I am in favor of a state exam vs a national exam for the following reasons:
·There is already a labor shortage of assisted living administrators due to several factors, which include:
oFlee of qualified persons to neighboring jurisdictions
oLack of desire from persons in other states to come to Virginia due to stringent requirements to become licensed
·Only two other states require the national examination to license assisted living administrators. A third state required the examination until recently when they changed their regulations to require a state examination.
·The cost of the national exam and study guide is approximately $400, which is cost prohibitive for many individuals who must pay the costs out of their personal pockets. This financial restriction will result in the loss of compassionate and outstanding administrators who can not afford the costs.
·The assisted living industry does not support a national examination.