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KDADS and Board of Nursing outline paraprofessional and LMHT options as alternatives to changing licensure thresholds
Summary
KDADS and the Kansas State Board of Nursing presented existing and proposed paraprofessional credentials'certified peer mentors, person-centered case managers, a behavioral-health tech certification and licensed mental health technicians (LMHT)'as workforce options that could expand capacity without immediate statutory changes to the BSRB student temporary license.
At the June 15 advisory meeting, the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services and the Kansas State Board of Nursing described existing paraprofessional credentials and training pathways that could be used to address addiction-counseling staffing gaps.
Drew Adkins, commissioner for behavioral health at KDADS (substituting for another presenter), listed KDADS-supported roles including certified peer mentors for substance use disorder recovery, certified peer specialists for mental health, certified parent peer support specialists, person-centered case managers, attendant/personal care staff and psychosocial rehabilitation staff. He said some paraprofessional services are included in the Kansas Medicaid state plan and that reimbursement depends on provider type; peer-support services are commonly reimbursed on a 15-minute basis and KDADS staff estimated typical Medicaid rates in the mid-teens per 15 minutes depending on the setting.
Janelle, nursing education compliance officer for the Kansas State Board of Nursing, provided a historical overview of the licensed mental health technician (LMHT) credential, which originated to support inpatient psychiatric care in the 1970s. She said the LMHT program expanded to 900 contact hours (450 didactic, 450 clinical) and now shows low enrollment; the Board of Nursing has worked with Wichita State University and WSU Tech to pilot programs that link LMHT training to college credit and shorten time-to-credential. Janelle estimated modern academic pathways might take about 12 to 18 months to complete.
KDADS staff also described a proposed behavioral health technician (BHT) certification developed with WSU that could be compacted for community use and embedded as an entry-level credential outside of traditional college routes; the idea is to create a career ladder that can start at or immediately after high school and provide opportunities to escalate into higher credentialing. Drew Adkins said KDADS can provide a crosswalk between existing attendant-care and other paraprofessional requirements and suggested KDADS will follow up with a one-pager describing allowable services and reimbursement considerations.
Committee members praised the interagency cooperation and said the meeting helped surface options that might avoid duplicative statutory changes. Andy Martin, public information officer for the Kansas State Board of Nursing, encouraged continued collaboration and elevated the value of expanding peer support roles.
Why it matters: KDADS's certified peer and case-management pathways and a potential BHT certificate could provide quicker, workforce-compatible ways to increase capacity while regulatory language for licensure is refined. Any path that affects billing or scope will require coordination among KDADS, BSRB and the Board of Nursing to align supervision, credentialing and reimbursement.
Next steps: KDADS offered to circulate a summary document and crosswalk of paraprofessional requirements and Medicaid reimbursement rates; the advisory committee will reconvene to compare statutory amendment options with existing paraprofessional pathways before its July 20 meeting.
