HB 567
IARP Ohio is opposed to HB 567 which was introduced last session by Representative Barbara Sears. Although the Ohio Senate was unable to consider the Bill prior to the end of the 2012-2013 legislative session, it is expected to be reintroduced during the 2013-2014 legislative session. This Bill stipulates graduation from an institution accredited by CACREP in mental health counseling or addiction counseling programs. This may result in the lack of recognition of graduates from CORE-accredited programs. In addition, language in the proposed bill requires licensure for rehabilitation counselors employed by the Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission or creates the opportunity to downgrade the classification for RSC rehabilitation counselors in order to avoid the licensing requirement.
As this bill represents a threat to our profession and to people with disabilities across the state of Ohio, several IARP Ohio members have volunteered to lead the fight against this Bill. Teri Trent, Mike Macguffie, and Suman Srinivasan have volunteered to join forces with the Ohio Rehabilitation Association in the fight against this Bill. At the present time, it is known that there have been multiple changes made to the original Bill, but no draft is available for review.
Ohio BWC Fee Schedule Changes
IARP Ohio has been notified by the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation that they are going to be making major changes to the Vocational Rehabilitation fee schedule. An Outcome Based Fee Schedule was proposed and a letter (written by Robin Markey and Kim Strawman) outlining IARP Ohio’s opposition to this was sent to BWC and their advising boards and committees. IARP Ohio, with the help of our lobbyist, Connie Nolder, is fighting to keep the jobs of our members that do work for BWC. It is recognized that any change of this type to the fee schedule would result in the demise of many small businesses that provide vocational rehabilitation to Ohio injured workers.