Legislative Survey Results

Annually IMHCA sends a survey to members and stakeholders to help the Legislative and Public Policy committee set legislative priorities for the year. Here are the highlights from that survey. Our legislative agenda is currently under construction.

IMHCA also surveyed members about a possible change in Iowa Administrative Code regarding the NCE and NCMHCE.

We had 50 responses.

IMHCA gave the following explanation from the NBCC website:

The National Counselor Examination (NCE) is a 200-item multiple-choice examination designed to assess knowledge, skills and abilities determined to be important for providing effective counseling services.

The NCE is a requirement for counselor licensure in many states. It is also one of two examination options for the National Certified Counselor (NCC) certification. It may also be accepted by military health systems to become a recognized provider.

Would you have an issue with removing the NCE? Yes(16) No (26) I don’t know (6)

Do you have any pros or cons that the Iowa licensing board should consider?

NCE measures educational practice while the other asks can you apply what was learned.
There appears to be a dismantling of processes to ensure we have safe, licensed providers.
Pro would be that it would be more relevant for temp license or just out of grad school. Con would be that removing it might make it difficult for new therapists to pass the NCMHCE, as I feel that test requires a lot of experience.
Pro: Removing the NCE from Iowa Administrative Code provides a streamlined system for licensure in Iowa. When it is mandatory to take the NCE, the NCE should be accepted for full licensing.
Requiring two tests is prohibitive as it is costly and counselors are not making wages that cover all the expenses.
Each exam has its own benefits – the benefits of the NCE provide foundational knowledge review necessary for all other knowledge to be built from.
Pass/fail rate is higher for Nmhce that could deter students from the exam
I need more information.
Having both NCE and NCMHCE in Iowa Administrative code provides accessible options for purusal of licensure and other speciality certifications.
Supervision and monitoring supervisors and quality of Supervision especially at agencies
Curious how it would affect things with the compact.
Con 1: Removing the NCE from Iowa Administrative Code may make it difficult for tLMHCs or LMHCs to become licensed in another state should they choose to pursue licensure there. Con 2: Removing the NCE from Iowa Administrative Code reduces options for practitioners to fulfill the licensure requirement in Iowa (i.e. graduate students looking to pursue the tLMHC license). Con3: Removing the NCE reduces accessible options for purusal of licensure, particularly for clinicians/graduate students who are neurodivergent.