Legislature(2013 - 2014)BARNES 124
01/29/2014 03:15 PM House LABOR & COMMERCE
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB239 | |
| HB240 | |
| HB241 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 239 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 240 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 241 | TELECONFERENCED | |
HB 241-EXTEND BOARD OF MARITAL & FAMILY THERAPY
3:49:27 PM
CHAIR OLSON announced that the final order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 241, "An Act extending the termination date of
the Board of Marital and Family Therapy; and providing for an
effective date."
3:49:41 PM
CRYSTAL KOENEMAN, Staff, Representative Lora Reinbold, Alaska
State Legislature, stated that the bill will extend the Board of
Marital and Family Therapy (BMFT) until June 30, 2018, based on
a previous audit. Auditors recommended a four-year extension
based on two prior audit recommendations from the 2009 audit
that had not been fully resolved. First, the audit recommended
that the Board of Marital and Family Therapy (BMFT) develop a
strategy for distance therapy and distance supervision. She
said she discussed this with the BMFT's chair. The chair
advised that the board worked with the division and the
Department of Law and concluded that the matter will require
statutory language to implement changes. She said the board is
moving forward for proposed language for possible introduction
next legislative session.
3:51:01 PM
CHAIR OLSON asked whether the small size of the BMFT adds to the
present challenges.
MS. KOENEMAN answered yes. Auditors also recommended that the
Office of the Governor and the board work together to fill
vacant board seats timely. She recalled the BMFT consists of
almost 100 licensees, although the board or the division could
confirm the figures. She advised that the board member vacancy
has since been filled. Finally, the auditors recommended that
the BCBPL's investigative case management system be improved,
but as previously mentioned the division has made improvements
in this area. The sponsor agrees with the legislative auditors
on the recommended four-year extension, she said.
3:52:25 PM
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON was surprised by the small number of
licensees.
MS. KOENEMAN explained that by statute, one requirement for
marital and family therapist licensures is the therapist must
have 1,500 hours of practice, of which 200 hours must be
supervised. In response to a question on whether the clients or
the professional needs distance supervision she deferred to the
division.
3:54:11 PM
KRIS CURTIS, Legislative Auditor, Division of Legislative Audit,
Legislative Agencies and Offices, explained the division
conducted a sunset audit dated June 19, 2013, with the main
objective to determine whether the board is serving the public's
interest and if it should be extended. The legislative auditors
recommended only a four-year extension since the board had not
fully addressed the prior sunset audit recommendation to pursue
regulation changes that are necessary to protect the public's
interest. The prior audit's reasoning on the recommendation was
slightly different. Although the board initiated one regulation
change, the board has not addressed the need for distance
supervision and distance therapy. She explained that distance
supervision pertains to licensure, such that an applicant must
have a certain number of supervised hours to become licensed as
a marital and family therapist. Distance supervision would be
provided electronically, possibly through the Internet, or from
other technology. Currently, BMFT's services are not widely
available in some areas of the state and distance delivery has
been viewed as being a means to address this disparity.
MS. CURTIS said that during the current audit period the board
extensively researched and discussed the topic; however, it made
little progress in developing regulations and the board does not
have a strategy to move past the discussion phase. The auditor
recommended the board develop a strategy to address the need for
distance services, and the board and division concurred with the
recommendation. She reported that as of March 2013, 91
applicants applied for licensure. Additionally the BMFT
licenses associates, although she did not have the figures for
that category of license. In response to Representative
Josephson, Ms. Curtis replied that the BMFT offers one type of
license, but people can obtain services in other areas, such as
social worker examiners, professional counselors, and
psychologists.
3:57:17 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked for the historical counts on
licensees.
MS. CURTIS referred to page 17 of the audit that shows a count
by year on the number of new licenses issued, which varies from
three to nine licenses.
3:57:54 PM
DON HABEGER, Director, Division of Corporations, Business, and
Professional Licensing (DCBPL), Department of Commerce,
Community, & Economic Development (DCCED), deferred to Mr.
Webber, Chair, Board of Marital & Family Therapy (BMFT).
