What's the deal with HB 2406?

1/26/2018

UPDATE 1/30/2018:Per the NASW's website has been updated to state that this issue will likely not move forward in the legislature! 

THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE WHO VOICED THEIR OPINIONS ON THIS MATTER!

For those of you of you that haven’t heard the Arizona House introduced HB 2406. This bill serves to deregulate many professions that fall under the oversight of the Board of Behavioral Health examiners. This bill would eliminate the need for professional licensure for the following practitioners: Social Workers, Counselors, Marriage & Family Therapists, and Substance Abuse Technicians, Licensed Associate Substance Counselors and Independent Substance Abuse Counselors (National Association of Social Workers, 2018).

Simply put, the proposal is ridiculous.

This bill potentially threatens the legitimacy of those in the above listed helping professions. Moreover, if passed, it would negatively impact client’s ability to receive behavioral health services and have them billed through their insurance companies (Arizona Counselors Association , 2018).

This bill’s nefarious purpose will only impact the mental health and well being of many of Arizona’s diverse populations. This proposal would ensure that veterans, those suffering from addiction, families and married people in need (and many others) would be on their own for mental health services previously supported by their insurance.

The fact that this bill was even conceived by legislators, let alone introduced, is a slap in the face to Arizona citizens from ALL backgrounds, cultures, and walks of life.

Odds are that 87% of us will visit a behavioral health professional, in the guise of a counselor, social worker or therapist at some point in our lives. Statistically speaking that means you are likely to have been helped, or receive the help of at least one of these professionals who deserve fully recognized credentials for their technical training. If this bill continues to move forward I urge anyone and everyone reading this to rally on the side of your friends, and loved ones.

Voice your opinion to your local Arizona state representative!*

Feel free to circulate this post or the included links in order to spread the word.

*There is a link within the NASW resource below that can help you to locate your AZ State representative, if you are unsure who that person is, or how to reach them.

*taken from azleg.gov

Resources and related links

Arizona Counselors Association . (2018, January 22). HB 2406 - Elimination of Licensing of AZ Counselors. Retrieved January 26, 2018, from AZCA: http://www.azca.org/aws/AZCA/pt/sd/news_article/150859/_PARENT/layout_details/false

National Association of Social Workers. (2018). Legislative Alert. Retrieved January 26, 2018, from NASW: http://cqrcengage.com/socialworkers-az/home?0

AZ Legislature Page for HB 2406 - https://apps.azleg.gov/BillStatus/BillOverview/70208?SessionId=119

Call Center: Take Two

            I was heading into work last week and saw a kid (I can say kid because he was closer to eighteen than twenty one, and I am closer to forty than thirty, both of these things are sad in their own way). Anyway, he had on a t-shirt that read “Carpe Diem”- this is absolutely true. I asked him if he was trying to be ironic. He said he didn’t know – for his part, probably also true.

            I did start me down a path of thought. See both of us are employed in a call center. Yes you know, one of those tall office buildings where a bunch of drones with headsets attempt to talk to regular people about a whole myriad of things. Perhaps you haven’t paid your bills, maybe you just got into a car accident, or it could be that you’re overburdened by money, and someone is desperately trying to sell you something.  Me, I work in tech support, employed by a vendor company that I can’t mention,  for a primary company I can’t name, that supports products I can’t freely talk about.

            Confidentiality. You understand, I’m sure. Rest assured, whatever it is I may or may not do, it doesn’t involve national defense, or require security clearance. However, there are lots of problems with this job.

This gentleman is showing call center managers where they can stick it to their employees.

            The main thing is, I’ve already done all this before. I mean I’ve been at this for a month now, and all I can think about is how everyone I’ve been introduced to I’ve either met before, and / or done their job in a previous job of my own. In my training class there was the know-it-all (not me this time, more on that in a bit), the trainer, the hip one, the professional, the manager, the burnout, the person that can’t be bothered to take anything seriously (also not me), the team lead, the immature one, the conspiracy guy, the section manager, the loud mouth (sorry, still not me), and a few others.

            Before I get into where I fit in with all of these caricatures, let me give you some insight on the type of company we are dealing with…

            …We started the class with 23 souls, by day two we had lost two people. They just vanished; no one knows what became of them. By the end of week 1,  two more had dropped, one for sleeping in class, and one that was fired for having “court” and missing too much of the “training”. In week 2, two more people were terminated for dozing during class, and one for attendance on that Monday. He just showed up at lunch on day 6, with no explanation, and no phone call. Midweek of week 2 a few more dropped, one of which was due to DCS taking her kids (or that’s what she told me). No judgment here, DCS takes a lot of kids, or so I’ve heard.  The other two were let go because of cell phone use in class. This particular employer thinks the world will end if a cell phone comes in close proximity to a work computer. That brought us to week three when two of the people in class decided they needed to fight one another. Perfectly normal, and professional workplace behavior, right? However, I suspect because we had lost so many people they let it slide. Two days later these two were at it again, one of them terminated because he had been deemed instigator. Finally, on the last day of training, again another person vanished, and another failed to complete an exam we needed to pass in order to remain employed. By the end of the three week training we were down to nine.

            And then there was me. Again, having done all this before, I wasn’t sure if this particular place was where I needed to be, I still am not sure, if I’m being honest. My perspective is at least different. I’m not the know-it-all, or the class clown, or even the loud mouth.

            It’s much worse. I’m the old guy. And by old, I mean oldest actually. And that’s only because two of the sleepers that were fired had waved bye-bye to fifty years old long ago. I wear glasses in class, I check CNN instead of Snapchat on my breaks, and God help me, I contribute to the general goings-on during class! Sadly, this is the only part of this experience that is new. I find it hard to relate to my whippersnapper classmates, and harder still to relate to the members of management I’ve met. Notably, I have left out my previous career accolades, as I didn’t want to intimidate anyone. At least I’m the socially awkward one, a role that I am used to, and can carry well.

            Clearly, I am less than thrilled with this job. So is it the fact I’m starting at the bottom all over again? Possibly, I take issue with the job because of its menial, repetitive nature? Perhaps, it’s because I lack the passion for the work. Or maybe, just maybe it’s because it’s a call center.

            Someone once told me that call centers are places where dreamers weep and creativity goes to die. If that’s true, I’ve both wiped my tears, and come back from the dead. Unfortunately, now feel like I’m marching right back down that path to the slaughterhouse.

            Also, do you hear that ringing? Somebody answer that damn phone! Oh wait, that’s my job…