In an increasingly mobile society, it is not uncommon for professionals to move in many areas for professional or personal reasons. For those in occupations such as human resources, information technology, publications and numerous other areas, moving to another area usually only requires a new employer. In fact, many professionals don't even have to look for a new office because they can do telework.
For professional consultants, however, the move requires that a license be obtained again in its new state. Since the individual state requirements for licensing vary widely – particularly with regard to the number of semester hours, the required study achievements, the number of hours of advised experience of the postmaster and the examination requirements – it can be difficult and time-consuming for consultants to obtain their licenses transfer . In addition, most states require counselors to be admitted in the same state that their clients live in, which limits practitioners' ability to provide therapy for telehealth health. The inability to provide counseling remotely not only limits the counselors' potential practice paths, but often forces clients who move to seek a new psychiatrist.
The American Counseling Association has long viewed the lack of portability of licenses as one of the most critical problems in the consulting profession. The project "Building Blocks for Portability" was one of the most important initiatives that emerged from 20/20: A vision for the future of advice, a long-term strategic planning measure that was implemented by ACA and the American Association of State Counseling Boards with 31 major initiatives were jointly sponsored by consulting organizations. In June 2016, the ACA Government Council adopted the ACA license portability model, which read:
“An advisor who is licensed at the Independent Practice level in their home state and has no disciplinary records can obtain an Independent Level license in any state or US jurisdiction in which they seek residency Get practice. The state to which the licensed advisor moves may request a review of the case law based on that state's rules and procedures. "
However, to ensure real portability, individual state licensing agencies across the country would have had to adopt the ACA model. Finally, based on contributions from governmental licensing authorities, ACA decided that the most effective way to achieve portability was to create an intergovernmental pact.
The contract "will not be the plan of ACA or any other group [plan]," said Lynn Linde, ACA's chief knowledge and learning officer and collaborator on the Interstate Compact project. “We expect the licensing bodies to agree to their contributions. That is why it is the best option. "
How an Intergovernmental Pact Would Work
What exactly is proposed? According to Linde, states that join a pact would agree to accept testimonials from professional advisors licensed in another state. Individual governmental regulatory agencies might impose additional requirements, such as reviewing the case law or reviewing the FBI's background, but the contract would not change the scope of the professional advisors, Linde said. Individual advisors should have a valid license from the state of their legal residence. Consultants could then request that the pact be approved for exercise in other states that have agreed to participate in the pact.
Although the process sounds relatively simple, implementing the Interstate Compact for portability is a multi-year process. In January 2019, ACA signed a contract with the National Center for Intergovernmental Contracts (NCIC) of the Council of State Governments (CSG) to carry out the work. NCIC divided the project into three phases:
Phase I: development of the compact. This includes forming an advisory group, drawing up a draft contract and gathering feedback from all groups involved on the draft.
Phase II: implementation of the pact. In this phase, a compact online resource kit is developed along with a legislative strategy, including a national legislative briefing.
Phase III: Commission set up to monitor and coordinate the contract.
(For more information on the interstate compact process, see an information sheet at tinyurl.com/vlh3gk2 on the ACA website.)
Where are we now?
In October 2019, the advisory group, consisting of ACA members, representatives of state licensing authorities, state legislators and lawyers from state licensing authorities, met in person. Follow-up meetings by telephone took place in November, December, January and February. During these calls, members of the advisory group had the opportunity to further discuss how they wanted to deal with certain elements of the pact and to speak with representatives of other pacts, said Linde.
A drawing team, composed primarily of advisory group lawyers, NCIC lawyers, and several other professionals with specific expertise in licensing requirements, has been set up and is scheduled to meet in March, Linde said. The goal is to create a compact design by May or June this year. The draft is sent back to the advisory group for review and then included in the formal CSG Compact Stakeholder Review – an eight-week process in which feedback is obtained from governmental regulatory agencies, state legislators, and state and national affiliates. The editorial team reviews the feedback and makes the necessary changes. The updated draft is then submitted to the advisory group, which either approves it or makes further changes.
Once the advisory group has approved the final version, the plan is presented to the states and phase II, the legislative process for implementing the pact, will begin. (For more information on the design and implementation process, go to tinyurl.com/unav9ta.)
Phase II is expected to last from September 2020 to March 2023. Phase III is expected to take place from April 2023 to September 2023.
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Laurie Meyers is a senior writer for Counseling Today. Contact her at [email protected].
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