensed mental health counselors do not have a federal Office of Personnel Management (OPM) General Schedule (GS) occupational classification, which is necessary for a counselor to be employed by the U.S. Government. With enactment of the provision, OPM will be required to create an occupational classification for mental health counselors.
Among S. 3421's other provisions, is authorization of an additional $180 million for the provision of readjustment counseling and related mental health services provided at VA Vet Centers. The bill also adds funding to increase the number of clinicians, including mental health counselors, treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and authorizes an additional $2 million for VA community based outpatient clinics to support the provision of mental health services. Finally, the bill expands access to bereavement counseling for immediate family members as a service to be offered at Vet Centers when a service member dies on active duty.
The counselor language that was included in S. 3421 was taken from S. 1182, a bill passed by the Senate in December of 2005. AMHCA and ACA worked with two of its members, Carla Hattan, president of the Kansas Mental Health Counselors Association (KMHCA) and Bill Davis, a mental health counselor in the state, to get comparable counselor legislation introduced in the House. In May 2006, ACA and AMHCA achieved this goal when Rep. Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Rep. Michael Michaud (D-ME) introduced the "Veterans Mental Health Care Access Improvement Act of 2006" (H.R. 5396). Movement on the legislation seemed to have stalled in the Fall of 2006, until the House's action on the final legislative day of the 109th Congress.
AMHCA and and ACA would like to thank the Chairman (Sen. Larry Craig (R- ID)) and Ranking Member (Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI)) of the Senate VA Committee as well as Reps. Moran and Michaud from the House VA Committee for ensuring that the LPC provision was included in the final version of the bill. Finally, AMHCA and ACA would like to thank each of its members who advocated for passage of this legislation. The result shows that grassroots advocacy, coupled with cooperation from state chapters and the efforts of federal lobbyists, can achieve legislative victories for the counseling profession.
For more information, please contact Beth Powell at AMHCA at 800-326-2642, ext. 105 or by e-mail at bpowell@amhca.org or Brian Altman with ACA at 800-348-6647, ext. 242.
Beth Powell
Director, Public Policy and Professional IssuesAmerican Mental Health Counselors Association
The only national organization working exclusively for mental health counselors801 N. Fairfax Street, Suite 304
Alexandria, VA 22314
Phone: 703-548-6002, ext. 105
800-326-2642, ext. 105
FAX: 703-548-4775
Website: www.amhca.org
E-mail: bpowell@amhca.org
E-News from Washington
Vol. 06-33 • August 25, 2006Mentally Ill Faced Bias Following Hurricane Katrina
A recently released report by the National Council on Disability (NCD) indicates that mentally ill hurricane Katrina evacuees were often discriminated against during the relief efforts, to the point that some were banished from shelters or institutionalized against their will.
The report, issued in July 2006, documented how hurricanes Katrina and Rita caught so many agencies and organizations involved with disaster response off guard. It was based largely on media reports and firsthand accounts of people with mental health disabilities that came from conference calls organized by the NCD, but did not involve any formal survey. The report said that relief organizations and government at all levels mismanaged evacuations, discriminated against those with psychiatric disabilities, and terminated recovery services prematurely. The term "psychiatric disabilities" is used in the report to describe people who use or have used mental health or psychiatric services, including those who were in recovery prior to the hurricanes.
During the relief efforts, shelters were established specifically for people with special needs, and at their peak, they served more than 10,000 people. However, these shelters were created mainly for those with medical and physical disabilities and not mental illness.
Residents of group homes or other psychiatric facilities were lost to emergency officials, who were unprepared for the special requirements needed to transport or relocate them. Some ended up in state parks or other areas that were not set up to meet the specific needs of the mentally ill. Still others were inappropriately institutionalized because they were stereotyped with the stigma of mental illness.
The NCD report urges a range of policy changes at all levels of government. Among them are the following:
* Relief services like Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) housing and Medicaid coverage should continue for at least two years after a disaster;
* Federal agencies should adopt policies and regulations that reflect the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act to provide relief services that don't discriminate against those with mental illness;
* State and local officials should simplify procedures to allow out-of-state health professionals, including counselors, to work during an emergency;
* The American Red Cross should train its personnel to better identify and work with people with mental illness.
In addition, the report recommends that people with psychiatric disabilities receive the same help as other people when disasters strike and should be included in every stage of emergency planning.
The NCD is an independent federal agency that makes recommendations to the President and Congress on disability, including mental health policy issues.
If you have any questions, please contact Beth Powell, Director of Public Policy and Professional Issues at 800-326-2642, ext. 105 or by e-mail at bpowell@.org.
Beth Powell
Director, Public Policy and Professional Issues
American Mental Health Counselors Association
801 N. Fairfax Street, Suite 304
Alexandria, VA 22314
703-548-6002, ext. 105
800-326-2642, ext. 105
www.amhca.org
