Division of Professional Licensure
STEPHEN J. NEMMERS, Ph.D.
Deputy Director
Division of Professional Licensure

About the Division
•	DPL is an “umbrella” agency 
-  32  Independent boards
•	We license people, businesses, & schools
•	Over 60 professions and trades
•	350,000 Licensees
	
Background
Accessing Children’s Mental Health Services in Massachusetts:
Workforce Capacity Assessment”
by Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation.
http://bluecrossfoundation.org/Policy-and-Research/Access-to-Care.aspx

A large, collaborative survey: 
		30,000 providers
			10,000 sampled
 				2,000 responded

BCBS survey participation
Respondents from greatest number of responses to least:
Social Workers
Psychologists
Licensed Mental Health Counselors & Licensed Marriage and Family Counselors
Psychiatrists
Clinical RNs

BCBS findings (MY interpretation)
PROVIDERS’ LANGUAGE CAPABILITY

Spanish  		1%--6%
Mandarin 		0%--1% (Psychiatry)
Cantonese 		0%--1% (Psychiatry)
American Sign 	0%--1% (Psychiatry)
Portuguese		0%
Vietnamese		0%
Haitian Creole	0%
French		0%
Cape Verde Creole	0%

MA School of Professional Psychology RECOMMENDATION:
Upon re-licensure, acquire relevant information about linguistic/cultural competence to accurately assess workforce competence and need.

Aspects of the recommendation
•	Legal?
•	Highly questionable
•	Not delineated in Board’s statutory authority
•	Would gather personal information
•	Collection potentiates discrimination
•	Release of  personal info 
•	Highly problematic
•	“Endorsement” is problematic
Aspects of the recommendation
•	Appropriate Board/DPL Mission?
•	Gov’t doesn’t regulate sub-specialties
•	No capability to assess competence

Aspects of the recommendation
•	Practical?
•	Competence cannot be defined
	What is “Spanish-speaker” culture?
•	Wouldn’t address all MH providers
•	Data wouldn’t reach clientele
•	Transient: per study, ~½ to leave in 5 yrs
•	Very expensive

Alternative
•	Referrals
•	By word-of-mouth
•	By primary care providers
•	By insurance companies