At its Jan. 13 meeting the Addiction Counselor Advisory Committee reviewed a set of KAR regulations and agreed by consensus to recommend several targeted edits to the Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board.

Leslie Allen, assistant director and licensing manager, walked members through proposed changes to KAR 102‑7‑4 (application for licensure), KAR 102‑7‑4B (reciprocity), KAR 102‑7‑7 (renewal/reinstatement), KAR 102‑7‑8 (audit), and KAR 102‑7‑12 (DSM reference). Changes include clarifying when prior references need not be resubmitted for the clinical level, aligning reciprocity language with 2023 statutory changes (including degree and recent‑practice requirements), replacing "late renew" wording with "reinstatement" and refining penalty language, allowing digital/copy CE audit submissions (and board‑approved portals) instead of original documents, and updating the DSM edition reference to the current print (DSM‑5‑TR).

For the regulation that had used "grandfathering" language (KAR 102‑7‑4A, licensure without examination), Leslie said the statute had removed that grandfather clause and recommended the advisory committee move to repeal the regulation; the committee signaled consensus to recommend the repeal.

The committee also requested staff draft regulatory language to clarify whether and how applicants short on practicum hours could make up those hours under a temporary or provisional license. Leslie noted the change appears feasible as a regulation (rather than statute) and agreed to prepare proposed language for the committee’s March meeting.

Several items were forwarded to the board for review at its March meeting; committee minutes will record the advisory committee’s review and the recommended changes.