HB 0696

This bill adds forensic counselors to the professions regulated by the board of mental health practices.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 Mental Health Practice; Definitions. Amend RSA 330-A:2, VII to read as follows:

VII. "Mental health practitioner" means persons licensed under this chapter as psychologists, pastoral psychotherapists, clinical social workers, clinical mental health counselors, forensic counselor, or marriage and family therapists. For purposes of this chapter, the term clinical social worker shall include independent clinical social worker.

2 Mental Health Practice; Board Members. Amend RSA 330-A:3, I to read as follows:

I. There shall be a board of mental health practice composed of the following members: one licensed psychologist, one licensed pastoral psychotherapist, one licensed clinical social worker, one licensed marriage and family therapist, one licensed clinical mental health counselor, one licensed forensic counselor, and 2 public members. The members shall be appointed to a term of 3 years by the governor with the approval of the council. The members of the board shall elect a chairperson on an annual basis. No discipline's representative and no public member shall serve as chairperson for consecutive terms.

3 Mental Health Practice; Advisory Committees. Amend RSA 330-A:4, I to read as follows:

I. The board shall have the authority to create advisory committees for each mental health discipline it licenses for the purpose of assisting the board in its responsibilities under RSA 330-A:10, II, and VI-XIV. The board member of each mental health discipline shall serve as the chair of that advisory committee. The balance of the membership of each of the advisory committees shall be composed of members nominated by the New Hampshire Psychological Association, the New Hampshire Pastoral Psychotherapists Association, the New Hampshire Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, the New Hampshire Association for Marriage and Family Therapists, the National Association of Forensic Counselors, and the New Hampshire Clinical Mental Health Counselors Association.

4 New Paragraph; Mental Health Practice; Responsibilities and Rulemaking. Amend RSA 330-A:10 by inserting after paragraph X the following new paragraph:

X-a. Ethical standards, including those promulgated by the National Association of Forensic Counselors, required to be met by each licensed forensic counselor, and how a license may be revoked for violations of these standards.

5 New Section; Mental Health Practice; Forensic Counselor. Amend RSA 330-A by inserting after section 21 the following new section:

330-A:21-a Forensic Counselor. The board shall issue a forensic counselor license to any person who meets all of the following requirements or their equivalent:

I. Has a master's degree or a doctorate degree from an accredited institution of higher education.

II. Has completed 660 hours of training in core functions as required and approved by the National Association of Forensic Counselors or the board.

III. Has completed a minimum of 4,000 hours of post master's practice in a correctional counseling setting, plus completion of a minimum of 300 hours of field work practice of forensic counseling under supervision approved by the National Association of Forensic Counselors or the board.

6 Mental Health Practice; Unlawful Practices. Amend RSA 330-A:23, I and II to read as follows:

I. Except as provided in RSA 330-A:34, it shall be unlawful for any person to be engaged in mental health practice unless that person is licensed by the board, working as a candidate under the direct supervision of a person licensed by the board, or engaged in the practice of other mental health services as an alternative provider as defined in RSA 330-A:2, I. The license or the registration of such person shall be current and valid. It shall be unlawful for any person to practice as or to refer to oneself as a psychologist, a pastoral psychotherapist, a clinical social worker, a clinical mental health counselor, forensic counselor, or a marriage and family therapist, or use the word "psychotherapist," or any variation thereof, in such person's title unless that person is licensed by the board or working as a candidate under the direct supervision of a person licensed by the board. Psychiatrists licensed under RSA 329 and psychiatric nurse practitioners licensed under RSA 326-B:10 may refer to themselves as psychotherapists.

II. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, any person who violates paragraph I or paragraph III of this section or who violates any of the other provisions of this chapter relating to psychology, pastoral psychotherapy, clinical social work, clinical mental health counseling, forensic counseling, or marriage and family therapy, or, having had his or her license suspended or revoked, shall continue to represent himself or herself as a licensed psychologist, pastoral psychotherapist, clinical social worker, clinical mental health counselor, or marriage and family therapist, or as a psychotherapist, shall be guilty of a class B misdemeanor, and each violation shall be deemed a separate offense.

The Department of Health and Human Services stated this bill will increase state expenditures by $9,500 in FY 2004 and $6,000 in each year thereafter. State unrestricted revenue will increase by $6,750 in FY 2004, $9,750 in FY 2005, $12,750 in FY 2006, and $15,750 in FY 2007. There will be no fiscal impact on county and local revenue or expenditures.

The Department indicated new administrative rules for the Board of Mental Health Practice will be written to include forensic counselors. A consultant will be hired to modify the Board's database to incorporate the changes. The Department assumed 45 forensic counselors will apply for licensure in FY 2004 and 20 additional counselors would apply in each of the following years. Additional funds would be needed to pay for services of the Administrative Prosecution Unit (APU), operating expenses and board member mileage as follows:

Revenue: FY 2004 FY 2005 FY 2006 FY 2007

Number of Applicants 45 65 85 105

Application Fee Revenue @ $150 $6,750 $9,750 $12,750 $15,750

Expenditures:

Board Member mileage 1,500 1,500 1,500 1,500

Rule writing, printing, and mailing 5,000 0 0 0

APU 0 2,000 2,000 2,000

Postage 0 1,000 1,000 1,000

Consultant to Modify the Database 2,500 0 0 0

Process and mailing applications/ licenses 500 1,500 1,500 1,500

Total Expenditures $9,500 $6,000 $6,000 $6,000

As the number of licenses increase, the Department will eventually need to hire a part-time person and purchase additional equipment.