Florida Senate - 2021                              CS for SB 818
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Criminal Justice; and Senator Burgess
       
       
       
       
       
       591-03567A-21                                          2021818c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to mental health professionals;
    3         amending s. 491.005, F.S.; revising education
    4         requirements for licensure by examination as a
    5         marriage and family therapist; requiring a licensed
    6         mental health professional to be accessible by
    7         telephone or other electronic means when a registered
    8         intern is providing services through telehealth;
    9         deleting a requirement that a licensed mental health
   10         professional be on the premises when a registered
   11         intern is providing clinical services in a private
   12         setting; requiring the Board of Clinical Social Work,
   13         Marriage and Family Therapy, and Mental Health
   14         Counseling, rather than the Department of Health, to
   15         designate a certain examination required for licensure
   16         as a marriage and family therapist; deleting a
   17         requirement that a licensed mental health professional
   18         be on the premises when a registered intern is
   19         providing clinical services in a private practice
   20         setting; amending s. 916.115, F.S.; authorizing courts
   21         to appoint mental health professionals licensed under
   22         ch. 491, F.S., as experts in criminal cases; providing
   23         an effective date.
   24          
   25  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   26  
   27         Section 1. Subsection (3) and paragraph (c) of subsection
   28  (4) of section 491.005, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
   29         491.005 Licensure by examination.—
   30         (3) MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPY.—Upon verification of
   31  documentation and payment of a fee not to exceed $200, as set by
   32  board rule, plus the actual cost of the purchase of the
   33  examination from the Association of Marital and Family Therapy
   34  Regulatory Board, or similar national organization, the
   35  department shall issue a license as a marriage and family
   36  therapist to an applicant who the board certifies has met the
   37  following criteria:
   38         (a) Has Submitted an application and paid the appropriate
   39  fee.
   40         (b)1.Obtained one of the following:
   41         a. A minimum of a master’s degree in marriage and family
   42  therapy from a program accredited by the Commission on
   43  Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education.
   44         b. A minimum of a master’s degree with a major emphasis in
   45  marriage and family therapy or a closely related field from a
   46  university program accredited by the Council for Accreditation
   47  of Counseling and Related Educational Programs and graduate
   48  courses approved by the board.
   49         c. A minimum of a master’s degree with an emphasis in
   50  marriage and family therapy or a closely related field, with a
   51  degree conferred date before July 1, 2026, from an
   52  institutionally accredited college or university and graduate
   53  course approved by the board Has a minimum of a master’s degree
   54  with major emphasis in marriage and family therapy or a closely
   55  related field from a program accredited by the Commission on
   56  Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education or from
   57  a Florida university program accredited by the Council for
   58  Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs and
   59  graduate courses approved by the Board of Clinical Social Work,
   60  Marriage and Family Therapy, and Mental Health Counseling.
   61         2. If the course title that appears on the applicant’s
   62  transcript does not clearly identify the content of the
   63  coursework, the applicant shall provide additional
   64  documentation, including, but not limited to, a syllabus or
   65  catalog description published for the course. The required
   66  master’s degree must have been received in an institution of
   67  higher education that, at the time the applicant graduated, was
   68  fully accredited by an institutional a regional accrediting body
   69  recognized by the Commission on Recognition of Postsecondary
   70  Accreditation or publicly recognized as a member in good
   71  standing with the Association of Universities and Colleges of
   72  Canada, or an institution of higher education located outside
   73  the United States and Canada which, at the time the applicant
   74  was enrolled and at the time the applicant graduated, maintained
   75  a standard of training substantially equivalent to the standards
   76  of training of those institutions in the United States which are
   77  accredited by an institutional a regional accrediting body
   78  recognized by the Commission on Recognition of Postsecondary
   79  Accreditation. Such foreign education and training must have
   80  been received in an institution or program of higher education
   81  officially recognized by the government of the country in which
   82  it is located as an institution or program to train students to
   83  practice as professional marriage and family therapists or
   84  psychotherapists. The applicant has the burden of establishing
   85  that the requirements of this provision have been met, and the
   86  board shall require documentation, such as an evaluation by a
   87  foreign equivalency determination service, as evidence that the
   88  applicant’s graduate degree program and education were
