Northern regional board seeks to codify certified prevention specialists in Nevada law

Senator Robin Titus presented Assembly Bill 60 to the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services on behalf of the Northern Regional Behavioral Health Policy Board, asking the committee to codify language in Nevada law to recognize and align certified prevention specialists with national certification standards.

"This bill is being presented on behalf of the Northern Regional Behavioral Health Policy Board," Senator Robin Titus said, identifying the bill's origin and the region she represents (Senate District 17, which she described as covering Douglas, Lyon, Churchill, Mineral and Esmeralda counties and part of Nye County). Cheryl Lamar Wood, the Northern Region behavioral health coordinator, said she was presenting as a nonpartisan facilitator of the board and described the bill as aligning Nevada law with the Nevada Certification Board and the International Certification and Reciprocity Consortium (IC&RC).

Ann Elizabeth Northin, project director of the Nevada Certification Board, told the committee the certified prevention workforce supports local coalitions and delivers evidence-based prevention programming. "At the heart of it all is a certified prevention workforce, local experts who bring both scientific knowledge and community insight to the table," Northin said. She and other presenters described a statewide coalition network, training standards and an emphasis on implementing programs to fidelity.

Testimony detailed training and credential requirements. Presenters said certification requires about 2,000 hours of direct prevention implementation and that the standardized training and testing pathway is administered through national or nonprofit certifying entities; the in-person or online test has a fee (presenters cited about $149). Cheryl Lamar Wood and Ann Elizabeth Northin said there is no state licensing fee attached to the certification and that many coalitions and local organizations assist candidates in completing required supervised hours.

Supporters including Sabrina Schnur of NAMI Nevada and Blaine Osborne of Nevada Hospital Partners spoke in favor of AB 60. Katie Weller, a certified prevention specialist in Fallon and member of the Nevada Certification Board prevention specialist committee, testified about tribal community work and cultural appropriateness. Jamie Ross, director of the Nevada Statewide Coalition Partnership, testified in neutral to underscore the field's reliance on coalitions and prevention science and warned, "bad prevention can be worse than no prevention."

Committee members asked about fiscal impact, the 18-year minimum age in the bill, and transitions for professionals already doing prevention work. Presenters said an initial fiscal note tied to training was removed during drafting, that the certification infrastructure already exists in the state and coalitions commonly support candidates through the training and supervised hours, and that the bill’s age minimum had been debated with earlier drafts proposing lower ages but concerns about liability led the board to keep 18 as the minimum for this iteration.

Ending: The bill hearing closed after supporters spoke; the committee recorded no formal vote on AB 60 at the hearing.