TPC Journal-Vol 9 Issue 3-FULL

The Professional Counselor | Volume 9, Issue 3 253 Recent Portability Efforts in the Counseling Profession In order to unify the counseling profession under a single professional identity, 20/20: A Vision for the Future of Counseling was developed through collaboration between ACA and the American Association of State Counseling Boards (AASCB; Kaplan & Gladding, 2011; Kaplan, Tarvydas, & Gladding, 2014). This initiative focused on the importance of defining a professional identity and promoting licensure portability (Kaplan & Gladding, 2011; Kaplan & Kraus, 2018). By 2010, a consensus was reached on the definition of counseling and the importance of strengthening professional identity (Kaplan & Kraus, 2018). Establishing these two areas of agreement was a step forward; however, the counseling profession remained divided on criteria for educational programs and accreditation, which contribute significantly to licensure portability (Kaplan & Kraus, 2018). The 20/20 initiative’s final achievement before disbanding was the formation of the Building Blocks to Portability Project, designed to address issues of portability such as education requirements and number of supervised hours (Kaplan & Kraus, 2018). A consensus was obtained for the title of Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and scope of practice, and recommendations were made to state licensing boards (Kaplan & Kraus, 2018). In addition to portability, license through endorsement is a term that has been used in some states to better facilitate obtaining a license in a new state. Endorsement means a license may be granted reciprocally to a professional counselor who has been licensed by another state. More recently, in 2013, the CACREP Board adopted a position statement on licensure portability for professional counselors, and then in 2015 endorsed portability standards proposed by the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES), the American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMHCA), and the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC; CACREP, 2018). In 2016, ACA developed and proposed a different aspirational licensure portability model (ACA, 2017). AASCB, ACES, AMHCA, and NBCC together released a joint statement, the Joint Statement on a National Counselor Licensure Endorsement Process (AMHCA, 2017; NBCC, 2017). The CACREP Board voted to publicly endorse the joint position statements later that same year (CACREP, 2018). The consistent standards needed in order to establish licensure through an endorsement process were summarized by Olson, Brown-Rice, and Gerodias (2018). These criteria were: (a) no disciplinary sanctions for at least 5 years; (b) possess the highest tiered license; (c) completion of a jurisprudence exam if necessary; and (d) complies with one of the following: meets all academic, exam, and postgraduate supervised experience standards as adopted by the state counseling licensure board; holds the National Certified Counselor (NCC) credential; or holds a CACREP-accredited graduate degree (NBCC, 2019; Olson et al., 2018). However, most states still require a detailed application to demonstrate that the specific educational, experiential, supervision, and exam requirements of licensure have been met for that state (ACA, 2019). In addition to licensure portability and licensure endorsement, licensure reciprocity is one mechanism of portability that states employ to grant full recognition for a license from another state. Reciprocity includes an expedited type of application process for LPCs. One example is a signed reciprocity agreement between Tennessee and Kentucky (Tennessee Department of Health, 2015). In general, to apply for licensure in another state, the license earned in another jurisdiction must be in good standing with no unresolved legal or ethical issues and have equivalent or higher requirements. Exam scores must meet the current state’s passing score and there may be additional specific state examinations. Other states do not have specific provisions for reciprocity or endorsement and require the full application process. The lack of uniformity between states can significantly increase the time and effort to provide documentation and evidence of competence to be issued a full license in another