SENATE COMMERCE COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 671

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: MARCH 7, 1996

      The Senate Commerce Committee reports favorably Senate Bill No. 671.

      This bill provides that the State Board of Marriage Counselor Examiners and the Professional Counselor Examiners Committee shall be responsible for establishing the content of academic and training standards for professional counselors and associate counselors. The board and committee must use the standards of appropriate professional counseling associations as a guide in establishing standards for counselor licensing. To become a licensed professional or associate counselor, an applicant would still be required to have a master's degree or doctorate from a regionally accredited institution of higher education in subject matter which is primarily counseling in content.

      Applicants seeking to be a licensed professional counselor must currently pass the National Certified Counselor Examination. This bill allows an applicant to take either that test or the Certified Rehabilitation Counselor Examination to qualify.

      The bill also provides for the grandfathering of applicants who meet the education and experience requirements to be licensed professional counselors without a written examination, except that the board may require an oral or situational examination, or both. The board may consider an applicant's experience as a waiver of all or part of the supervised experience requirements for licensure as a professional counselor.