Kansas BSRB director reports stable finances, tech transitions and stalled board bill; flags new state law on gender-transition care

David Pfei, executive director of the Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board, told the board on March 5 that the agency's fee fund balance remained healthy even as staff pursue a multi-year technology transition and legislative priorities.

Pfei said the board began the fiscal year with about $1.9 million in the fee fund and, after revenues and expenditures to date, the balance stands at about $1.86 million. He reminded board members that the annual operating budget is roughly $1.2 million.

The executive director described two major technology efforts: an ongoing contract with CE Broker to let licensees upload continuing-education documentation, and a longer Acela licensing-platform project with the Office of Information Technology Services. Pfei said CE Broker implementation has been completed in staggered groups and received positive feedback; the Acela transition remains in discovery and is expected to take about two years total. "Given how many professions we have and how many different license types we have, probably our original estimate of about 2 years to make that transition is probably gonna be accurate," he said.

Pfei also reviewed outreach and workforce work: the agency's YouTube channel has carried roughly 95 meetings with about 10,855 total views; staff have increased campus outreach to counseling, psychology and social work students at several Kansas universities; and the agency ran multi-profession licensee surveys from Jan. 24 to Feb. 23 to gather data about supervision, telework and unprofessional-conduct trends.

On legislative activity, Pfei said an agency-request bill the board sought this session was not introduced before deadlines and will likely be pursued next year. He summarized other bills of interest: House Bill 2072 (art-therapist licensing) did not receive a hearing; House Bill 2274 (removing "active" military status from a spouse-fee waiver) passed the House and is in the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee; Senate Bill 63 (restricting some gender-transition care) was enacted after the Legislature overrode a veto and is now effective; and Senate Bill 128 (an exception to certain mandatory-reporting duties for social workers under attorney supervision) has passed the Senate and was scheduled for a House hearing.

Pfei cautioned the board that agency staff do not provide legal advice to licensees and said the office will continue to study the language and responsibilities created by the new law that addresses gender-transition care. "The BSRB does not provide legal guidance to licensees, but we are trying to make sure that we have a good understanding of what's all included in that bill," he said.

Pfei also updated the board on association work: he was appointed to an Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards bylaw task force; he will attend an ASWB administrators' workshop and an AASCB meeting where he will assume the treasurer role July 1; and the board continues participation in multistate compacts for counseling and social work.

The executive director closed by asking board members to raise any questions about these operational items at future meetings and promised to circulate survey and budget reports when they are finalized.