Updated: 04/13/07

Current OMHCA Legislative Activity

127 th Ohio General Assembly

State Mental Hold (SB-53)

Breaking News. SB-53 has been moved to the House of Representatives and Senator Clancy has delivered sponsor testimony, introducing the bill in the House Health Committee (HHC), a committee Chaired by Representative White.

Current Status. Senator Patricia Clancy has reintroduced our bill to empower LPCCs to sign the state mental hold as SB-53. Following proponent/opponent hearings, the Senate Health, Human Services, and Aging (HSSA), was reported out of the HSSA and was passed 26-7 by the full Senate on March 21, 2007. Proponent testimony was given by Jim Rough, Executive Director of the Ohio CSWMFT Board, F. Robert Wilson, representing OCA and OMHCA, and Connie Wilson, President and CEO of the Health Resource Center of Cincinnati, and OCA's President Elect, Daniel Cruikshanks. We were also supported by the American Counseling Association, the American Mental Health Counselors Association, the National Board for Certified Counselors, and the Ohio Council of Behavioral Healthcare Providers. Both the Ohio Psychiatric Association and the Ohio Association of County Behavioral Health Authorities weighed in with opposition to our bill.

Read more about SB-53…

Fact Sheet. For the last year, OMHCA has been collecting facts to use in advocating for counselors to be able to sign Ohio 's state mental hold.

Read our Fact Sheet…

What You Can Do.

• Please write a "hard copy" advocacy letter; mail a copy to the Chair and to each member of the House Health Committee.
• If you cannot send a "hard copy" letter, send an advocacy message via email to each member of the House Health Committee.
• Also, call your own Representative and urge her/him to support SB-53 by talking to members of the House Health Committee and by voting for the bill if it is reported out for a full House vote.

Whether you use the model letter or write your own, be sure to:

• use the formal opening for the letter

The Honorable __(full name)__
Ohio House of Representatives
77 South High Street
Columbus, Ohio 43215

Dear Representative __(last name)__

• include your name and address at the end of the letter.
• in your letter,

--explain that the bill will allow licensed professional clinical counselors to sign a mental health hold to have the patient transported to the hospital where an examination can be conducted and the psychiatrist/physician can make a determination as to whether or not the patient should be admitted.
--explain your education to them--your academic training and your continuing education qualifications
--tell the legislators why counselors should be given the ability to sign a mental health hold.

In the attached sample letter, we have provided an example of a "general" advocacy message which you can use, but it is best if you write your own letter in your own words. A personal message has greater impact than the "general" advocacy message provided. The names and addresses for the members of the House Health Committee are included in the attached roster. (Microsoft Word)

 

Review of last year's OMHCA legislative activity

126 th Ohio General Assembly

State Mental Hold (SB-213)

Synopsis. Although SB-213, sponsored by Senator Patricia Clancy, passed the Ohio Senate three times in 2006, this bill to empower PCCs to sign the state mental hold failed to pass in the House and therefore died at the close of the lame duck session in December, 2006.

Read more about SB-213 …

 

Contacting your Senators and Representatives

OMHCA is invested in using the legislative process to create better conditions for the practice of clinical mental health counseling in the State of Ohio .  When critical legislative issues arise, we need the active support of PC and PCC counselors across the State of Ohio to write, e-mail, or call their Representatives and Senators and ask them to pass legislation important to our profession. 

To quickly identify your Senator and Representative in the Ohio General Assembly you can link to the general search engine at

 

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