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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | December 1, 2022 10:13 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Lisa M. Boscola and Sen. Judith L. Schwank |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Authorizing Pennsylvania to Join the National Counseling Compact |
| In the near future, we will be reintroducing legislation which would authorize the Commonwealth to join the National Counseling Compact. This compact is an occupational licensure agreement based on the mutual recognition of both education and practices for counselors across multiple states. The compact works by permitting a practitioner's home state license to be mutually recognized by other compact member states based on a set of criteria laid out within the language of the compact. This model also provides counselors and their patients to have more opportunity as to where and how they provide treatment. We have seen what the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the physical and mental health of Pennsylvanians of all ages. By joining the National Counseling Compact, we are widening the spectrum of professional health services in order to support and provide relief in our communities. Moreover, our state has passed legislation to join multiple health-related compacts including physicians, nurses, physical therapists and psychologists. The needs for these compacts has been made clearly evident by the pandemic, and the growth of these occupational medical license compacts has proven to be essential to community, state, regional and national healthcare needs. This is a reintroduction of SB 1348 from the 2021-22 legislative session. Co-sponsors included: COSTA, FONTANA, CAPPELLETTI, PHILLIPS-HILL and J. WARD. Please join us in sponsoring this important piece of legislation. |