To the Board of Counseling regarding the NCLEP Petition:
Counselors who move to a different state face a hardship because licenses are not portable. The financial hardship resulting from lack of portability can be $11,300 or more in one year based on the difference in salary between a licensed mental health professional and a QMHP*.
This is a problem that needs to be solved; however, it is not solved by the NCLEP.
The NCLEP model of portability makes moving harder on counselors, specifically on new counselors who have obtained licensure less than 3 years prior. I remember telling my spouse, not so long ago, “If you want to pursue your dream job, you’d better do it now, because if you want to move after I get licensed I just don’t know what I’ll do.” I can’t imagine not only taking a significant pay cut, but also suddenly becoming ineligible for the type of job I worked so hard to qualify for, so soon after earning my LPC. If Virginia endorses the NCLEP, we are modeling for other states that a reality like this for our newest counselors is ok.
While the NCLEP model has positive components, accepting it as written is a bad idea. Too many parties and personal agendas are involved. It is not clear how administrative burdens would be reduced, how standards would be more consistent, or how standards for safe practice would be achieved by adopting this model. It would reduce public access to qualified care because fewer professionals would be eligible to practice.
Virginia is a state known for setting the precedent in the United States for Licensure and we are responsible for choosing a model for portability that the nation can follow. When Virginia endorses a model, it must not only protect the public, it must not harm counselors in any way.
Please vote against adding the NCLEP model as a path to licensure by endorsement. Virginia cannot lead our peers in a restrictive and harmful direction.
Sincerely,
Rebecca Kaderli, LPC, LSATP, NCC
*(https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Certification=Licensed_Professional_Counselor_(LPC)/Salary)