SUNSET REVIEW OF TSBEPC
The Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors, as well as the other behavioral health regulatory boards, is going through a review by Sunset Commission (again).
The
Texas Sunset Commission Staff Report
was released on March 28, 2018. The
Sunset Commission
, which is composed of legislators and public members, will hold a public hearing on these boards on April 25-26, 2018 in Austin and will make their final recommendations to the Texas Legislature on May 23-24, 2018.
The report acknowledges that “. . .
the boards are acting in good faith and have made notable strides in addressing the previously identified problems. . . However, significant problems and challenges remain that cannot be resolved within the current structure
. . . " It goes on to say “. . .
the continued administrative attachment of the marriage and family therapy, professional counseling and social work boards to a large agency. . . is still not working. . . The dysfunction created by such a model places the livelihoods of licensees in jeopardy and puts the public at risk
.”
While TCA
supports
the recommendation to organize the regulatory boards for LPCs, LMFTs, SWs and psychologists within a new agency, the
Behavioral Health Executive Council
, we
disagree
with the staff’s recommendation for the
structure of BHEC
. Sunset staff recommends BHEC be comprised of one public member from each of the Boards with one professional member from each Board serving only in “ex officio” roles. Including a professional representative from each of the Boards will provide expertise and is more likely to enhance consistency in professional standards rather than interference across professions. BHEC would still be a public majority agency, since the Governor will appoint a non-professional to serve as its presiding officer.
