The countdown is on to the start of the 2024 General Assembly! Frankfort will be abuzz with activity starting Tuesday, January 2nd when the session convenes and, since this is a long session, will not wrap until Monday, April 15th. The deluge of newly proposed legislation will conclude on February 28th, and the veto period runs from March 29th - April 9th. Eric and I have been working with the Legislative Committee to consolidate the membership survey results and fine tune the 2024 Legislative Priorities, which the KPA Board will approve at their December meeting. 

KPA’s advocacy priorities are grouped into 3 categories:

Priority 1: Protect the practice of psychology in scope, parity, and workforce presence.
KPA prioritizes protecting the practice of psychology by advancing the vital scientific knowledge base of psychologists, monitoring encroachment from other professions on services clearly defined as the practice of psychology, ensuring parity of behavioral health with physical health in all aspects of coverage, benefits, and cost, and strengthening psychology’s voice in the workforce in matters of behavioral health and wellness.

Priority 2: Promote Health, Health Equity, and Population Health in Kentucky.
KPA prioritizes supporting a healthcare industry and educational system that assures equitable access to services for all citizens, including historically marginalized populations such as people of color, LGBTQ+, people with disabilities, and people living in poverty, addresses system inequities and racism, uses social determinants of health and population health outcome metrics, protects psychologist-patient confidentiality and privilege when discussing health choices including reproductive health and GAC, and provides prevention and early intervention services such as equitable access to maternal health programs for all women and mandatory insurance coverage for annual mental health wellness exams performed by licensed mental health providers.

Priority 3: Suicide prevention and behavioral health services and resources in the community.
KPA prioritizes evidence-based therapeutic interventions to promote the health, wellness, and quality of life among citizens. Priority interventions include life-saving resources to address the alarming suicide rates and violence rates, increased funding for behavioral health resources in the community, and ensuring evidence-based treatments are offered and harmful interventions offered as treatment are banned.

As the legislation is proposed, bills that address these areas will be monitored and analyzed for action from KPA. Some specific legislation we will be expecting:

Priority 1:

• Amending our licensure law (KRS 319) to make 2 important improvements: decrease the time required for independent practice at the master’s level from 5 years to 2 years, and increase the grace period from 60 to 180 days where new applicants for licensure can practice under supervision exam applications are pending.

Priority 3:

• Support operational funding and a sustainable funding source for call centers across Kentucky to answer the national 9-8-8 suicide prevention/mental health crisis line.
• Support the Crisis Aversion, Rights Retention (CARR) bill that would strengthen suicide and homicide prevention by temporarily removing guns from persons who are in crisis and are a danger to self or others.
• Ban Conversion Therapy to prohibit any MH professional from practicing conversion “therapy” with a minor and make them subject to disciplinary action by their licensure board.
• Support for legislation that would allow individuals to put themselves on a “do not sell” firearms list, to strengthen individual self-advocacy for suicide prevention.
• Support comprehensive healthy relationship/sex education in Kentucky public schools; there is research that shows a correlation between comprehensive health education and reductions in sexual assault, dating violence and homophobia.
• Ban corporal punishment in Kentucky public schools.

Mark your calendars for Tuesday, February 27, 2024 and plan to join us in Frankfort for KPA’s Psychology Day!