Good news everyone – the Social Work exemption under existing law has been extended for another 5 years. The section from the Article VII Health and Mental Hygiene bill appears below. This was worded in the strongest terms possible. This is an issue that ACL has been involved in for many years now, working against the Legislature lifting the exemption, which would have opened many jobs up to a requirement to have licensed social workers – it would have broken the bank of many non-profit providers assuming you could even find enough licensed social workers. Moreover, there was very ambiguous language that could have required social workers in residential positions that do not require them now. Clinics would have had to replace many non-licensed social workers with licensed social workers. We wanted a permanent exemption but we’ll have to fight it again in 5 years. We’ll take it! We are very happy.
Part J – Extends for five years the long-time exemption from licensure for individuals working in certain programs and services that are regulated, operated, funded or approved by the Office of Mental Health (OMH), the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD), the Office for Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS), the Department of Health (DOH), the State Office for the Aging (SOFA), the Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS), the Department of Corrections and Community Services (DOCCS), the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) and/or local governmental units or social service districts
Purpose:
This bill would extend for five years the exemption for certain social work and mental health professional licensure requirements of persons employed by a program or service operated, regulated, funded or approved by OMH, OPWDD, OASAS, DOH, SOFA, OCFS, OTDA, DOCCS, and/or local governmental units or social services districts.
Summary of Provisions and Statement in Support:
This bill would amend Chapter 420 of the Laws of 2002, as amended by Chapter 57 of the Laws of 2013, in relation to the licensure of social workers and other mental health professionals, amends subdivision a of section 17-a of Chapter 676 of the Laws of 2002, as amended by Chapter 57 of the Laws of 2013, and amends section 16 of Chapter 130 of the Laws of 2010, as amended by Chapter 57 of the Laws of 2013. These laws include provisions that exempt from licensure individuals working in programs that are regulated, operated, funded or approved by OMH, DOH, SOFA, OCFS, DOCCS, OTDA, OASAS, OPWDD, and/or local governmental units or social services districts. Chapter 57 of the Laws of 2013 extended the exemption to July 1, 2016.
The existing licensure exemption has been in place since 2002. There has been no evidence to show that the added cost associated with eliminating the exemption would improve outcomes. Programs licensed, regulated, funded or approved by State agencies and/or local government units or social services districts are subject to State oversight, monitoring and regulation. These programs must comply with detailed State regulations, and, if funded by Medicaid, applicable Medicaid regulations and standards established by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Other State and federal agencies that provide oversight of these programs include the DOH, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of Justice, New York State Office of the Medicaid Inspector General, New York State Office of the State Comptroller, New York State Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs, The Joint Commission and the Commission on the Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities and New York State Family Court.
The purpose of the current exemption is to allow for greater State and local government flexibility in the delivery of services. Since many State-operated and local programs rely on social workers, psychologists, clinical coordinators, and other professionals to perform counseling, psychotherapy, and case management, failure to make the exemption permanent would have a significant negative impact on the delivery of services and may require the State and local governments to lay off professionals who do not meet current licensing standards, and replace them with licensed individuals.
This proposal compliments and supports the on-going Medicaid Redesign Team (MRT) initiative establishing Behavioral Health Homes as the current fee-for-service Behavioral Health benefits transition to managed care. Extending the current exemption will avoid
the adverse impact on the MRT Health Home initiative. The MRT team concluded that the impact on the quality of care would be profound, including the loss of culturally competent staff, and loss of certain master’s level professionals. It would also cause disruptions in client care and loss of services.
Budget Implications:
Enactment of this bill is necessary to implement the 2016-17 Executive Budget because the additional costs resulting from new licensure requirements for the State and entities licensed and regulated by the State would be $325 million annually. These additional costs primarily result from replacing current non-licensed staff with more expensive licensed staff, and re-classifying existing titles to higher grade levels. This does not include unemployment costs resulting from layoffs that may occur if the existing exemption is not extended. Extending this exemption would enable the State and those programs and services that it regulates, operates, funds or approves to continue providing quality services in the most cost effective manner.
Effective Date: This bill would take effect immediately.