ILLINOIS LEGISLATION
HB 326 School Confidentiality
Passed House Committee waiting vote in House not called-bill dead
Dan Stasi offered testimony on this bill in Springfield. The bill was passed in the House
committee. It will be amended to mirror SB 1508 (see that version later in this column).
We are working closely with the School Social Workers to pass this legislation.
This bill will protect the student’s confidentiality in discussing personal issues with a
school counselor.
SB 1508 School Confidentiality
Passed Senate in House- awaiting committee hearing
Dan Stasi attended the Senate Hearing on this bill and, along with the lobbyist for the
School Social Workers, convincing testimony was offered. The bill passed unanimously in
the Senate Education Committee and now heads for a full vote in the Senate.
“Communications otherwise protected by law as privileged or confidential, including but
not limited to, information communicated in confidence to a physician, psychologist, or
other psychotherapist, school social worker, school counselor, school psychologist, or
intern who works under the direct supervision of a school intern who works under the
direct supervision of a school social worker, school counselor, or school psychologist; or
(2) Information which is communicated by a student or parent in confidence to school
personnel; or (3) Information which is communicated by a student, parent, or guardian to a
law enforcement professional working in the school, except as provided by court order.(g)
No school employee shall be subjected to adverse employment action, the threat of
adverse employment action, or any manner of discrimination because the employee is
acting or has acted to protect communications as privileged or confidential pursuant to
applicable standards of professional responsibility, ethical codes, or relevant provisions of
State or federal law.”
HB 1143 – Scholarships
Passed House in Senate – awaiting sponsor resolution
Synopsis As Introduced
Creates the Mental Health Graduate Education Scholarship Act. Establishes the Mental Health
Graduate Scholarship Program, to be administered by the Department of Human Services.
Requires the Department to provide scholarships to qualified individuals who are enrolled in or
accepted into a mental health graduate program at a public or private college or university in this
State and who agree to being employed in this State as a licensed professional counselor,
licensed clinical professional counselor, licensed clinical psychologist, licensed social worker, or
licensed clinical social worker in direct patient care in a human services capacity in a designated
shortage area for at least one year for each year of scholarship assistance received. Sets forth
provisions concerning the functions of the Department, the award and amount of a scholarship,
requirements for scholarship recipients, a Mental Health Consortium Advisory Council, student
enrollment and the obligations of institutions, and program funding. Effective immediately.
This bill passed the committee in the House unanimously. Dan Stasi drafted the language for this
bill and testified before the House Committee. It would be funded by excess licensure funds
collected by IDFPR.
SB 1391 MFT School Certification
Passed Senate 14 No votes .In House we are pushing for amendment.
Synopsis As Introduced
Amends the School Code. Requires the State Board of Education to adopt rules to provide
standards for the certification of marital and family therapists employed by school boards.
Provides that these rules shall include certification requirements to be met by (i) licensure as a
marital and family therapist under the Marriage and Family Therapy Licensing Act and (ii) such
other experience as the State Board deems appropriate for the position of marital and family
therapist in a school system. Effective immediately.
Dan Stasi testified twice on this bill in the Senate committee. We met with Senate sponsor to
discuss our concerns.
HB 3257 as amendedBill dead not called for a vote in House.
This bill corrects an outdated section of the licensure law and prevents Bachelor’s level applicants
from still becoming LPCs. The licensure rules were changed several years to no longer allow B.A.
applicants, but not the law.
We will try again next year.
CAPWIZ has had 400 emails sent to legislators.
Developing bill or IL Rehab counselors on adding CRC language.
Advocated for ILARP counselors with ISBE website listing.
Organized 3/6/09 Educator Summit with 65 attendees. Discussed licensure, rule changes,
CACREP changes and school counselor legislation.
Researched materials for proposal to ISBE staff on Medicaid funding for social work services
performed by school counselors.
Developing bill on LCPCs in health care facility management.
Day on Hill for school counselors.
Helped with orientation of participating counselors.
FEDERAL LEGISLATION
Medicare Coverage of Licensed Professional Counselors
(Position Papers) 03.27.09
(Updated March 2009)
LEGISLATION
H.R. 1693 -- “Seniors Mental Health Access Improvement Act of 2009” [Sponsor: Rep. Bart Gordon (D-TN)]
cosponsors (as of March 26, 2009): 2
S. 671 – “Seniors Mental Health Access Improvement Act of 2009” [Sponsor: Senator Blanche Lincoln]
cosponsors (as of March 26, 2009): 5
Progress on Implementation of New Veterans Affairs Law
(Position Papers) 03.20.09
(Updated March 2009)
LEGISLATION
Public Law 109-461, the “Veterans Benefits, Healthcare, and Information Technology Act of 2006.”
LATEST INFORMATION
In February, the Under Secretary for Health of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) approved the creation of a
new occupational category or categories for the hiring of licensed professional counselors and marriage and family
therapists by the VA. The decision is a major step in the implementation of PL 109-461, which was signed into law
in December 2006. The ACA and AMHCA have provided the VA with information regarding the training and
qualifications for professional counselors that we believe will be beneficial in structuring future position descriptions
and occupational categories.
Legislation Introduced to Improve Mental Health Services on College
Campuses
(Legislative News) 04.06.09
On March 24th, Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined with Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) and Representative Jan
Schakowsky (D-IL) to reintroduce bipartisan legislation to improve mental health services on college campuses.
The Mental Health on Campus Improvement Act (H.R. 1704/S.682) creates a competitive grant program that
would provide funding to colleges to focus on both outreach to identify students with mental health needs and
treatment of students coming to counseling centers for help. The grant program is modeled on the Elementary and
Secondary School Counseling Program (ESSCP), which provides competitive grants to K-12 schools to hire more
school counselors, school psychologists, school social workers.
Started LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook for legislation updating and networking.