The Policy and Advocacy Committee on Oct. 24 voted to direct staff to prepare and pursue legislative amendments clarifying provisions in the Board of Behavioral Sciences’ practice acts related to supervision via videoconferencing and mandatory abuse‑assessment training.

Roseanne Helms summarized proposed technical changes the committee considered. For supervision, staff proposed amending the law so that supervisors are required to assess the appropriateness of using two‑way, real‑time videoconferencing only when supervision is actually conducted via that medium. "If supervision is not being conducted via two‑way video conferencing, there's no reason to assess whether it's appropriate," Helms said (00:59:02).

For training, staff proposed (1) explicitly stating that the seven hours of child abuse assessment and reporting training must be California‑specific (referencing the California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act); (2) restricting acceptable course sources to board‑recognized continuing education providers rather than unspecified professional associations or county departments; and (3) removing an opt‑out exemption that would permit applicants to skip the coursework by asserting it is not relevant to their current practice. Staff described these as mostly technical or nonsubstantive clarifications intended to align the law with current practice and remove outdated language (00:59:02).

Committee members asked whether county or hospital providers may still deliver courses through an approved CE provider; staff confirmed that organizations can contract with a board‑recognized CE provider to offer training that meets the board’s standards. John Sobek said he appreciated the emphasis on California‑specific content given potential national testing changes (01:04:14).

A motion to direct staff to incorporate the discussed edits and pursue the changes as a legislative proposal was made and seconded. Roll call vote: Chris Jones — yes; Kelly Ronasini — yes; John Sobek — yes; Wendy Strack — yes. Motion carries (vote recorded at 01:09:58).

Votes at a glance: the committee also approved the July 31, 2025 minutes earlier in the meeting (unanimous roll call), and on Oct. 24 the committee approved the motion directing staff to pursue the statutory/technical amendments (4‑0).

Staff noted that the proposed clarifications would be routed through the usual legislative process (and that some related regulatory work is underway); the motion directs staff to draft language for the board to consider and, if approved, submit as a legislative request.