A Year in Review with the Louisiana State Board of Examiners of Psychologists

Presented By: Rita Culross, Ph.D., Chair

Current

Board Members & Terms

Member

Rita R. Culross, Ph.D., Chair Marc Zimmermann, Vice Chair Darla M.R. Burnett, Ph.D., MP Phillip T. Griffin, Ph.D.

Jessica Brown, Ph.D., MP 7/1/10 - 6/30/15 7/1/11 - 6/30/16 7/7/12-6/30/17 7/1/13-6/30/18 7/1/13- 6/30/14

Current Board Staff

Kelly Parker, Executive Director [email protected]

Kerry Benton, Administrative Assistant [email protected]

LSBEP Committee Assignments           Finance Committee Oral Examination Committee Jurisprudence Committee Legislative Oversight Committee Professional Orgs & Boards Continuing Education Committee Supervision/Credential Review Committee Long Range Planning Committee LBAB Liaison Report Ad hoc: LSBEP Election Committee

Statistics 2013-2014 (As of 5/30/14)

Licensees (as of 5/30/14)

 706 Licensees  54 Emeritus Status  13 Licensed via Texas Reciprocity   29 Licensed via CPQ 2 Granted temporary military privilege

Specialty Designations

CL CL/CN CO SC CN ED IO EX DV None 416 36 87 77 10 2 8 7 32 19

2013-2014FY Complaints

  9 Requests for Investigations

Of those requests 6 were opened as full investigations

  

2 are Non-Psychologist cases 5 are currently being investigated by LSBEP 3 formal disciplinary actions/formal sanctions

NEW OPINIONS ADOPTED in 2013-2014

 Retention of CE Records, Opinion #17, issued September 13, 2013  Psychologists Advertising as Behavior Analysts, Opinion #18, issued December 13, 2013

NEW! Continuing Education

 The recently changed continuing education requirements go into effect July 1, 2014. We are still working on forms and database updates.  Beginning July 1, 2016 and July 1, 2017, the CE hour requirement increases to 40 hours.

Upcoming Rule Changes

 Continuing Education – Emeritus CE Requirement  Begins July 1, 2015 or July 1, 2016  Provisional Licensure rules  Licensed Specialists in School Psychology rules

Board Communication

The LSBEP welcomes communication from psychologists.

We have not changed our open door policy.

of the entire Board, we simply request that reviewed at Board meetings appropriately. However, in order to guarantee advice is given with full consideration communication is written, submitted via U.S. mail, and Board members should not be contacted at personal email addresses or places of employment regarding official Board matters.

Board Operations

 Agendas are posted at least 24 hours in advance pursuant to Open Meeting Laws  Minutes can only be approved at Board meetings; Therefore, minutes are usually approved the following month and posted in a timely fashion.

 Disciplinary Panels – Contrary to recent rumors, disciplinary panels can only be made up of Board members – the Governor CANNOT appoint a replacement.

Board Operations (Cont’d)

 Public Records Requests: The Board is legally required to respond to public records requests within 5 days regarding the request. The response may include the documents or may acknowledge the process it takes to obtain the documents. The Board reserves the right to protect your privileged information by having our legal counsel review confidential documents that may be subjected to public records requests.

Board Operations (cont’d)

 Pursuant to Title 37, Chapter 28, Section 2364 Protected Action and Communication: There shall be no liability on the part of…: (1) Any member of the Board, its agents or employees, or any member of a committee…for any action undertaken or performed by such person within the scope of the duties, powers, and functions of the Board…when such person is acting without malice and in the reasonable belief that the action taken by him is warranted.; (2) Any person providing information to the Board, its agents…without malice and in the reasonable belief that such information is accurate.

RECENT NEWS*

 2014-2015 Renewal Season opened on May 23, 2014.  Act 136 Provisional Licensure becomes effective August 1, 2014  Act 137 Licensed Specialist in School Psychology becomes effective August 1, 2014

Sharing Resources with BA Board

 The current financial arrangement between LSBEP & LBAB is effective through August 2014. The percentage will be recalculated for August through January.

 The percentage is calculated on a weighted formula based on the number of applicants/licensees.

 LBAB pays 15.39% of costs, including rent, utilities, staff salaries, etc.

 The 15.39% does not include accounting services, legal services, investigation services, etc.

 Dr. Zimmermann has been the ex-officio member since August 2013.

LSSP Advisory Committee

 The LSBEP is creating an LSSP advisory committee that consists of three licensed psychologists with a specialty in school psychology plus the LSBEP Executive Director(ex-officio).  This committee will make recommendations to the LSBEP regarding LSSP regulation.

 No changes in the composition of the Board are proposed.

 The LSBEP will be accepting nominations from LSPA & LPA.

Telepsychology Task Force

 The first meeting of the Telepsychology Task Force is scheduled for July 11, 2014. The members of the task force include: Dr. Griffin, Dr. Comaty, Dr. Ciccone and Dr. Nemeth.

Looking Ahead…LSBEP Elections

The LSBEP has created a committee to create an electronic election process beginning in Fall 2014.

Make sure to maintain an updated email address on file at the Board office especially for this purpose!

LSBEP Website

 www.lsbep.org

improved.  continuously updated and Database of licensees   Newsletters Laws, rules & regulations related to the practice of psychology in Louisiana  Downloadable & fillable forms  (i.e. Application forms, Request for Investigation, renewal forms)

LSBEP Newsletter

WE WANT TO HERE FROM YOU!!! If you have questions for the Board, tell us!! We would like to post your inquiry and its response in our newsletters. This will not only help you but may help others with the same questions.

QUESTIONS

THANK YOU!!

This presentation will be posted to the LSBEP “News” section for future review and reference. Our next meeting is Friday, June 27, 2014. We hope to see you there!