BREAKING NEWS ABOUT COVID WAIVERS

As part of California’s reopening on June 15th, the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) has begun the process to wind down waivers impacting BBS registrants and licensees. While the COVID-19 waivers impacting our members remain temporarily in effect, we encourage our members to prepare for the eventual expiration of the COVID-19 waivers.

Importantly, after an about-face from DCA, which initially allowed the waiver permitting face-to-face supervision and training to temporarily lapse, it was further extended. The waiver has been extended through August 31st. CAMFT recognizes the uncertainty caused by the coming end of this waiver, particularly for AMFTs and supervisors in non-exempt settings. We encourage all supervisors and pre-licensees if they have not already done so, to begin discussions about what the return to pre-pandemic status may look like once the waiver is lifted.

Even once the face-to-face training and supervision waiver is lifted, MFT Trainees will still be permitted to receive supervision via videoconferencing. MFT Trainees can continue to provide telehealth services and will be able to count that work toward the 3,000 hours needed for licensure. The only substantive change for MFT Trainees once the waiver expires will be that they no longer will be permitted to count telehealth towards their 150 face-to-face training requirements for practicum.

Employers of pre-licensees should be aware that while the face-to-face supervision and training waiver has been temporarily extended, it in no way waives the requirements of Business & Professions Code Section 4908.43.4. This statute requires pre-licensees to provide services only at the place(s) their employer permits the business to be conducted (such as the employer’s office or at a school if the pre-licensee is contracted to provide services at that location). Due to the pandemic, BBS has advised that supervisors and pre-licensees should act in the spirit of this law and fully document their decision-making. For example, some universities and county governments may still have policies in place that prohibit their students or employees from being on-site to provide telehealth or in-person services to patients. If this is the case, CAMFT recommends supervisors document in their supervision notes the circumstances under which those pre-licensees are being allowed to continue working remotely.

One BBS policy that arose from this waiver that will remain in effect beyond the pandemic is BBS’s acceptance of electronic signatures on supervision forms in place of “original” signatures. BBS has clarified that it will continue to accept electronic signatures on supervision forms, even though the supervision waiver is no longer in effect. BBS may in the future require electronic signatures to be signed in a particular manner (e.g., via DocuSign or Adobe Acrobat). However, no such requirements are currently in place. Based on the information we have received from BBS, there is no expected end date for this allowance.

We have additional information about the BBS waivers in our COVID-19 Resources. If you have any questions about any of the BBS waivers, please contact CAMFT’s Legal Department at (858) 292-2638.

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