3:58:46 PM
LEON WEBBER, D.Mn., LMFT; Chair, Board of Marital & Family
Therapy (BMFT), Department of Commerce, Community & Economic
Development (DCCED), related his understanding that the board
previously faced financial difficulties, stemming from
investigative expense, with fees increasing to $1,000 for a
biennial license, resulting in some licensees transferring to
larger boards with lower fees. Currently, the board licenses
118 "marriage and family therapists" and "marriage and family
therapy associates." Although marital and family therapists
practice in the specific field, as previously mentioned,
services are also being provided other professionals such as
those providing couples therapy. The field of marital and
family therapy specifically requires licensees to achieve a
masters' level or doctorate level in marriage and family
therapy.
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON acknowledged the fields have all become
very sophisticated and complicated.
4:01:18 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER wondered about the quality of service
provided by the other professionals when the BMFT's licensees
shift to other boards.
MR. WEBBER answered that he couldn't answer that question. He
said the BMFT's responsibility is to ensure that those who are
licensed by the board provide quality services and for other
professions to monitor and oversee services provided under other
licenses to ensure their licensees are qualified to perform
them. He lauded DCBPL's director, Mr. Habeger, for providing
financial assistance to the board. He said the sunset review
was very thorough and he reported that the BFMT has subsequently
contacted 49 states to obtain research and has worked with other
boards and health care agencies on tele-therapy and tele-
supervision. For example, tele-therapy might mean a licensed
therapist in Alaska is providing therapy to an out-of-state
client in Idaho or it may mean a therapist in a residential
treatment center in Idaho is providing family therapy to someone
in Alaska. Thus far, the board hasn't established any
guidelines to address those issues or any competency issues for
tele-therapy services, noting that an average therapist may not
feel as competent providing distance therapy, he said.
Additionally, confidentiality issues have arisen, for example,
whether encrypted communications are needed. The BMFT
considered these matters at its last board meeting, and plans to
address proposed statutes, regulations, and ethical guidelines
at its next meeting, which he said has been a huge challenge.
4:03:48 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked whether the division's remedies on
investigation costs will stabilize the number of licensees and
curtail the drift of BMFT's licensees to other boards.
MR. WEBBER thought it would do so. He anticipated that license
fees will drop to within several hundred dollars of other
similar professional fees. He did not envision more therapists
would leave the field. He characterized the total clarity on
finances as being a relief.
4:04:52 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked whether he envisioned other changes
in the field that will need to be addressed.
MR. WEBBER answered that it will be important to monitor how
well tele-therapy is handled. For example, he related that he
is participating in this hearing from Hawaii, while
simultaneously his friend is at a military base hospital
conducting tele-therapy with five members of a family who are
located in Iraq, North Carolina, and Honolulu. He said that his
board recognizes that this type of service is beginning to
become predominant in the field. He looked forward to working
with the legislature on statutory and regulation changes. In
further response to a question, he said the BMFT hopes to have a
bill introduced next year.
CHAIR OLSON said appreciated the work Mr. Habeger has done to
address the investigative costs and level the fees for all
boards.
4:07:02 PM
KENNITH MCCARTY, Board Member, Board of Marital & Family Therapy
(BMFT), Department of Commerce, Community & Economic Development
(DCCED), stated he also serves as the president of the
Association for Marriage and Family Therapists. He provided a
brief background of his service and the board issues that arose
from an investigation. He explained that the BMFT's statutes
have title protection, but not practice protection. In other
words, unless a person is licensed by the BMFT, the professional
cannot call themselves a family therapist on his/her business
card, but the person could offer other services such as "couples
counseling." In response to a question on practice protection,
he said the board was unsure of how to proceed with practice
protection. For example, in the instance of couples counseling,
the board could examine the type of experience in terms of
education and training; however, the board is holding ongoing
discussions.
CHAIR OLSON suggested members could contemplate statutory
remedies to assist the board.
4:10:46 PM
MR. MCCARTY, in response to the comment on the number of
licensees, agreed that higher license fees has affected the
number of overall practitioners, but the division's efforts to
reduce license fees have helped remedy this and may lead to some
professionals applying for dual licenses.
REPRESENTATIVE REINBOLD lauded Mr. McCarty. She encouraged him
working with Mr. Webber, and her staff and congratulated him on
his wedding.
4:12:21 PM
CHAIR OLSON, after first determining no one else wished to
testify, closed public testimony on HB 241.
4:12:40 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER moved to report HB 241 out of committee
with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal
notes. There being no objection, HB 241 was reported from the
House Labor and Commerce Standing Committee.