   89  equivalent to an accredited program in this country. An
   90  applicant with a master’s degree from a program that did not
   91  emphasize marriage and family therapy may complete the
   92  coursework requirement in a training institution fully
   93  accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and
   94  Family Therapy Education recognized by the United States
   95  Department of Education.
   96         (c) Has Had at least 2 years of clinical experience during
   97  which 50 percent of the applicant’s clients were receiving
   98  marriage and family therapy services, which must have been be at
   99  the post-master’s level under the supervision of a licensed
  100  marriage and family therapist with at least 5 years of
  101  experience, or the equivalent, who is a qualified supervisor as
  102  determined by the board. An individual who intends to practice
  103  in Florida to satisfy the clinical experience requirements must
  104  register pursuant to s. 491.0045 before commencing practice. If
  105  a graduate has a master’s degree with a major emphasis in
  106  marriage and family therapy or a closely related field which did
  107  not include all of the coursework required by paragraph (b),
  108  credit for the post-master’s level clinical experience may not
  109  commence until the applicant has completed a minimum of 10 of
  110  the courses required by paragraph (b), as determined by the
  111  board, and at least 6 semester hours or 9 quarter hours of the
  112  course credits must have been completed in the area of marriage
  113  and family systems, theories, or techniques. Within the 2 years
  114  of required experience, the applicant must shall provide direct
  115  individual, group, or family therapy and counseling to cases
  116  including those involving unmarried dyads, married couples,
  117  separating and divorcing couples, and family groups that include
  118  children. A doctoral internship may be applied toward the
  119  clinical experience requirement. When a registered intern is
  120  providing clinical services through telehealth, a licensed
  121  mental health professional must be accessible by telephone or
  122  other electronic means A licensed mental health professional
  123  must be on the premises when clinical services are provided by a
  124  registered intern in a private practice setting.
  125         (d) Has Passed a theory and practice examination designated
  126  by board rule provided by the department.
  127         (e) Has Demonstrated, in a manner designated by board rule,
  128  knowledge of the laws and rules governing the practice of
  129  clinical social work, marriage and family therapy, and mental
  130  health counseling.
  131  
  132  For the purposes of dual licensure, the department shall license
  133  as a marriage and family therapist any person who meets the
  134  requirements of s. 491.0057. Fees for dual licensure may not
  135  exceed those stated in this subsection.
  136         (4) MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELING.—Upon verification of
  137  documentation and payment of a fee not to exceed $200, as set by
  138  board rule, plus the actual per applicant cost of purchase of
  139  the examination from the National Board for Certified Counselors
  140  or its successor organization, the department shall issue a
  141  license as a mental health counselor to an applicant who the
  142  board certifies:
  143         (c) Has had at least 2 years of clinical experience in
  144  mental health counseling, which must be at the post-master’s
  145  level under the supervision of a licensed mental health
  146  counselor or the equivalent who is a qualified supervisor as
  147  determined by the board. An individual who intends to practice
  148  in Florida to satisfy the clinical experience requirements must
  149  register pursuant to s. 491.0045 before commencing practice. If
  150  a graduate has a master’s degree with a major related to the
  151  practice of mental health counseling which did not include all
  152  the coursework required under sub-subparagraphs (b)1.a. and b.,
  153  credit for the post-master’s level clinical experience may not
  154  commence until the applicant has completed a minimum of seven of
  155  the courses required under sub-subparagraphs (b)1.a. and b., as
  156  determined by the board, one of which must be a course in
  157  psychopathology or abnormal psychology. A doctoral internship
  158  may be applied toward the clinical experience requirement. A
  159  licensed mental health professional must be on the premises when
  160  clinical services are provided by a registered intern in a
  161  private practice setting.
  162         Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section
  163  916.115, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  164         916.115 Appointment of experts.—
  165         (1) The court shall appoint no more than three experts to
  166  determine the mental condition of a defendant in a criminal
  167  case, including competency to proceed, insanity, involuntary
  168  placement, and treatment. The experts may evaluate the defendant
  169  in jail or in another appropriate local facility or in a
  170  facility of the Department of Corrections.
  171         (a) To the extent possible, the appointed experts shall
  172  have completed forensic evaluator training approved by the
  173  department, and each shall be a psychiatrist or a physician
  174  licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459, a licensed
  175  psychologist licensed under chapter 490, or a mental health
  176  professional licensed under chapter 491 physician.
  177         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2021.