The American Counseling Association and licensed professional counselors nationwide are celebrating the signing of Alabama Senate Bill 99 in support of the Counseling Compact, which will authorize counselors to practice across state lines once enacted.
Alabama has become the third of 10 states needed to enact the Counseling Compact, an interstate compact allowing professional counselors licensed and residing in a compact member state to practice in other compact member states without the need for multiple licenses. Governor Kay Ivey just signed Alabama S.B. 99 into law, reaching another major milestone for the initiative.
Funded by the American Counseling Association and led by the National Center for Interstate Compacts, the compact was finalized in December 2020 and was passed by the legislatures in Georgia, Maryland and Alabama. Currently, the Compact has been introduced in 19 states this legislative session and the legislation is in drafting in two additional states for introduction this year. We anticipate reaching the ten-state threshold necessary to trigger the establishment of the public commission by the end of the calendar year. Once 10 states have enacted the legislation, the compact will go into effect, enabling professional counselors who meet uniform licensure requirements to quickly obtain a privilege to practice, which is equivalent to a license to practice counseling in another state.
Compacts provide a pathway for counselors to move seamlessly from one state to another through an agreement among states to recognize another state’s license. Currently, counselors have difficulty transferring their licenses from one state/jurisdiction to another because of the independent nature of jurisdictional licensing rules and regulations. There is little consistency regarding the requirements for licensure and these varying requirements make it difficult to transfer one’s license.
"Alabama's inclusion in the Counseling Compact provides opportunities to not only support veterans with their mental health, but it also provides military spouses who are also practicing counselors' greater flexibility with their licensure," said Dr. S. Kent Butler, ACA President. "Providing avenues for more access and equity in both client care and a counselors' practice is a priority for ACA. Three down, and seven to go! We have every faith the Counseling Compact will be in effect this calendar year."
In addition to enactment in Georgia, Maryland, and now Alabama, Counseling Compact legislation has passed the legislature in Utah, Mississippi, West Virginia and Florida, where they now await Governors' signature. For more, including a list of states the compact is pending within, please visit CounselingCompact.org.