Workforce committee directs staff to refine proposed MFT education changes, keeps practicum at 240 hours

The Board of Behavioral Sciences Workforce Development Committee on April 16 directed staff to refine draft regulations for marriage and family therapist (MFT) education after a daylong discussion focused on practicum hours, supervisor qualifications and site standards.

Rosanne Helms, legislative manager for the board, told the committee the review is the first in a multi-step project to update accreditation, core content and practicum requirements for LMFT licensure. Staff recommended standardizing remediation so that any remediable coursework must be completed before associate registration, and removing distinctions between in-state and out-of-state degrees so program requirements apply equitably to students regardless of where their school is headquartered.

On practicum hours, subject matter experts advised the committee to require 240 practicum hours for qualifying MFT programs. "We recommended keeping the requirement at 240 practicum hours," Helms said, noting the current requirement is effectively 225 and the LPCC requirement is 280. Staff said 240 raises training expectations without necessarily adding an extra course or imposing undue cost barriers.

The committee also accepted clearer supervisor qualifications proposed by staff. Under the draft language, site supervisors must hold an acceptable license type, have been licensed and practicing for two of the past five years, maintain an active California license (or meet analogous standards for out-of-state supervision), and complete supervision training; schools would be required to verify supervisor credentials before trainees begin earning practicum hours.

Helms summarized proposed site and monitoring requirements: schools must approve practicum sites, execute a written agreement among site, student and school outlining responsibilities, monitor trainees' clinical work, and conduct at least one direct observation per trainee (or require a standardized clinical simulation if recording or observation is legally prohibited). Direct client contact must be psychotherapy or clinical counseling services as narrowly defined in the draft language.

Public commenters and university representatives raised questions about pre-practicum course timing. Staff read a written comment from Lisa Chereé of Cal Poly Humboldt who urged the board to specify coursework that should be completed before practicum (for example, law and ethics, suicide risk assessment) and suggested increasing the pre-practicum unit minimum from 12 to 15. Several board members and educators favored strong guidance that foundational courses be completed prior to practicum but asked staff to consider implementation and equivalency pathways so that applicants are not unfairly disqualified.

Committee member Justin Huff urged staff to examine whether programs claiming broad religious exemptions under Title IX should be accepted if their curricula permit discrimination. "There are universities producing therapists that have religious exemptions to Title IX allowing them to discriminate on the basis of marriage, gender, sexual orientation," Huff said, and the committee discussed whether the board should preclude approving coursework from schools that do not align with the board's equity and consumer-protection mission.

After discussion, committee member Justin Huff moved and Dr. Annette Walker seconded a motion directing staff to make the changes discussed and to integrate non-substantive edits, with the committee to review revised language at a future meeting. The motion passed on a roll-call vote: Huff—yes; Wendy Stra—yes; Elanor Rey—yes; Dr. Annette Walker—yes.

Helms said the proposed practicum requirements would apply only to degrees begun on or after Jan. 1, 2030, to avoid disadvantaging students already in programs. Staff will return with revised language, additional timelines and legal clarifications.

The committee framed the vote as a request to continue drafting rather than final regulatory action; the full board and formal rulemaking steps have not yet occurred.